"Didn't expect 4-5 wickets to fall" - Sanju Samson takes sly dig at Mumbai Indians batters after victory

The Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) won comprehensively by 6 wickets against the Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 14th match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) on Monday, April 1 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Rajasthan Royals won the toss and opted to bowl first in the match. The decision turned into a great one for the team as the new ball bowlers wreaked havoc across the Mumbai Indians (MI) batting line-up.

Trent Boult got three wickets in his first two overs and he sent Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, and Dewald Brevis packing for golden ducks. He was well supported by other bowlers and the Rajasthan Royals managed to restrict the Mumbai Indians (MI) to 125/9 in their 20 overs. Other than Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal picked up a three-wicket haul while Nandre Burger bagged two wickets and Avesh Khan got one.

Chasing the target, things were not pretty smooth for the Royals as the Mumbai crowd was fully behind the home team and the MI bowlers bowled some tight lines and lengths. Mumbai Indians (MI) reduced RR to 48/3 at one point, but then the man-in-form Riyan Parag took the game away from them.

The young RR batsman hit a terrific half-century to steer his side to an excellent win and become the leading run-scorer in the ongoing edition of the competition. He scored 54 runs off 39 balls as RR completed the run-chase in 15.3 overs.

Also read: “I needed to do a lot more” – Hardik Pandya takes blame on himself after MI’s crushing defeat to RR

I think the toss was the game changer – RR skipper Sanju Samson

At the post-match presentation ceremony, Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson said the toss turned out to be a game-changer for them in the match. He showered rich praise on Trent Boult and Nandre Burger for doing a great job with the ball for the team.

While Sanju Samson praised his bowlers, he took a subtle dig at the Mumbai Indians (MI) batters, saying that he didn’t expect 4-5 wickets to fall so quickly. Here’s what the Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain said after the win over Mumbai Indians (MI):

“I think the toss was the game changer. The wicket was too sticky to start off, and the experience of Boult and Burger helped us. He’s playing since 10-15 years, and that is what we expected with the new ball. Didn’t expect 4-5 wickets to fall, but we knew our bowlers would do well.”

Sanju Samson further said that they have some big names in the team, but all of them are focused on achieving the team’s goal. He also revealed that the star leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was fired up to perform in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Sanju Samson further said:

“We know we have big individuals in our team, but where we stand out is everyone recognises their role, does it and moves on. The likes of Ash and Chahal realised we had a good powerplay, and they kept it tight without really looking for wickets. (On Chahal) I think he was really fired up for this IPL, and he’s been doing well for the past 2-3 years for us.”

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