IPL 2022: I think we were short by 15-20 runs – Sanju Samson

Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson reckons his team was short of a par score by 15-20 runs against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Monday after they lost by seven wickets.

RR posted 152 runs on the board after Shreyas Iyer won the toss for KKR.

Sanju Samson scored 54 runs but he failed to hit the topmost gear as he took 49 balls to score his runs. This was Samson’s second fifty of the season but he failed to get going. Shimron Hetmyer once again provided the finishing touches after he scored a quickfire 13-ball 27 but Samson feels 170 would have been a good score.

RR could only manage 37 runs in the last four overs of their batting innings despite a fine cameo from Shimron Hetmyer. On the other hand, Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh did a fine job for KKR to get their team over the line with five balls to spare.

RR would have been disappointed with their batting performance as the Wankhede pitch is mostly a paradise for the batters but they could not get going. Jos Buttler, who is currently the Orange Cap holder, also failed to hit the ground running as he scored 22 runs from 25 balls.

Sanju Samson said in the post-match presentation, The wicket was a bit slow, but they also bowled really well but with the kind of batting we had, would have liked a few more boundaries at the end and finish off a bit better. I think we were short by 15-20 runs. Having a few niggles from the last couple of games, It’s feeling good now and I’m recovering well. It’s a great effort (with the ball), we showed some real fight in the game and the energy was really amazing. Personally, we should have batted a bit better. Of course, win the next toss for sure. We have to keep on assessing the game and who is batting with you, wickets at the wrong time stopped me to keep on going with the momentum. Wanted to build up the partnership and when I wanted to go hard I think they bowled really well and we couldn’t execute our shots.”

RR has now managed six wins from 10 matches and they will look to be at their best in the remaining four league stage matches. The inaugural champions could not come up with a good batting show against KKR and they will look to come back stronger in the upcoming matches.

RR will next face Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday.