RR defeated SRH by 72 runs in their IPL 2023 opener.
Asked to bat first, the Royals piled up a massive 203/5 in their allotted 20 overs on the back of half-centuries from Jos Buttler (54 off 22), Yashasvi Jaiswal (54 off 37) and Sanju Samson (55 off 32).
In reply, the home side managed 131/8 with no batter touching the 40-run mark. Wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal starred with the ball for RR, returning with the figures of 4 for 17 in his four overs.
After the thumping win, RR skipper Samson heaped praise on Buttler, saying that England’s T20 World Cup-winning captain’s presence is rubbing off on the youngsters.
“His presence brings a lot of positive energy to the team,” Samson told reporters in the post-match interaction.
“You can see the way Yashasvi Jaiswal is batting this season. It has to rub on to the youngsters, and his role, like everyone’s, is equally important.”
“He looks a little bit of a serious kind of a guy but he has a lot of fun on the inside, in the dressing room as well as in the (team) bus. He likes to talk to people and people are learning a lot (from him),” Samson said of the England skipper.
The RR captain backed youngsters like Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel to do well this season as they depart for Guwahati to play their next two matches.
“A lot of youngsters in our team, such as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, and Dhruv Jurel are really pumped up because they have had a really strong domestic season.
“You can make that out from the way to Yashasvi Jaiswal batted today. Definitely he has had a good start and he is going to have a great season,” Samson said.
SRH’s stand-in skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s decision to bowl first may have backfired but Samson said it was a ‘good decision’ on a slow track.
“The wicket was a bit slow to start with but it got a bit better in the second innings. It was a good decision (by Bhuvneshwar Kumar). Our players batted really well to get that kind of score on that kind of a wicket,” Samson stated.
(With PTI Inputs)