Rajasthan Royals defeated Gujarat Titans by three wickets in a last-over thriller.
Chasing 178 to win, the Royals were tottering at 55/4 in the 11th over. Amid the pressure situation, skipper Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer stepped up to the plate, adding 59 runs for the fifth wicket.
While Samson was dismissed in the 15th over for 32-ball 60, Hetmyer held the one end firmly and stayed unbeaten on 56 off 26 balls to take RR over the line in 19.2 overs with a bit of support from Dhruv Jurel (18 off 10) and R Ashwin (10 off 3).
Speaking after the game, Samson said he is happy to compete in such games and come out on top.
“When you play quality opponents on a quality wicket, you get such games. Very happy to compete in such a game and come out on top. It was important to rotate our bowlers, they were playing some quality cricket and we had to respect that,” said Samson at the post-match presentation.
The RR captain further stated that the whole team rose to the occasion and performed well, adding that leg-spinner Adam Zampa was brought in to combat David Miller.
“The whole team came up well today and we could restrict them to around 170. The start we had, it shows how good a wicket this was. The new ball the quality of swing bowling was good and we had to respect that. But today Zampa coming was a way to match-up with the opponents. He was the match-up for Miller and almost got the wicket, but the catch was dropped,” Samson added.
In the end, Sanju Samson heaped praise on Shimron Hetmyer, saying that the latter usually takes the team over the line when put in crucial situations.
“He doesn't like easy situations, we like putting him in such situations because he usually wins us games from such situations,” Samson concluded.
Rajasthan Royals will next face Lucknow Super Giants at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on April 19.