Sanju Samson was a dejected captain as Rajasthan Royals (RR) suffered a 45-run thrashing at the hands of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Mumbai on Monday (April 19).
Chasing 189 to win, RR managed only 143/9 in 20 overs. It was a listless batting performance from the Royals as none of them except for Jos Buttler (49 off 35 balls) touched the 25-run mark.
Moeen Ali (3-7), Sam Curran (2-24) and Ravindra Jadeja (2-28) were the wreckers-in-chief with the ball for CSK.
Speaking after the game, Samson said it was a chaseable target but rued the fall of wickets in the middle overs.
“I thought it was a good score to chase down but we lost too many wickets in the middle overs,” the RR skipper said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“Our bowlers bowled really well, they batted too deep. Dwayne Bravo came down the order and connected a few bad balls… 10-15 runs extra we gave down the line.
“We never expected that (much spin), the dew didn’t come and the ball was still turning, so it was a bit shocking to see.”
Samson scored 1 off 5 against CSK. It was his second successive failure after starting the tournament with a whirlwind century.
“It’s very important to maintain a good composure, this format demands us to score at a higher risk rate; hence, it’s very normal to get out often. I keep working on the basics and giving myself some time at the centre.”
Rajasthan Royals will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in their next game on Thursday (April 22) at the Wankhede Stadium.
