Rajasthan Royals (RR) team director Kumar Sangakkara feels one of their top four batsmen needs to fire if they are to bounce back in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).
Sangakkara’s comment came after RR’s 10-wicket drubbing at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday (April 22).
Invited to bat first, RR posted 177/9 in 20 overs but RCB openers Devdutt Padikkal (101* off 52 balls) and Virat Kohli (72* off 47 balls) overhauled the target with 21 balls to spare.
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"...you see the ability, there is just need to build those partnerships and one of the top four they need to get a big score," Sangakkara said in the post-match press conference.
Royals’ top four is comprised of T20 superstars such as Jos Buttler, skipper Sanju Samson and David Miller. The team, however, struggled in the powerplay once again and were reduced to 18/3 inside the first 6 overs.
Thanks to the late flourish from Shivam Dube (46 off 32 balls) and Rahul Tewatia (40 off 23 balls), RR managed to cross the 170-run mark.
"We need to bat smartly in the powerplay and keep those partnerships going and one or two need to score those big scores. Unfortunately, today we didn't manage that," Sangakkara said.
"The middle order and lower middle order really fought well and that was quite impressive to see."
Dube and Tewatia hit nine fours and four sixes between them.
"I thought Shivam batted really well and showed a lot more intensity and awareness than in the other three games."
"...(we) have to tie together good performances with the bat, not just with the ball and back it up with some really good fielding," Sangakkara out.
"...you've got to be much better at executing your game plans and keep that self-belief and self-confidence going...It's only been four games, but you know, games can go by quite quickly so we've got a lot of thinking to do," he explained.
The Sri Lankan batting legend also praised RCB’s left-handed opener Padikkal for his maiden IPL ton.
"I thought it was an exceptional innings...he kind of anticipated some of the deliveries that were going to be bowled with the fields set," Sangakkara said.
Languishing at the bottom with only 1 win from four games, Rajasthan Royals will take on Kolkata Knight Riders in their next match on Saturday (April 24).
(With PTI inputs)
