Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson on Saturday (30th April) termed the dew factor as the reason behind his side’s loss in Match 44 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 against Mumbai Indians (MI). 

RR suffered a disappointing 5-wicket loss against MI at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Asked to bat first, they failed to get going and struggled with their timing. Even in-form Jos Buttler looked completely out of sorts initially but he held his nerves well and once he got settled, he took MI bowlers to the cleaners. 

The opener scored 67 runs and helped his side post a total of 158 runs on the board. For MI, Riley Meredith was the pick of the bowlers and returned with the figures of 2/24. 

Read Also: R Ashwin says 158 would have been defendable in absence of dew after RR’s loss to MI

Defending the target, even though RR removed Rohit Sharma (2) and Ishan Kishan (26) early, but the 81-run partnership between Suryakumar Yadav (51) and Tilak Varma (35) kept MI in the hunt. Tim David (20*) then finished the game for his side with 4 balls to spare. 

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Sanju Samson admitted that they could’ve scored more runs with the bat. He said that the dew factor played a crucial part in the second innings and it was hard to bowl. 

“I think we could have scored a few more runs. The dew came in and it was hard to bowl. It was getting wet. The ball was getting wet so that’s why they changed the ball,” Samson said. 

Samson then talked about the wicket, saying that it was a bit two-paced and batting second was much better. 

“Different venues are playing in different ways. Here, batting first was a bit tougher, the ball was a bit two-paced. I think batting second was much better. It depends on the wicket you are playing on,” he said. 

RR will next face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday (2nd May) at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. 

(ANI inputs)