Rajasthan Royals saved the packed crowd on the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on the sting of their seats in match no. 8 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 in opposition to Punjab Kings on Wednesday. The Royals misplaced an exhilarating encounter by 5 runs, chasing 198 runs to win. RR skipper Sanju Samson rued the loss within the hard-fought recreation and believed his facet was ‘one-hit’ away from the win.
Chasing a difficult 198-run goal on Wednesday, RR may handle 192 for 7 ultimately. “We started off really well, we finished the powerplay really well. In the middle overs, we were expecting to get the boundaries here and there but they bowled really well. That’s where I think the momentum went a bit down,” Samson stated on the post-match press convention.
“We did well to get so close also after the fall in our run rate. We just fell short of a six, just one ball hit away,” Samson, who turned the best run-scorer for Rajasthan Royals in IPL, added.
While chasing the goal, Ravichandran Ashwin accompanied Yashasvi Jaiswal on the prime for RR as a substitute of Jos Buttler. And Samson revealed the explanation behind the transfer.
“Jos (Buttler) had a small injury. He was doing his stitches as while fielding he got injured. So the physio wanted some time, time was not there to get the stitches and go to open. The move was to send Ashwin bhai and then holding everyone back. He (Buttler) seems fine, I think he should be fine,” Samson stated.
“Tomorrow, we start again!” _ pic.twitter.com/5Y4tR4uwQK
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 6, 2023
Meanwhile, Punjab Kings’ batting coach Wasim Jaffer praised younger Prabhsimran Singh, who made 60 off 34 balls whereas opening the batting alongside facet captain Shikhar Dhawan. Jaffer stated Prabhsimran, who was not a daily in PBKS facet in earlier IPL editions, grabbed the chance with each arms.
“He (Prabhsimran) has been a fabulous player but no matter how good you are, you need a consistent run so he can play a lot more fearlessly,” stated Jaffer.
“He has always been a good player and it’s good that it has come good, which is a good sign because we don’t have Bairstow – somebody at the top bats like that so I’m really happy for him.”
Prabhsimran shared 90 runs for the opening stand off simply 61 balls with Dhawan. But as soon as the teen departed, the skilled Dhawan switched gears to hit an unbeaten 86 off 56 balls.
“I think when Prabhsimran was going so well he (Dhawan) obviously knew that he could take his time to fiddle. That’s where experience counts,” Jaffer stated.
“When Prabsimran got out he (Dhawan) took the chance and batted through the innings. We wanted somebody from the top 3 batters to play till 18-19 overs and he did exactly that. Somebody as experienced as him knows how to use the pace and he did exactly that,” former India opener added.
(with PTI inputs)
