Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson on Wednesday said “a few of us are not 100 percent” fit after beating Royal Challengers Bengaluru by four wickets in the 2024 Indian Premier League Eliminator at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Samson though expressed confidence that they have got the momentum back as they booked their place in IPL 2024 Qualifier 2 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, having ended their run of four defeats.
RR bowlers played their part well to keep RCB to 172/8. Trent Boult, with figures of 1/16, and Ravichandran Ashwin (2/19) played pivotal roles in a disciplined bowling attack for RR, who elected to field first.
RR batters stuttered in the middle overs to allow RCB back into the contest which remained hung in balance for the majority of the second half, but the 2008 winners eventually got home with an over to spare.
RR chase seemed to go off track after Yashasvi Jaiswal, caught behind off Cameron Green on 45, and skipper Sanju Samson, stumped out for 17, departed in the space of five deliveries.
Riyan Parag, who hit 36, and Shimron Hetmyer, who smashed 26, put on 45 to settle the nerves before Rovman Powell steered the team home with a six in his unbeaten 16.
“What cricket and life has taught us is we will have some great days, we will have some really bad days. Important to bounce back. The way we batted, bowled and fielded, I am really happy. All the credit has to go to the players,” Samson said at post-match presentation.
“We look at the field set and planning, the credit has to go to Sanga (Kumar Sangakkara) and the team of support staff for discussing tactics. Ashwin and Avesh bowled tremendously well. If you look at our batting unit, there is a lot of youngsters. They are 22-years old, they are less experienced but they played well,” he added.
Samson revealed that few of RR players aren’t fully fit.
“A few of us are not 100%. I’m not a 100% actually. There is a bug in the dressing room, lots of coughs and a lot of people are a bit unwell. But we have the momentum now, so the dressing room is confident,” he said.
