The Rajasthan Royals have hit a slump at a crucial moment. With the IPL 2024 playoffs approaching, RR have lost four consecutive games, risking their chances of a top-two finish.
Captain Sanju Samson is acutely aware of this, as reflected in his post-match comments. Samson emphasized the need for players to step up and declare, “I’ll win the game single-handedly,” something that hasn’t occurred in their last four matches.
Sanju Samson stated that RR requires players to step up and declare, “I’ll win the game on my own.”
“To be very honest, we have to sit back and accept that we are going through some failures. You have to find out what’s not working well as a team. When you are getting to the business end, we need someone to raise their hand up and say I am going to win the game for the team.”
“We have the players who can do that. It’s about showing that right character and having that passion about going out there and winning the game single-handedly If all of us try that and a couple of us succeed, we can turn it around.”
“It’s a team sport, but this is the time when we need individual players to step up,” Samson said after RR lost to Punab Kings by five wickets in Guwahati on Wednesday.
On a sluggish Guwahati pitch, RR struggled to reach 144/9, which PBKS eventually chased down with seven balls to spare. Samson remarked that the pitch wasn’t suited for a total of just 140 runs and that they were at least 15 runs short of a competitive score.
“It wasn’t a 140-run wicket”- Sanju Samson
“We were expecting wicket to be a touch better. I think it’s not a 140-kind of a wicket, we should have got around 160. I think that’s where we lost the game.”
With wickets tumbling consistently, the Royals were compelled to utilize Donovan Ferreira as an Impact Substitute, leaving them short of a bowler.
“It would have been nicer to have one more bowling option, it gets a little tough when you have just five. But I am used to it. And we have five quality bowlers.”
“Would have been nicer to have one more bowling option, gets a little tough when you have just five. But I am used to it. And we have quality five bowlers,” he said.
Despite suffering four consecutive defeats, the Royals, owing to their excellent performance in the first half of the tournament, have amassed 16 points and secured a spot in the playoffs following Delhi Capitals’ victory over Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday.
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