Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson expressed disappointment at their league-stage performance in IPL 2023. The keeper-batter's statement came after the Royals' final group-stage game against the Punjab Kings on Friday in Dharamshala.
Rajasthan Royals knock Punjab Kings out of IPL 2023:
The Royals prevailed by four wickets against the Punjab Kings with two balls to spare, chasing down 189, thanks to half-centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal. However, they are still on the fifth spot in the table with seven wins and as many defeats, with a minimal chance of reaching the playoffs.
At the post-match presentation, Samson admitted that the Royals have been underwhelming in IPL 2023 despite possessing the quality.
"The team which we have, the quality of players and characters which we have, its a bit shocking to see where we stand at the table at this point of time. If you honestly look at the season. There are a lot of things to look back and think about and discuss about and learn from it."
Sanju Samson expected to finish the game earlier than 19.4 overs:
Samson further claimed that he expected them to finish off the game before the 19th over, while also praising Trent Boult and Yashasvi Jaiswal for their stellar contributions. The Kerala-born player added:
I think at the end of the game, when Hety (Hetmyer) was going strong we thought we will finish by 18.5 overs. I have been talking about (Yashasvi) Jasiwal almost every game. He has shown maturity. It feels like he has played 100 T20Is. Almost 90 per cent of the time we feel Boult will take a wicket in the first over. We were under pressure in the last few games."
The Royals needed to finish the game by 18.3 overs to go ahead of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in terms of net run rate. Their 112-run loss to RCB in Jaipur massively affected their net run-rate.
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