The Rajasthan Royals faced their fourth defeat of the 2022 Indian Premier League campaign on Wednesday, when the Delhi Capitals cruised past Sanju Samson's men by 8 wickets. After restricting Rajasthan to 160/6 in 20 overs, the Capitals chased down the target with 11 balls to spare, thanks to a brilliant 144-run stand between Mitchell Marsh (89) and David Warner (52*). With their third loss in last four matches, the Royals remain third on the table with 14 points in 12 games. Follow IPL 2022 Coverage
After being invited to bat by Rishabh Pant, RR had lost the early wicket of Jos Buttler (7); as has been the case for the Royals' batting lineup this season, Ravichandran Ashwin was promoted after the early setback and the off-spinner impressed with a half-century in 38 deliveries. However, a 41-run stand with Yashasvi Jaiswal (19) and another 53-run stand with Devdutt Padikkal (48) delayed their captain Sanju Samson's arrival at the crease for the Royals.
Samson came in to bat in the 15th over of the innings, and in a bid to up the ante, was dismissed cheaply as he could only score 6 off four deliveries. Former India captain and batting great Sunil Gavaskar was not impressed with Samson's move to bat at no.5 in the game.
“He can be (a good hitter of the ball), but he didn't help himself by coming to the bat down the order. If you're no.4, you come into bat at no.4 or 3. Take the responsibility. Now, look what happened,” Gavaskar said on-air after Samson was dismissed by Anrich Nortje.
{{/usCountry}}“He can be (a good hitter of the ball), but he didn't help himself by coming to the bat down the order. If you're no.4, you come into bat at no.4 or 3. Take the responsibility. Now, look what happened,” Gavaskar said on-air after Samson was dismissed by Anrich Nortje.
{{/usCountry}}“He suddenly found that because they hadn't got the start they wanted, he got to start playing the shots from the word go. And in that attempt, he perished,” the former Indian skipper further added.
Samson (327 runs in 12 innings) has been the second-highest run-getter for the Rajasthan Royals this season. He has scored at a brilliant strike rate of 155.71 in the ongoing edition so far.