'We go hard on the powerplay, but it didn’t come out today’ - Sanju Samson reflects on RR’s powerplay debacle in horrid loss to RCB

The 60th game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 featured a clash between the inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals and the Faf du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday, May 14.

In one of the most one-sided games in the history of the tournament, Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Rajasthan Royals by 112 runs. After posting 171 runs on the board, the visitors managed to bundle Rajasthan out for just 59 runs. Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Ravichandran Ashwin were all sent packing for ducks.

Furthermore, skipper Sanju Samson, Joe Root, Devdutt Padikkal, and Dhruv Jurel collectively amassed 19 runs in the run chase. Shimron Hetmyer was the highest run-getter for the hosts with 35 runs to his name. After the game, captain Samson came forward to give his take on the team’s performance. 

Samson mentioned that the RR top-order generally fires in the powerplay, but that wasn't the case against RCB. He also said that it was too soon to dissect the game.

"I think our top three were scoring a lot of runs; we go hard on the powerplay, but it didn’t come out today. I think it's too soon to analyse or dissect the game. You need to go hard in the powerplay knowing the ball was getting slower and older; that’s the way me, Jaiswal, and Jos have played throughout," Samson said in the post-match presentation.

I was just thinking where we went wrong: Samson

Samson further said that he had expected a tight match and was all throughout wondering where the team went wrong. He also said that the team would be looking to take a day off and think about their next match. RR is scheduled to lock horns with Punjab Kings in their next encounter in Dharamshala.

"I expected a tight match if we had a decent powerplay. I was just thinking, seeing the batting collapse, where we went wrong? I don't think I have an answer to that yet. We all know the nature of the IPL; we’ve seen some funny things happen in the league stage. We have to keep strong, take a day off, and think about the game in Dharamshala," he added.

After their dominant win, Royal Challengers Bangalore moved up to fifth place in the IPL points table. With 12 points in 12 matches, their net run rate has seen a significant rise as well, climbing up to +0.166 after their landslide victory.