“It was tough to bat against new ball”: RR captain Sanju Samson

Despite a heart-wrenching 1-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals’ captain Sanju Samson commended both teams for their performance in a nail-biting match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Sanju acknowledged the commendable efforts of SRH’s bowlers in maintaining a scoring rate of 10 runs an over until the final over which crucially contributed to their win.

“We have played some really close games this season, won a couple of them and lost this one. Credit to the SRH bowlers for the way they fought back. The margin of error is very low in the IPL. The game is never done till it is done,” Sanju expressed during the post-match presentation.

Highlighting the standout performances from his team, Sanju gave special mention to young batsmen Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag, who stepped up after early setbacks. Jaiswal delivered a robust 67 runs off 40 balls, while Parag added a powerful 77 from 49 deliveries, building a critical 133-run partnership that nearly secured victory for Rajasthan.

“It was tough to bat against the new ball and when it got old, it became easier. Credit to both youngsters (Jaiswal and Parag), myself and Jos (Buttler) got out in the powerplay, they played well and got us to that position,” he added.

The match began with Sunrisers Hyderabad setting a strong target of 210/3, thanks to significant innings from Travis Head, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Heinrich Klaasen. In response, Rajasthan Royals put up a spirited chase, catalyzed by Jaiswal and Parag after an early double blow from Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the first over.

The Royals will next face Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday. With 8 wins in 10 matches, they remain at the top of the IPL standings with 16 points, looking to rebound from this narrow defeat.