Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson was proud of his team after they lost the Tata IPL 2022 final against Gujarat Titans by seven wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday. RR could only manage a sub-par score of 130-9 after Samson won the toss and decided to bat first in the big final.
However, RR kept losing wickets at regular intervals and thus could not get going in their innings. Jos Buttler was once again the lone warrior as he scored 39 runs but even he could not score his runs at a brisk pace. In fact, almost all the RR batters got off to starts but none of them could go on to get a big score.
On the other hand, RR got off to a good start as Prasidh Krishna dismissed Wriddhiman Saha early in the run-chase. Trent Boult then accounted for Matthew Wade but Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill added a crucial alliance of 63 runs to get their team close to the target. Earlier in the innings, Shubman Gill was given a reprieve by Yuzvendra Chahal when the GT opener had not even got off to mark.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals were consistent right throughout the season as they won nine out of their 14 matches in the league stage. The inaugural champions came up with collective efforts during their campaign and there were a lot of positives for them.
Sanju Samson said in the post-match presentation, “This season was really special for us. Last two-three seasons all the fans, everyone was having a really hard time. Good to give them some happy moments. Really proud of my team. Great youngsters, great senior players. One off day today but really proud of my team. Right from the auctions we wanted to have quality bowlers, they win you tournaments.”
On the other hand, RR’s Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara was delighted with the performance of his team throughout the season and lauded the team’s camaraderie, which helped them borne fruits.
Sangakkara said after the game, “The way the team’s really focussed, gelled together and played a lot of good cricket. Went through ups and downs. We had huge contributions from Jos, from the two spinners, Boulty, we had McCoy coming in, Hetmyer. Can go on and on. Have a strong core of around 9 players, changed a few others based on form, opposition. It’s been a great journey, great franchise to be part of.”
RR will to continue the same kind of performances in the next season of the Tata IPL 2022 but they will be a bit disappointed by their below-par show in the all-important final.
