Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson believes the toss proved to be the “game changer” during their 6-wicket win over Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in the 2024 Indian Premier League. RR maintained their unbeaten run in the IPL with an extensive victory over Hardik Pandya’s struggling MI. After Samson won the toss and put MI into bat in their first match of the season, Trent Boult’s superb opening spell left MI dangling after the powerplay. Yuzvendra Chahal blasted the middle order, forcing the five-time champion to succumb to a total of 125/9.
After the match, Samson weighed in on the importance of the toss to their clinical win, saying: “I think the toss was the game changer. The wicket was too sticky to start, and the experience of Boult and Burger helped us. He has been playing since 10-15 years, and that’s what we expected with the new ball. We didn’t expect 4-5 wickets to fall, but we knew our bowlers would do well.”
“We know we have great individuals in our team, but where we stand out is that everyone recognizes their role, does it and moves on. The likes of Ash and Chahal realized we had a good powerplay and they kept it tight without really looking for wickets,” he added.
There was special praise for Chahal, who finished the match with 3/11. The legbreak spinner picked up crucial wickets of Tilak Varma, MI skipper Hardik Pandya and Gerald Coetzee.
“I think he was very excited for this IPL and he has been doing well for the last two to three years,” concluded Samson.
Coming into the match, MI struggled to get going from the start as they barely reached 125/9. Pandya top scored for MI with 34 off 21 deliveries while Tilak Varma played a crucial knock of 32 runs in 29 balls.
In reply, Riyan Parag, riding high on his past performances, left MI bowlers at his mercy and wrapped up the match in style to seal a sic-wicket win for RR.
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