Cricket

IPL 2024, Eliminator: Sanju Samson Credits Kumar Sangakkara, Support Staff For Win Over RCB

RCB captain Faf du Plessis, whose side made the playoffs from the brink of elimination, said it takes a lot of heart to win six games in a row but admitted they wꦅere a few runs short of what could have been a challenging total in the knockout match against RR

RR teammates celebrating the wicket of Virat Kohli in IPL 2024. AP Photo
Rajasthan Royals' Yuzvendra Chahal, second right, celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli during the Indian Premier League eliminator cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad. AP Photo/Ajit Solanki
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Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson on Wednesday said "A few of us are not 100 per cent" fit but expressed confidence that they have got the momentum back with the four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL eliminator in Ahmedabad. (As It Happened | Scorecard)

RR entered the elimin🔥ator following a🍒 run of four defeats.

"What cri🎐cket and life have taught us is we will have some great days, we will have some really bad days. Important to bounce back. The way we batted, bowled and fielded, I am really happy. All 🐈the credit has to go to the players," Samson said at the post-match presentation.

"We look at the field set and planning, the credit has to go to Sanga (Kumar Sangakkara) and the team of support staff for discuss♔ing tactics.

"Ashwin and Avesh bowled tremendously well. If you look at our batting unit, there are a lot of youngsters. They are 22 years old, they are less experienced♕ but they played well."

Samson added, "A few of us are not 100%. I'm not 100% actually. There is a bug in the dressing room, lots of c༺oughs and a lot of people are a bit unwell. But we have the momentum now, so the dr🥀essing room is confident."

RCB captain Faf du Plessis, whose side made the playoffs from th🐲e brink of elimination, said it takes a lot of heart to win six games in a row but admitted they were a few runs short of what could have been a challenging total in the knockout match against RR.

"With the dew coming, we felt we were short with the bat. Did th😼ink we were 20 runs shy of what was a g꧃ood score," Du Plessis said.

The South African veteran added, "Credit to the ꩵboys - they fought really well. That's all you can ask for. If you look at naturally assessing the pitch and conditions, you would say it'🎶s a 180 pitch because it was swinging upfront and was quite slow.

"B🌃ut what we've found out this season, with the impact player, the par score isn't enough any more. Also with the dew coming in, we knew we had to score more to challenge them."

Speaking about their f📖ine run after a disastrous start to the tournament, he said, "A lot of teams, their wheels would have fallen off after 1 from 9. But we made sure to give our best and to come back like that - six games in a row - takes a lot of heart."