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A nice gesture from Samson to end the game. We won't bore you anymore with our bak bak. It's Rudransh and Pratyush signing off, feel free to click here and switch to the GT-MI game which is also shaping up to be a cracker!
Sanju Samson is the Player of the Match! Here's what he has to say: Absolutely, great fun to spend time in the middle. When you win, it becomes special. I have been given a different role this time because of the different team combinations. Sanga has given me some suggestions to follow. I have been playing for 10 years so there has to be some kind of experience. I need to spend some time and assess the conditions. (That shot against Mohsin) It's about understanding your strengths and weakness. I am a batsman who likes to react to the ball. (On Sandeep Sharma) I should give this trophy to him. Without him, I wouldn't have been here. thought I'd call him but thoda zyada hojayega (It would be a bit too much!). Ash spoke about how it's not about the skill but the fight and you need to look into his eyes to see that.
Time for the presentation ceremony!
Ravichandran Ashwin: It was a wicket of two halves. It was a bit tacky in the first half. It's tough to pick this surface. We felt like the wicket was a good one. We thought we were 10 runs short at the start of the second innings. It's a good wicket, it doesn't tend to break too much because of the clay. I went for the 12 in the first ball that I bowled. I bowl in different stages of the game, so it requires a different mindset. Mentally and physically, I'm in a really good space and I want to enjoy what I do. (Bowling in different phases under pressure) I went for 15 in the first over, that was in the powerplay. That's what I do many times. The moment that phase is done, I tend to shed it away. It's about staying in the game and coming prepared against the batters. It comes with a lot of repetitions but most importantly, it's about coming prepared coming against each batter, for example today, coming up against Pooran and Stoinis at the backend. (Sandeep) The game sometimes is built by perceptions. When you look at Sandy, he's probably the best bowler in the powerplay. He's been an unsung hero, always doing the dirty job that might not look pretty in the figures. For me, Sandy is a character. It's not only about the skill they have, it's also about the fight they have. Especially in a T20 game, it's about the fight you can bring as a bowler. The two bouncers allowed to be used are something the bowlers can use. Boulty and Nandre will get more of a taste of this tournament and this surface as it goes on.
KL Rahul: (Bowling) I don't think it was a lot. It was probably 10 runs over par. We bowled well in patches, and made a few mistakes which can happen early in the tournament. We have to try and learn from them. Pleased to see that Mohsin, he was our powerplay bowler in the first season and we missed him last season. Good to see him back. Naveen has been crucial for us since he came into the team, he does the job well. I don't think any franchise has cracked the powerplay bowling code yet. Nice to see we're doing well in that regard and we'll continue to learn from our mistakes. (Batting performance) With three-for-nothing, we ended up staying in the game and gave ourselves a chance. It speaks highly of our group and the talent we have. It's the first game, we're bound to make mistakes but we'll try to build from here. It'll give us more confidence, coming back the way we did. To chase totals like 190-200, you need good starts. We did well to stay in the game. He's got a lot of calmness to the group and it's been a joy having him around. All of us have seen him coach Australia to a few famous victories and we're happy to have him. (His own performance) When you get runs, it always feels good. It's important for us to end up on the winning side, that gives you more satisfaction. Missing last season was disappointing, I've put that behind me. Now, I'm hoping to lead this team to an IPL title.
This is a clear, massive win for RR's shrewd tactics, risk-taking appetite and the cohesion of the team. That's exactly what a really good crowd in Jaipur deserved. They haven't had a lot of good memories of this side at home but would have certainly enjoyed what they saw today.
This innings started with Trent Boult affecting a couple of early blows by getting Quinton de Kock with the worst wicket-taking ball in his career and then making Padikkal's life hell on his LSG debut. Nandre Burger then struck soon after to get a promoted Badoni out. Deepak Hooda tried to counter-attack but Yuzvendra Chahal caught him out, which pushed Pooran and Rahul to stop all the risks.
The pressure built for around 20 balls where both Rahul and Pooran batted at a sub-100 strike rate until the LSG captain decided to take on Burger. 17, 9 and 20-run overs back-to-back helped the visitors comeback. The 20-run one was against Boult as Pooran brought out his beast mode to take on the short-balls.
Then RR got out their ace weapon - Sandeep Sharma bowled for the first time straight in the death overs and what a spell did he bowl! Got the wicket of Rahul and put Pooran on a leash which absolutely strangulated LSG. Samson's smart use of Ashwin and then keeping Avesh for the last over turned out to be perfect!
20
overs
173/6score
2wd
0
0
1
1
1
1
runs
Krunal Pandya*
3(5)
Nicholas Pooran
64(41)
Avesh Khan
0/21
19.6 Avesh Khan to Krunal Pandya, Royals start their campaign with a win! At a back of a length slower one outside off. Krunal cuts it to deep point and takes the single. Rajasthan Royals win by 20 runs.
19.5 Avesh Khan to Nicholas Pooran, back of a length outside off. Pooran attempts the reverse ramp and gets some bat on it for a single at third man
19.4 Avesh Khan to Krunal Pandya, back of a good length angled across the left-hander. Krunal chops it into the off-side and gets a single
19.3 Avesh Khan to Nicholas Pooran, another attempted yorker is a low full toss. Pooran can't get underneath it and flicks it to deep mid-wicket
Some fans are already celebrating, they deserve it too!
19.2 Avesh Khan to Nicholas Pooran, pinpoint yorker if there was one! That was simply unplayable. In the block hole outside off, Pooran couldn't even get bat on ball
19.1 Avesh Khan to Nicholas Pooran, it was a full toss wide outside the off-stump, Pooran missed out on that one and he knows it. Dot ball.
That's as bad as it gets for RR! Change of strike without a ball being bowled!
19.1 Avesh Khan to Krunal Pandya, wide. Starts off with a wide and and Samson can't quite collect it cleanly, which allows a single before the fielder at short third cut it off
Avesh Khan [2-0-15-0] to bowl the last
27 needed off the last 6 balls - surely you can't mess this up RR? Pooran is not even on strike either. Sandeep mania has been extraordinarily good for RR today. Conceding just 11 runs at this stage is massive.
19
overs
167/6score
1wd
1
1lb
4
0
0
4
runs
Nicholas Pooran*
62(37)
Krunal Pandya
1(3)
Sandeep Sharma
1/22
18.6 Sandeep Sharma to Nicholas Pooran, FOUR! Attempting a wide yorker but Pooran was a step ahead. Staying deep in his crease to slice this behind point to find the boundary. The good thing from RR's point of view is that he won't be on strike at the start of the next over.
18.5 Sandeep Sharma to Nicholas Pooran, another slower bouncer and Pooran swung his bat at it with all his might. Only connecting with fresh air though, no run
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M Stoinis
J Buttler
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Krunal Pandya
*
Avesh Khan
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
