IPL 2021 | Can only hope that individual performances are converted into match-winning ones, insists Sanju Samson

Rajasthan Royals began the tournament, on the wrong side of things, with a loss against Punjab Kings in a high-scoring thriller at the Wankhede stadium. Despite the loss, Sanju Samson has at every point in the season insisted that the team is improving. While their only win thus far in the tournament came against Delhi, which went down to the wire before Chris Morris sealed the deal for the franchise.

While criticism has surrounded Rajasthan’s several stars, including Samson himself, the RR skipper maintained that he can only hope the individual performances now get converted into match-winning ones. From a personal point of view, Samson admitted that he felt his rhythm returning in the clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore. 

“Speaking of which, I felt the rhythm return to my batting against RCB after two off games. I thought I was playing every ball the way it was meant to be played, and the flow was great all the way until the ball I got out,” Samson wrote on his column for Hindustan Times. 

“The positive way to look at that is, yes, we are all finding our touch as individuals. Now I can only hope that these individual performances are soon converted into match-winning performances. Until then, rest assured that we are keeping the faith,” he added.

After injuries to Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes, Rajasthan Royals suffered another blow when English international Liam Livingstone chose to go back home, owing to the bubble fatigue. Samson reaffirmed that he completely understood Livingstone’s decision, adding that the exits have affected them and left them miles away from being full-strength. However, Samson added that it has given others opportunities to showcase their talent. 

“The bubble fatigue is bad enough for everyone. But it is even worse if you aren’t playing matches. So I completely understand where Liam (Livingstone) came from. The management was very understanding about what he wanted and we proceeded exactly as per his wishes. Sure, the exits and injuries have left us far from full-strength; but we have enough great talent–Indian and international–in our ranks, so I’m far from complaining,” he insisted.

Having trusted the Mumbai all-rounder Shivam Dube for the first three games of the season, there were calls for the franchise to drop the all-rounder, who hadn’t quite hit the mark in the tournament. However, in the clash against his former side, Dube scored a 32-ball 46, a knock where he looked so comfortable in comparison to the others in the setup. 

“Just look at what Shivam Dube did against RCB after we were four down for 70. Shivam didn’t have the best of starts in the IPL, but we knew it was just a matter of one game to turn things around at a personal level,” he added.