IPL 2021 | We need to start playing some fearless and positive cricket, insists Sanju Samson

Unlike other franchises, Rajasthan Royals were dealt with a massive blow, when they were reduced to just four foreign stars in the squad after a combination of factors led to their star players exiting the tournament. Despite that, the franchise has made excellent use of their resources in the tournament but against MI, all of it came flat on the ground. 

Despite getting themselves off to a flyer, the franchise suffered to close out the innings, with Shivam Dube’s innings coming costly for the franchise. While they made a valiant effort with the ball, lack of runs on board didn’t help them maintain the pressure. Sanju Samson asked his side to start playing some fearless and positive cricket in the coming weeks, in the post-match press conference. 

“We were 20-25 runs short, we need to play some fearless and positive cricket. It is a funny tournament, we have seen funny things in the past. We will keep on believing in our team and players. I think we know that we are going through a tough phase, with no Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone and Jofra Archer. But at the same time, I’m proud of my team, we are still being positive and we are still looking forward to the upcoming games.”

Samson also commented on the situation in the country, with the wicketkeeper-batsman adding that there is constant discussion in the dressing room over the COVID-19 situation in India. While he added that they are ‘privilleged’ to be playing cricket during such tough times, he only insists that his team could put on a good show to entertain some people. 

“Absolutely, I believe that it’s the least we can do from the financial part. We constantly discuss the happenings in the country, we are very privileged to be playing this game. We just need to play good cricket to make them entertained, we keep talking about that, the purpose of playing the game. The purpose is clear - we need to play good cricket - to bring a positive spirit in the country.”

It was the first game at the venue for both sides, with Rajasthan making a switch from Wankhede while Mumbai made their way from Chennai. Samson reckoned that the conditions in Delhi are low bounce and skid for the bowlers. But at the same time, he backed his team to be more aggressive in the upcoming encounters to give the bowlers a good total to defend. 

“Coming from Wankhede, the bounce is low here and there is skid for the bowlers. I also repeat the fact that they (MI) had good bowlers to do the job. But at the same time, we have enough talent in our team to score that 20-25 runs, which could have made a difference against them. I’m sure that we will back ourselves to hit those extra boundaries in the middle-order in Delhi.”