IPL 2019 | Win against SRH, a good way to end our home season, says Steven Smith
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Steven Smith lavished praise on his Rajasthan Royals teammates who recorded back-to-back wins in the ongoing IPL after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last home game on Saturday. Smith & Co. defeated SRH by seven wickets with five balls to spare at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium last night.
Rajasthan Royals jumped to the sixth spot on the IPL rankings table after having recorded back-to-back wins against Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last two outings of the tournament. Steven Smith & Co. were at it again when they did enough to seal a seven-wicket win against Kane Williamson-led SRH at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday.
It was their last match on home soil and skipper Steven Smith was ecstatic that his side could do well to improve their form in the latter half of the tournament. The former Australian captain added that it was good to end the home phase of the tournament on a positive note in front of the local fans.
"We need to continue winning and you never know. It was a good end to our home season, the boys pulled things back nicely. Playing together as a group and we're winning those key moments. We have been fortunate in the last few games," Smith said at the post-match conference yesterday.
The Royals have enjoyed an upturn in form ever since Smith took over as captain from Ajinkya Rahane allowing the latter to perform more freely with the bat at the top of the batting order. Rahane, along with IPL debutant Liam Livingstone, put up a stunning show in the second innings in which they scored 78 off 55 balls for the opening wicket, including picking up 60 runs off the first six powerplay overs.
Smith hailed the Englishman’s batting prowess as he added that he hopes to win the next match against Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore before he departs to Australia to prepare for this year’s World Cup.
"Liam Livingstone was magnificent as he played with freedom and got us off to a good start. Samson finished things off nicely.
"I have got one more to play in Bangalore, it'll be nice to finish on a winning note. Hopefully, the boys will play well in Bangalore as well," Smith added.
