Dubai: Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Friday succumbed to their fourth consecutive defeat with a 46-run loss to the dominant Delhi Capitals (DC) here.
After the match, Rajasthan captain Steve Smith said that while the bowlers did a good job to restrict DC to 184/8, which is the first time a team scored less than 200 batting first in Sharjah in this IPL, the team is underperforming in pressure situations.
We are not playing good enough over the 40 overs, and not executing when the pressure is coming on and you can’t win many games that way, Smith said.
The bowlers did a good job, and I don’t think the wicket was as good as it has been here, a bit stoppy tonight, and we gave away 10-15 extra runs. We have to remain positive, and turn things around quickly, he added.
The run of defeats has also coincided with a downturn in form for Smith and Sanju Samson. On Friday, Smith scored 24, which was the first time in four games that he crossed over into double digits. Samson, meanwhile, scored 5, which follows up on scores of 8, 4 and 0 in the last three matches.
At the moment it doesn’t seem to be going our way. I’m not batting too well either. I did feel good tonight with the bat but didn’t get hold of one that I feel I should have, he said.
All-rounder Ben Stokes joins the team after completing his mandatory quarantine on Saturday. Stokes hasn’t had a lot of practice, he gets out of quarantine tomorrow, so we’ll see if he plays the day after tomorrow, said Smith.
Meanwhile Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Shreyas Iyer hailed his team mates for their performance after they recorded a 46-run win over Rajasthan Royals (RR). This was DC’s third consecutive win in the IPL and it came despite the fact that they scored the lowest ever score by a team batting first this season in Sharjah.
I’m really happy with the way we came out in the second innings. We thought it was an under par score but the ball was stopping on the wicket and the bowlers executed their plans really well, said Shreyas in the post-match presentation ceremony.
The surface did surprise us, we were also going to bowl first with the dew factor. Thankfully it went in our favour.
I am enjoying captaincy because the players make it really easy, especially the bowlers. They switch in really fast, know their plans and the way they execute it in pressure situations is commendable, even the way the support staff is managing the team meetings, he said.
I think the mixture in our team is really good and we have worked on our combinations. The boys have shared their thoughts pre-tour and their strengths and weaknesses, everyone is good in taking responsibility. If one player goes down someone will pick him up. I am happy with how we are progressing and hoping to maintain the momentum. We can’t take anything lightly and need to come with our plans, execute them well.
Ravichandran Ashwin was player of the match for his figures of 2/22 in four overs. ‘I am in a very good space mentally and physically and it really shows. Really enjoying myself in both those spaces. I just need to take it out to practice once the planning is done and then go out and express myself, he said.