Mumbai: Even the presence of proven performers David Miller and Chris Morris was not assuring enough for Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson. The RR skipper thought the two destructive batsmen may not be able to win their IPL match against Delhi Capitals (DC) here Thursday. At the end of the game Sanju Samson was indeed a relieved man as his side eked out a three-wicket victory.
Chasing 148 for their first win of the season, the Royals were reeling at 42 for five. However, the South African duo pulled off a fantastic win. Miller hit 62 and then Morris produced a breathtaking 36 off 18 balls.
“To be very honest, I thought that it was tough from 40 for five. We had Miller and Morris, but I thought it was tough,” Samson said after the game. “It’s about reading the conditions. It was a little sticky at the start. Taking pace off is the strength of our fast bowlers and that worked out,” he added.
Morris said the Capitals batsmen did not handle the bounce well. However, he asserted that the bowlers in his team hit the right length.
“That happens every now and then in the game of cricket. I thought Delhi played really well. Dave (Miller) played a great hand and it went our way. I think the dew plays a part here. I think they hit the length a lot better than we did and they got a lot of guys skying with the extra bounce. But we would have taken a chase of 140-odd,” the South African said.
Morris said it was nice to know that his side can win from anywhere after being down in the dumps. “There are guys that get paid to bat and guys that get paid to slog, and I know which I am. That’s why I play so much golf,” Morris said. “I think the last game was close and we took a lot as a team. For us to get as close on the day, we took a lot out of that first game of ours,” said the man who is the costliest player in this edition of the IPL. RR have bought him for a whopping Rs 16.25 crore.
Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant said his side did a good job but ‘we let them get over us in the end’. He said dew also played a role in the result of the match.
“We could have bowled better. Dew got the better of us. I think we were 15-20 runs short. But there is something to gain from this match and that is the bowlers did well at the start. Hopefully in the future we can pull things off. In the second innings there was more dew than the first innings. So it affected the bowlers who were depending on the slower deliveries could not produce those when it mattered,” Pant said.