'That's a Great Question... I Don't Know...' - Samson's Frustration Evident After Defeat to SRH

Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson opened on Sandeep Sharma’s no-ball incident during the Sunrisers Hyderabad clash on Sunday at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. It was a thriller contest a no-ball on the sixth delivery of the final over changed the script of the game in Hyderabad’s favour. Abdul Samad slammed the six on the free-hit delivery to outclass Rajasthan Royals in a nail-biting thriller.

It was the third defeat in a row for the Royals as they have started losing way in the tight playoffs race.

IPL 2023: Sunrisers Hyderabad Clinch Thriller as Sandeep Sharma No-ball Costs Rajasthan Royals

Samson was disappointed with the result but admitted that in a tournament like IPL, you can never feel you won until it’s over.

“This is what IPL gives you, matches like these make the IPL special. You can never, never, never feel like you have won the game,” Samson said after the match.

The RR skipper said he chose Sandeep to bowl the final over as he executed plans well against Chennai Super Kings earlier in the tournament and won the match for the side but the no-ball ruined the result for them on Saturday.

“I knew any opponent could win it and they were batting well too, but I was confident with Sandeep (defending the final over). He has won us a game in a similar situation (against CSK). He did it again today but that no-ball ruined our result,” he added.

Talking about the no-ball, Samson further said that maybe Sandeep’s mindset changed after bowling a no-ball as everyone was celebrating before the umpire’s decision.

“Nothing much, it’s a no ball, just have to bowl it again as simple as that, you don’t think about it too much. Sandeep knows what to do. Maybe there might be a small change in mindset for a few seconds when you feel that the job is done, and everyone is celebrating but I think that’s the nature of this game, you can’t step over the line at that point in time,” he said.

When asked if he was happy with the total posted by Rajasthan as they put up a collective effort in the first innings, Samson showed his disappointment for not winning the match despite posting 214/2.

WATCH: Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s Brilliant Yorker to Get Rid of Jos Buttler During RR vs SRH in IPL 2023

“But with the target we posted, you can only feel happy once you win the game right, not at all happy at the moment. (Asked if they should have scored more) That’s a great question… I don’t know,” he said.

He also suggested that the franchise now has to play the high standard cricket to make a case for themselves to reach the playoffs.

“To be honest life is never easy playing this format, especially this tournament. Each and every game we have to play our best standard of cricket. We will come back and try to do it again,” he concluded.

Get the latest Cricket News, IPL 2023 Live Score, Orange Cap and Purple Cap holder details here