Rajasthan Royals (RR) worked hard to secure an important win over the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 match in Mumbai on Monday (April 19). During the post-match press conference, RR skipper Sanju Samson heaped praise on his team, especially Ravichandran Ashwin, who dismissed the dangerous Andre Russell and IPL debutant Obed McCoy, who bowled the final over and ensured that the game did not slip from the Royals' grasp.
"We are lucky to have great players. Special mention to Ashwin for his delivery to Russell. And McCoy is an interesting guy. He doesn't talk much but seems to be in control over his bowling skills," Samson said after the match.
The match was a close-knit affair. After setting a mighty target of 218 courtesy of Jos Buttler's century (his second of the season) and some pinch-hitting in the final over by Shimron Hetmyer, the KKR batters gave the RR bowlers a taste of their own medicine. However, Chahal's hat-trick in the 17th over sealed the win for the inaugural IPL champions.
"It got tensed. The quality of the players made it very interesting. Very happy for the win. There are some things that need to be used at the right time. You need to be smart enough to slow it down," Samson explained.
Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch scored a 28-ball 58, while KKR captain Shreyas Iyer hit 85 runs off 51 balls to make the run chase an interesting affair. Samson also lauded the KKR team for their efforts, "I respect KKR as a unit. We never thought we were in the game. I think I don't need to talk much about individuals."
RR moved up the table to second after their victory over KKR, courtesy of having a better net run rate than Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on the points table. Meanwhile, KKR remain stuck on sixth after their loss.
