Veteran RR spinner R Ashwin applauded Riyan Parag’s important knock in Rajasthan Royals’ four-wicket win over RCB while adding that Riyan has missed opportunities to seal the deal effectively in IPL 2024. In a tense chase of 173, Riyan Parag scored 34 runs off 22 balls and received strong support from Shimron Hetmyer, who scored 26 runs in 14 balls, and Rovman Powell, who added 16 runs in 8 balls as well.
“My expectation out of Riyan Parag is really high. And I would say he’s actually missed out on closing games down. And that’s something that I always tell Riyan and Yashasvi. Because I think they are top class players and you’re just seeing their silver lining, you’re not seeing entire diet. That’s why I’m very excited for this group of players,” Ashwin said while speaking to JioCinema.
R Ashwin also applauded Sanju Samson’s performance in IPL 2024, sharing his impressive strike rate of 165.
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“With Sanju, if you ask them honestly, he would have been playing a little selfish, but he’s striking at 165 and that’s exactly what we need from Sanju Samson this year and, so happy for him. I’m very glad that he’s made it to the Indian World Cup side as well. Uh, it’s a great group to be around,” R Ashwin added.
Meanwhile, RR captain Sanju Samson has shared that Rajasthan players have battled illness to defeat a strong RCB in the IPL 2024 Eliminator. Samson on Wednesday said ‘a few of us are not 100 percent’ fit but showed confidence that they have got the momentum back with the four-wicket win over RCB in the IPL eliminator.
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“Yeah, as I said at the toss, what cricket and life has taught us is that we will have great phase and lean phase. But what’s important is to bounce back. Coming to the knockouts, we had lost many games. We were questioning ourselves but happy to see everyone perform today. All the credit goes to the players. We have spend plenty of time watching the opposition’s batters and what to bowl and set the field. Credit to Sanga and Shane Bond as well. They have spent plenty of time sitting in the hotel rooms and discussing the plans,” Sanju Samson said after the match.
“If you look at our batting unit, it’s a mixture of a lot of youngsters and some experienced batters. Yashasvi is 22, Riyan is 22, Dhruv is 22. They don’t have much experience but to see them perform this way is amazing. I’m not 100% actually. I guess we have a bug in our team. Lots of coughs and many are unwell. Very much looking forward. We have got the winning momentum now. We have one traveling day and one practice session and then the game. It will be about keeping everyone fresh before the game,” Sanju Samson concluded.
