Rajasthan Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings in a closely-fought match by 16 runs on Tuesday. Sanju Samson was one of the star performers of the side as he smashed six all around the part en-route his 32-ball 74 run innings, while Jofra Archer slammed a blistering 8-ball 27 run knock during the ending stages of the game.
The match saw 33 sixes, which include CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni slamming three in a row in the final over of the match. However, the CSK had already lost the match when Dhoni hit the sixes.
Reacting to the win over CSK in their opening game of the match, RR captain Steve Smith heaped praise on Archer and Samson, adding that all he needed to do was give the strike to the Indian youngster when he batted alongside him.
"I think the last surge from Jofra was an incredible bit of hitting. Sanju Samson, looked like everything he hit went for six. MS (Dhoni) smacked a few in the end, and Faf (du Plessis) got going too, but nice to get a W in front of the RRs," Smith said in the post-match presentation.
"Sanju was incredible, and all I had to do was give him the strike. This should give him a lot of confidence. Jos is a quality player and we'll see what happens when he comes back. Hard to take the opening slot away from someone like him."
He also talked about the length the bowlers should be opting for, on grounds like Sharjah which are relatively smaller than the rest.
"It was important for the bowlers to avoid straight hits, and it was important to make him hit the back of a length. The leg-spinners were very good with their lengths - good on them. Shreyas Gopal does what he does pretty well. Dubai is a lot bigger, and I haven't trained there, I just got here. So hopefully the boys are ready for it. Looking forward to it," said Smith.
