In the 61st match of the 17th edition of the IPL, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium by five wickets. RR coach Kumar Sangakkara expressed his disappointment with his team's batting lineup for not showing enough intent in the match played on Sunday, May 12. He pointed out that the batting lineup didn't perform well in the middle overs.
Rajasthan lost their momentum after losing their openers, and the batters consequently suffered from the drought of boundaries in the middle overs. According to Sangakkara, 170-180 could've been the par score on the surface. However, he applauded the CSK bowlers for their performance.
"We expected the pitch to be slow, and it did exactly that. I thought Chennai bowled really well. In terms of our batting, we lacked a lot of intent through that middle phase. Even in the first few balls that could have been put away, we lost momentum with all those dot balls," Sangakarra quoted in the post-match press conference. “We lost momentum with all those dot balls. We did not have the intent to hit the gaps and run hard. I know it was quite hot for the players, but Chennai bowled well, and we were 25–30 runs short. This was a 170-180 wicket, but we were too short,” Sangakkara added.
As for the match, after opting to bat, the Royals managed to score 141 runs for the loss of five wickets in their 20 overs which they couldn't defend. This is the third consecutive defeat for Rajasthan, and they are yet to secure their place in the playoffs. The Pink Army started this season by dominating the points table, but as of now, they are at the 2nd place even as KKR have sealed their position in the top two. Out of the two games remaining, RR needs one more victory to secure its spot in the playoffs. In the upcoming match, they have to face the Punjab Kings at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on May 15 (Wednesday).
