Rajasthan Royals skipper Steve Smith praised teammate Sanju Samson’s striking ability and Rahul Tewatia’s heroics in the record chase of 224 against Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.
For the second game in a row in Sharjah, Samson starred with the bat by hitting a 42-ball 85, which included seven sixes. Smith said, “Sanju is striking the ball cleanly all over the ground. [He is] Taking pressure off everyone. We will have to adapt to the bigger grounds, but these shots would clear everywhere.
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Rahul Tewatia slams Cottrell for five sixes in an over to script remarkable Rajasthan win
Tewatia, who at one stage was struggling to connect bat on ball, turned it around in the 18th over by smashing five sixes off Sheldon Cottrell.
On Tewatia, Smith said, “What we have seen from Tewatia in the nets is what we saw in that Cottrell over. I told someone as long as he gets one, the floodgates will open. He showed heart. He told me during the timeout we still believe [in getting over the line].”
Smith justified his decision to bowl first. He said, “Generally it gets wetter so I thought we were in with a chance at the halfway mark. A lot of sixes hit here. We gave ourselves the chance. Yeah good to get over the line. The bowlers did a great job to pull it back. It looked like we would be chasing 250.”
