A commanding win for RR to kick off their campaign, and interestingly, all three matches so far have been won by teams chasing. What a statement innings that was from the youngster! Vaibhav Suryavanshi has announced himself in style — fearless, clean ball-striking and no half measures whatsoever. A stunning first outing of the season from the prodigy. Rajasthan Royals had already set things up brilliantly with the ball, and then made light work of the chase — registering their fastest run chase in IPL history.
Sanju Samson had a quiet outing against his former side, while Ravindra Jadeja stood out with an excellent bowling performance. Next up, we move to Mullanpur tomorrow where Punjab Kings take on Gujarat Titans — the first game of the season for both sides. For now, this is Pritam Dey signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Akshay Bhide, Ajay Pal Singh & AkshayaKrishna Polya who, along with scorers/analysts Manish Bishnoi & Paras Yadav and statistician Aman brought all the updates of this clash. Stay tuned for more cricketing action from around the world. BYE BYE👋
Nandre Burger (Player of the Match):"[How does it feel?] It feels good. Feels good to contribute to the team and get us off to a good start.
[Feeling while bowling in these conditions?] Honestly, great toss for us to bowl first. As you said, watching the games, preparing for it. It was great.
[What was the plan to Samson?] The plan is always to get every batter out. It comes down to natural variation. Ask them to hit where you want them to hit.
[Is the dressing room any different than before?] No. It's a pretty similar dressing room. Same coaching staff. Good to see smile on everyone's faces. Happy to get the tournament off to a positive start."
Player of the Match: Nandre Burger
Riyan Parag (Rajasthan Royals Captain): "I think I got lucky with the toss. I think the way we executed it was brilliant. We had a couple of days practice over here before CSK arrived. It was a red soil wicket but it rained a couple days, so we knew that the moisture was going to play a part. Everyone executed the plans very nicely.
(On being the full time captain now) I think this is better now. Lot of preparations and planning have gone behind the team. I know me being captain is a good part for me and I should be happy about it. I should thank the franchise for it but then the goal this year is to win the trophy. We have put in a lot of time planning and I have said this before in an interview as well. We want to be a team that plays smart cricket. We want to adapt to the conditions at the earliest and play good cricket. I think we did that really well today.
(On the bowlers) Yeah, I mean everyone who came in, Jof, Nandre were rapid. Sandy did a brilliant job too. Jaddu bhaiya bowled well too. I think Guwahati suited him more. Brijesh, the youngster I think him coming in first game against CSK with the packed crowd, what he did was insane.
(What do you tell to someone like Vaibhav?) Umm, what I tell him is that just play 14 games. Regardless of what goes on in the game, it shouldn't bother you. What goes around in the media shouldn't bother you. Just go out there and play your natural game. He loves to bat. I have told the coaches to allow him as much time as he wants to bat in the nets. Me and Dhruv were in awe when we were sitting there in the 4th over. How is he doing this? I am really happy to have him in my team.
(On the batting order) Yes, this is what we have been planning on. Dhruv will come in at 3 and Hettie will bat at 5. We need that Left-Right combination in the later half of the innings. Hopefully this sticks and we win a few games with this batting line-up."
Most Dot Balls in the Match: Jofra Archer (17 Dots)
Super Fours of the Match: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (4 Fours)
Super Sixes of the Match: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (5 Maximums)
Super Striker of the Match: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (SR 305.88)
10:52 PM IST, Local Time: Deep Dasgupta is ready with the post-match presentation...
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: "Nothing, just cut the cake but I slept early to avoid getting cake splashed on my face.
Nothing, it was just about taking advantage of the field restrictions. Initially, it was a sticky wicket but once the ball got older, it came well on the bat.
No, I do think about defense. But our plan tonight was to take things on in the powerplay. In short totals, it is important to win the powerplay.
No, they didn't say anything. They just said we are backing you. Just play your natural game, my practice was good and I had prepared well. The management asked me to back my natural game and that's what I did.
The secret is, he didn't tell me too much. He just backs me to keep going.