'We're going through some failures': Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson after fourth straight defeat

Rajasthan Royals succumbed to their fourth straight defeat in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Wednesday, going down to Punjab Kings by five wickets . RR captain Sanju Samson admitted his team is “going through failures” that need to be fixed before they play their playoff fixture.

Royals were the early pacesetters in IPL 2024 by winning eight of their first nine matches. But the momentum seems to have been lost with four consecutive defeats, including to an already eliminated PBKS on Wednesday. After the defeat against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday, Samson had insisted that they were still playing “decent cricket” and “following the process”. Following the loss to PBKS, he was more blunt in his assessment.

“To be honest, we have to sit back and accept that we’re going through some failures,” Samson said. “When you lose four in a row, you have to find out what’s not working well in the team. When you are getting to the business end of the season, you need someone to raise their finger up and say, ‘I am going to win the game for the team’.

“Yes, this is a team sport, but we have a lot of match-winners in the side, and we need individuals to step up. So it’s about having the right characters who can play with passion, and singlehandedly win the game for us. If all of us try that, and even a couple [of players] manage to step up, it would make a difference. We need those characters who can carry us.”

Playing their first ‘home’ game in Guwahati this season, RR chose to bat on a slow surface that “wasn’t very high-scoring,” according to Samson. They mustered only 144/9, which Samson said was at least 20-30 runs fewer than they would have liked.

“We were expecting a better wicket, if I’m being honest. I don’t think it’s a 140 wicket, but maybe 160 or 170 with the power and batting we have.

“We’re not used to playing in these kind of wickets in this season when teams have been scoring 200 or 220. We had to play smart cricket and focus on the basics and build momentum, trying to get boundaries here and there.”

RR had struggled while batting first on a slow pitch in Chennai as well, where they were restricted to 141/5 after winning the toss and choosing to bat.

Rajasthan Royals booked their place in the IPL playoffs after Lucknow Super Giants lost to Delhi Capitals on Tuesday - a development that came as a “relief” to Samson. Defeat versus PBKS could see Rajasthan finish outside the top-two with both Sunrisers Hyderabad and CSK in contention.

Royals’ last league game of the season is against table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders in Guwahati on Sunday.