Rajasthan Royals were handed their fourth defeat in the ongoing thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) as in-form Delhi Capitals thumped the Steve Smith-led side by 46-run margin at the Sharjah Cricket Ground on Friday (October 9).
After the massive loss against DC, RR skipper Steve Smith opened up about his team’s downslide in the IPL 2020 after getting their campaign off to a good start by pulling off some herculean chases at Sharjah.
Smith also gave his insight on whether star English all-rounder Ben Stokes will be available for the team’s upcoming clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad
In the post match presentation, RR skipper Steve Smith admitted that his team were not playing well under pressure situations and were not executing their plans all through the 40-overs. He also felt that his batting was a cause of concern and he was not faring too well with the willow for his team.
“We are not playing good enough over the 40 overs, and not executing when the pressure is coming on and you can’t win many games that way. The bowlers did a good job, and I don’t think the wicket was as good as it has been here, a bit stoppy tonight, and we gave away 10-15 extra runs.
“We have to remain positive, turn things around quickly. At the moment it doesn’t seem to be going our way. I’m not batting too well either. I did feel good tonight with the bat but didn’t get hold of one that I feel like I should have,” Smith said.
Smith who along with power hitter Sanju Samson lit up the tournament with their breathtaking ball striking in RR’s two resounding wins at Sharjah has looked rather out of sorts in his last four innings.
The RR batting mainstay who happens to be his team’s second highest run getter with 157 runs in six IPL 2020 matches at a strike rate of 142.72, would be looking to play make more meaningful contributions for RR as the tournament gets into the business end.
A major doing the rounds in the IPL circles is the availability of Rajasthan Royals star all-rounder Ben Stokes. The frontline English seam all-rounder comes out of the mandatory quarantine period today but has been short of practice as he joined the camp later after flying down to the UAE from New Zealand, a few days ago.
While, Ben Stokes can be picked up for RR’s upcoming game against SRH, skipper Smith felt that his fitness level will have to accessed before taking a final call.
“[Ben] Stokes hasn’t had a lot of practice, he gets out of quarantine tomorrow. He hasn’t had any practice. So, we will need to have a chat around that,” Smith added.
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