When you lose four in a row, you have to find out what's not working well: Samson

Following their fourth successive defeat, Rajasthan Royals' skipper Sanju Samson said his team is "going through failures" and that players will have to step up going into the playoffs of the Indian Premier League 2024. RR won eight of their first nine encounters but have lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings, and Punjab Kings in their four recent matches.

Against Punjab on May 15 (Wednesday), the Royals could only manage 144/9 in their 20 overs in Guwahati. They did put up some fight in the second innings but couldn’t stop PBKS from hunting down the target in 18.5 overs. RR have already qualified for the playoffs but these four defeats have left their No.2 spot in jeopardy.

"To be honest, we have to sit back and accept that we're going through some failures. 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,'” Samson said in the post-match interview.

"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."

Talking about the Guwahati surface, Samson said, “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."

Rajasthan’s last league game is against table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders on May 19. If they lose that one, one of Chennai or Hyderabad will take the No.2 spot. Even if they win, SRH can still get to No.2 by winning both their games. Their NRR is superior to Rajasthan’s. 

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