Kumar Sangakkara, Rajasthan Royals' Director of Cricket wants one of the top four batsmen to put on a big show in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 if his side aspires to get over the line in upcoming games. Devdutt Padikkal's unbeaten 101 and skipper Virat Kohli's 72 not out helped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) registered a thumping 10-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals here at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday evening.
"Today was a game of two halves. We struggled through that first 6-7 overs and the next 13 overs despite having lost wickets, we still managed to get a 176 (177), so you see the ability there is just need to build those partnerships and one of the top four they need to get a big score," Sangakkara said in a virtual press conference.
Rajasthan Royals lost wickets at regular intervals but Shivam Dube and Rahul Tewatia helped the side reach 177/9 after a poor start. "To bat smartly in that powerplay is quite important, to keep those partnerships going and one or two of the top four really making those big scores but today we didn't manage that. But I thought the lower order really fought well in the late middle order and that was quite impressive to see," said Sangakkara.
"I thought Shivam batted really well and showed a lot more intensity and awareness than in the other three games. You know, one of the things that he matches up well against is spin, and that's his real strength," he further said.
"And today he showed that he had that ability to really try and dominate the slow bowlers. He batted smartly I thought. Unfortunately, got out a little bit ahead of time. But by that time we were in quite a predicament after that powerplay," Sangakkara added. Rajasthan Royals will next lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday.
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