IPL 2021: 'Always believe in my bowlers,' says Sanju Samson after RR's 2-run win

Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson said he "always believes" in his bowlers and that paid off as his side defended four runs in the final over to beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by two runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 on Tuesday.

An overjoyed Samson revealed that he had kept Karthik Tyagi and Mustafizur Rahman for the last two overs and the move turned out to be fantastic. PBKS needed eight runs from the final two overs, which were bowled by Mustafizur and Tygai respectively.

While the Bangladesh pacer gave away just four runs, the 20-year-old Tyagi made two dismissals and leaked just one run in the final over to hand RR a memorable victory at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

"It's funny that we kept believing (that we could win). I kept the overs of Mustafizur and Tyagi for the end, believing. Cricket is a funny game right. We just kept fighting and believing. I always believe in my bowlers, want to keep fighting and that's why I kept those two overs till the end.

To be very honest, to get that score on this wicket, we felt good because we had the bowling. If we took the catches, we could have won the game earlier. People have really worked hard on their fitness," RR captain Samson said at the post-match presentation on Tuesday.

https://twitter.com/rajasthanroyals/status/1440384220904374273

PBKS were off to a great start in their chase of 186, courtesy of the 100-plus opening stand between KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. Despite their 121-run partnership, PBKS failed to complete the chase. This was the third time Rahul and Mayank's 100-plus stand had come in a defeat.

Punjab skipper Rahul admitted that even though his side has been in games likes this before, they have not learnt from their past mistakes.

"It's a tough one to swallow. We have been a team that has experienced games like these before. We need to see how we can handle pressure better. Trying to finish in the 18th over sometimes you go too hard and lose your way and let the opponents in. We haven't learnt from previous mistakes.

We will now try to come back stronger and win the next five games. We pulled things back quite nicely with the ball, kept taking wickets, which is very crucial in this format. Getting runs for me, Mayank and even Aiden in his first IPL game was important," said Rahul after PBKS's two-run loss to RR in Dubai.

The win on Tuesday saw RR climb to fifth place in the IPL 2021 table. After eight group matches, Samson's side has eight points, as many as reigning champions Mumbai Indians (MI) who are placed one spot above.

RR next face Delhi Capitals (DC) in Abu Dhabi on Saturday (Sept. 25), while Punjab take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Sharjah on the same day.