Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson believes that the toss turned out to be the “game changer” during their 6-wicket win over Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in the Indian Premier League 2024. RR maintained their unbeaten run in the IPL with a comprehensive victory over the struggling Hardik Pandya-led MI. After Samson won the toss and put MI to bat in their first game of the season, Trent Boult’s exquisite opening spell left MI dangling after the powerplay. Yuzvendra Chahal swooped away the middle order, which forced the five-time champions to succumb to a total of 125/9.

After the game, Samson weighed on the importance of the toss in their clinical win and said, “I think the toss was the game changer. The wicket was too sticky to start off, and the experience of Boult and Burger helped us. He’s playing since 10-15 years, and that is what we expected with the new ball. Didn’t expect 4-5 wickets to fall, but we knew our bowlers would do well.”

“We know we have big individuals in our team, but where we stand out is everyone recognises their role, does it and moves on. The likes of Ash and Chahal realised we had a good powerplay, and they kept it tight without really looking for wickets,” he added.

Some special praise was in store for Chahal, who ended the game with 3/11. The legbreak spinner picked up crucial wickets of Tilak Varma, MI skipper Hardik Pandya and Gerald Coetzee.

“I think he was really fired up for this IPL, and he’s been doing well for the past 2-3 years for us,’ Samson concluded.

Coming to the match, MI struggled to get going right from the beginning, as they barely reached 125/9. Pandya scored the highest for the MI with 34 off 21 deliveries, while Tilak Varma played a crucial knock of 32 runs in 29 balls.

In reply, Riyan Parag, riding high on his past performances, left MI bowlers at his mercy and finished off the game in style to seal a sic-wicket win for RR.

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