Rajasthan Royals’ head coach Kumar Sangakkara admitted they lacked a lot of intent through the middle phase after their five-wicket loss against Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Sunday. RR could only manage 141 runs on the board after Sanju Samson decided to bat first on a slow pitch.

RR openers – Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler – scored 42 runs in the Powerplay overs as they failed to change gears. From overs 7 to 15, RR managed only 52 runs at a run rate of 5.77 and lost three wickets. That’s where the momentum was lost as RR batters failed to hit boundaries at regular intervals. 

In the last five overs, RR scored 47 runs but the score of 141 was always going to be below-par.

“We expected the pitch to be slow, and it did exactly that. I thought Chennai bowled really well. In terms of our batting, we lacked a lot of intent through that middle phase. Even in the first few balls that could have been put away, we lost momentum with all those dot balls,” Sangakkara said in the post-match press conference.

Sangakkara admitted they were at least 25-30 runs short of a par score as they failed to achieve any kind of impetus in their batting innings.

“We did not have the intent to hit the gaps and run hard. I know it was quite hot for the players, but Chennai bowled well and we were 25-30 runs short. This was a 170-180 wicket, but we were too short,” Sangakkara added.

Riyan Parag top-scored with 47 runs for RR but the visitors were kept in control by the CSK bowlers. 

Rajasthan Royals will next take on Punjab Kings at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on Wednesday.