The 13th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 was played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals on 5 April 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Rajasthan had kept their grip on the match for a long time, but in the last moments Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed turned the tide and handed Bangalore a win. After the match, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri were not happy with Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson’s strategy in a crisis situation. Gavaskar criticized Samson’s field placement when Dinesh Karthik was facing the famous Krishna in the 19th over. At the same time, Ravi Shastri also did not agree with Sanju’s decision to give 15th over to Navdeep Saini.
Shastri also advised Sanju to follow the path of Virat Kohli. He says that Sanju Samson cannot commit the same mistakes even after 10 years. Ravi Shastri told ESPN Cricinfo, ‘I see him calm this season. They have matured a lot. I just have a feeling that he could do well this year. I think he will score more runs this season.
Shastri said, ‘You can’t make the same mistake after 10 years and get out for 20-25 runs. This is where Virat Kohli is much more mature, disciplined and in control. This is the reason why he has also been successful in scoring big scores. If Sanju incorporates this in his game, then he too can dominate the opposition team.
Let us tell you that RCB, chasing the target, needed runs at the rate of 12 runs per over in the last 7 overs. He had only 5 wickets left in his account. Dinesh Karthik had just come in and Shahbaz Ahmed was not even set. However, the game changed completely in the 14th over of the match as Karthik scored 21 runs from Ashwin’s over. Despite this, RCB needed 61 runs in the last 6 overs. Samson then handed the ball to inexperienced Navdeep Saini in place of Yuzvendra Chahal for the 15th over. Saini’s over also proved to be very expensive.
Ravi Shastri said, ‘Ashwin helped Karthik (with that noball) because you give momentum to the batsman who has just come to the crease. He got a free hit. If not, he would think twice about playing that shot or not. But once you get a free hit, you go to hit boundaries.
Ravi Shastri Said, ‘When 21 runs are scored in an over, then what does the fielding side do. He will have to go for an experienced bowler immediately in the next over. I think that over should have been done by Chahal. Yes it was a mistake. You went with someone inexperienced as Saini. Overall, Saini was the most inexperienced. 17 runs were scored in that over. You were throwing up and gathering dust.
Sunil Gavaskar, on the other hand, was surprised that Sanju Samson did not put any experienced fielders in the deep square leg or deep mid-wicket area when the famous Krishna came to bowl against Karthik, while Karthik is stronger there.
Gavaskar Said on Star Sports, ‘Xu Samson is accountable. Questions should be asked. He brought in the man who was at deep mid-wicket. Knowing that going to the off-stump and hitting the ball there is Dinesh Karthik’s strength. The ball did not come in the middle of the bat, but if you swing the bat fast, then even with the edge, the ball goes out of the boundary line. This is not a good captaincy.