Ahmedabad

Following the three-wicket win over Gujarat Titans (GT) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match, Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson lauded Shimron Hetmyer for his match-winning fifty, saying that the batter does not like easy situations and he is put into tough situations because of his abilities to win matches for his side.

Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer's explosive knocks allowed RR to make a terrific comeback and win the game against GT at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. "When you play quality opponents on a quality wicket, you get such games. Very happy to compete in such a game and come out on top. It was important to rotate our bowlers, they were playing some quality cricket and we had to respect that. The whole team came up well today and we could restrict them to around 170. The start we had, shows how good a wicket this was. The new ball the quality of swing bowling was good and we had to respect that. But today Adam Zampa coming was a way to match up with the opponents. He was the match-up for David Miller and almost got the wicket, but the catch was dropped. (On Hetmyer) He does not like easy situations, we like putting him in such situations because he usually wins us games from such situations," said Samson in a post-match presentation.

Put to bat first by RR, GT posted 177/7 in their 20 overs. After the fall of Wriddhiman Saha (4) and Sai Sudharshan (20), GT was reduced to 32/2. A 59-run stand for the third wicket between Shubman Gill (45 off 34 balls with four boundaries and a six) and skipper Hardik Pandya (28 off 19 balls with three fours and a six) helped GT find their way back into the game.

Later, knocks from David Miller (46 in 30 balls, with three fours and two sixes) and Abhinav Manohar (27 in 13 balls with three sixes) helped GT reach a competitive total. The duo put on 45 run stand for the fifth wicket. Sandeep Sharma was the pick of the bowlers for RR, taking 2/25 in his four overs. Trent Boult, Adam Zampa and Yuzvendra Chahal got a wicket each. In the case of 178, RR did not have a good start and at one point they were reduced to 55/4 in 10.3 overs after Yashaswi Jaiswal (1), Jos Buttler (0), Devdutt Paddikal (26) and Riyan Parag (5) were dismissed quickly.

The duo of Sanju Samson (60 in 32 balls with three fours and six sixes) and Shimron Hetymer helped RR get back in the game with a 59-run stand for the fifth wicket. Small cameos came from Dhruv Jurel (18) and Ravichandran Ashwin (10). Hetmyer scored an unbeaten 56 in 26 balls with two fours and five sixes to seal a three-wicket win with four balls to go. Mohammed Shami (3/25) was impressed with the ball for GT. Rashid Khan also took 2/46 in four overs.

Hardik Pandya and Noor Ahmed got a wicket each. Shimron clinched the 'Player of the Match title for his explosive fifty. With this win, RR is at the top of the table with four wins and a loss in five games. They have a total of eight points. GT is in the third position with three wins and two losses in five matches.

They have a total of six points. Brief Scores- Rajasthan Royals: 179/7 in 19.2 overs (Sanju Samson 60(32), Shimron Hetmyer 56(26)* and Mohammed Shami 3/25) win against Gujarat Titans: 177/7 (David Miller 46, Shubman Gill 45; Sandeep Sharma 2-25).