Samson: "We lost our way a bit in the death overs."

Samson: Bowlers Strayed from Death-Overs Plans in Costly Defeat

Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson didn’t hold back in his post-match assessment after his side’s 58-run loss to Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad, highlighting poor execution and deviation from pre-set plans during the death overs as key reasons behind the defeat.

Despite a promising start with Jofra Archer removing Shubman Gill early and generating plenty of bounce and movement, RR allowed GT to surge in the final stages of the innings. 72 runs were conceded in the last five overs, as Gujarat leapt from 145 for 2 to 217 for 6, a total that ultimately proved out of reach for RR’s batters. Extras also hurt, with 17 runs given away in wides.

“There was definitely some purchase in the wicket,” Samson said during the post-match presentation. “Having someone like Jofra to open the bowling, the way he dismissed Shubman Gill and how we started in the powerplay — that was exactly what we planned.”

However, Samson was visibly disappointed with how things unraveled in the latter half.
“We just went off the plan in the death overs. We had prepared something else, but the bowlers ended up executing something different,” he said. “It’s something we’ll review in the next team meeting. Hopefully, we’ll bounce back and execute more accurately.”

Samson also acknowledged GT's strong batting but pointed to specific moments that swung the momentum. “They batted really well, but I think we gave away 15 to 20 extra runs. A couple of sixes could’ve been avoided with better execution.”

While Maheesh Theekshana managed to dismiss M Shahrukh Khan in the 16th over, it came at the cost of 18 runs. Sandeep Sharma’s 17th over went for 13, followed by 11 runs off Archer’s 18th, and then another 14 off Tushar Deshpande in the 19th. Sandeep’s final over leaked 16, with Rahul Tewatia punishing anything even slightly off-target.

RR’s spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule echoed Samson’s sentiments during the post-match press conference, calling it a batting-friendly surface where they had hoped to restrict GT to a total between 180 and 200.

“Yes, we could’ve given away about 20 fewer runs, but Gujarat batted really well,” Bahutule said. “Sai Sudharsan came out strongly after the powerplay, and their partnerships were far better than ours. That’s what created the difference.”

On the execution from the bowlers, he added: “T20 is such a format where execution doesn’t always go as planned. The bowlers had their plans, but unfortunately the execution didn’t quite come off. We ended up bowling wides, which hurt us, but overall the unit tried its best on a pitch loaded with runs.”

Rajasthan came into this game riding back-to-back wins over Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) — both achieved while defending totals. But this time, Samson chose to bowl first, and despite the result, he stood by the decision.

“When you lose games, you do wonder whether we should’ve chased or tried something else,” he said. “But we expected this to be a good wicket for chasing, and it was. We want to be a team that adapts to the conditions, not one that only wins while defending totals. We’re looking to improve our chasing record too.”

With a mixed bag of performances so far this season, RR will need to recalibrate quickly, especially with tighter contests and playoff battles looming. The focus, as Samson pointed out, will now shift to refining execution under pressure and ensuring plans are followed more closely — particularly in the high-stakes final overs.

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