A much-needed win: Sangakkara reflects on RR victory against KKR

Rajasthan Riyals finally shrugged off the losing trail as they defeated Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede on Saturday to ensure their second victory of the season so far. Speaking on the occasion of the six-wicket win, RR coach Kumara Sangakkara lauded the bowling and the fielding unit. 

“Yeah, it was a much-needed win,” Sanga said in a video uploaded by the official Twitter handle of the Rajasthan Royals. “I think the bowling and fielding had the highest intensity and most clinical execution of all the games in the entire tournament so far,” he added. 

The former Sri Lanka skipper was however sceptical of the batting performance but chose to overlook it in the face of a win. “Both batting sides KKR and RR looked a bit gun shy. For KKR it was during the powerplay and for us during the middle part of the innings and later in the day. But overall a win is a win,” the 43-year-old said. 

Saying that there are a lot of positives from this and a lot to build on, Sanga signed off with the team chant, “So well done to the team and Halla Bol.”

The Royals now move to Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi where they will face Mumbai Indians in their next clash on a double header’s day on April 29.

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Started 'hating cricket' after long bio-bubble in India: Dom Bess

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It is a responsibility for us to play with smiles on our faces : Chris Morris

The second wave of COVID-19 has wreaked havoc in India and the whole of India is reeling under its effect. More than 3 lakh cases are being reported each day and thousands of people are losing their lives. The Indian Premier League has brought a few smiles for the Indians amidst the pandemic. Rajasthan Royals all-rounder feels that more than winning and losing it is important to entertain the fans in these catastrophic times. He further added that the worsening situation in India has been discussed several times in the dressing room. He added that it is very difficult to comprehend what is happening. "As a team, we have been talking about it quite a lot over the last couple of days. We have seen how badly this pandemic has taken over the specific parts, if not all of India," Morris was quoted as saying during the post-match press conference after Rajasthan thrashed KKR in the 18th match of the tournament. "It is quite difficult to comprehend what is happening. It is a responsibility for us to play with smiles on our faces because we have a reason to smile and that we are healthy and get to play cricket. We hopefully get to keep people happy on the other side of the screen. Whether we winning or losing, it is an opportunity to keep people smiling, if that gives people a reason to smile, then we are doing well as a sport," he added. Both Royals and the Knight Riders came into the back on the back of three consecutive losses. It was important for either team to get back to winning ways and in the end, it was Rajasthan who turned their fortunes around and won their second game of the tournament. Having lost the previous game to RCB by 10 wickets, it wasn’t an easy thing for RR to pounce back after the drubbing. "It's very easy to go down the dark route of thinking you are not good enough when you get beaten by 10 wickets but sometimes you need to tip your hat off to the opposition," said Morris.

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Ashwin, Axar and Mishra playing together is a dream bowling attack: Mohammad Kaif

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