Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Steve Smith on Thursday, 22 October, admitted that he made a mistake by not giving fast bowler Jofra Archer a third over at the start of the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) innings – a move that might have cost RR the IPL match.
"I consulted a few other boys, it was talked about (giving Archer another over up front) but opted against it and in hindsight, after what happened, probably would've given him one more over. It was on my mind," said Smith after the match at the Dubai International Stadium.
Archer dismissed SRH openers David Warner and Jonny Bairstow in a fiery opening spell but Smith gave him his third only in the 12th over, by which time Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar had steadied the ship for SRH. Shankar hit three consecutive fours off Archer's fourth over thus all but ending any chances that RR had in the game.
"We started well. Jofra taking two big wickets early but we couldn't keep the foot on the pedal. Vijay played smart innings and Manish took the game on and played really nicely," said Smith.
The defeat puts RR second to bottom with their net run rate below the two other teams above them – SRH and Kings XI Punjab – with whom they are equal on points (8 points).
"I can't put my finger on anything, there are plenty of good players and good teams. We haven't been able to pull back to back wins. We just need to keep winning and don't how things will work for us mathematically, we have to keep winning, that's our job now," said Smith.
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