IPL 2021: Sanju Samson praises bowlers, Eoin Morgan regrets KKR's below-average batting

Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson hailed his bowlers after they produced a match-winning effort against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday.

Chris Morris, who picked up four wickets, led the RR's bowling attack as they restricted KKR at 133 for 9 in 20 overs. Two KKR batsmen were run out on Saturday, out of which, one run out was inflicted by Morris that saw KKR skipper Eoin Morgan walk back to the pavilion even without facing a ball. The other run out was done by RR keeper Jos Buttler. The remaining three wickets went to RR bowlers Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya, and Mustafizur.

Morris, who was eventually named the Player of the Match, is currently placed third in the Purple Cap's race with nine wickets in five matches.

In reply to KKR's 133 for 9, Samson led from the front as he remained unbeaten at 42 off 41 in RR's successful chase at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

"Our bowlers have been doing really well for the last 4-5 matches. There are many options for me to juggle around. Really enjoy captaining them. You could see in his eyes he wanted the competition. He wanted to get the big batsmen out (Morris). The situation of the match demands the way I play. That's what I've learnt from previous years.

Even if you bat and score a quick fifty you feel bad if the team doesn't win. Sakariya is a very different kind of person. Very happy going, very chilled out. The same person inside and outside the ground. Hopefully, he will win us more matches in the future. Need to chill down a bit. Have been playing continuous matches since last week. Will take a day off and plan for the next game," winning captain Samson said at the post-match interview.

It was RR's second win in five games, while KKR dropped to the bottom of the IPL 2021 points table with just one win in five matches.

Meanwhile, KKR captain Morgan blamed his batsmen, saying their innings lacked "a lot of intent."

"The batting let us down. We lacked a lot of intent throughout the whole innings. We were behind the game right from the get-go. Didn't put the bowlers under enough pressure. RR adapted to the pitch much better. We were probably 40 short which is a lot in a T20 game. The wicket today wasn't as good as it has been here at the Wankhede and that was a challenge in itself.

Every time we tried taking an attacking option, we lost a wicket. Left us a lot to do at the back end, which we didn't obviously do. The clearer the mind, the easier it is (to play with intent). We want guys to play free-flowing cricket. It wasn't there today, unfortunately," added Morgan in his post-match interview.

KKR next head to Ahmedabad as they next take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Monday. While RR's next destination is Delhi. Samson's boys have a four-day rest before their big match coming up against five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday.