Riyan Parag outlined the strategy behind Sanju Samson’s unfortunate dismissal in the Rajasthan Royals’ commanding victory over Chennai Super Kings in Guwahati, where Samson fell cheaply to 6 following a brilliant T20 World Cup and coming off 275 runs over the last three innings.
Samson entered the fray with substantial potential to create havoc for CSK. Rajasthan Royals executed a sound plan to counteract him from ball one, using the first few balls to limit his free-scoring areas. With a unique field alignment, placing deep backward point and keeping the third man inside the circle, Riyan Parag took advantage of the skills and abilities of Ravindra Jadeja and Jofra Archer to restrict easy run scoring opportunities and consecutive pressure.
Parag said after the match that the original plan was to attempt to counteract Samson’s style of playing and thereby challenge his early batting habits. “We specified his first couple of balls and adjusted the field to force him to play in different ways,” stated Parag, calling it a calculated risk.
A successful strategy that was executed perfectly was when Nandre Burger bowled a ball which stayed on its path and knocked out the top of off stump, resulting in the dismissal of Samson. According to Parag, this was an example of a “game where every decision made during a cricket match has a percentage attached to it” and even just the slightest tactical advantage in cricket could have an impact on the result of the game.
Rajasthan Royals had an early breakthrough and were able to follow it up with an impressive win by 8 wickets with at least 8 overs left to play.