Shaun Pollock totally 'surprised' by Sanju Samson's baffling tactics vs GT, says 'it was a batting meltdown'

Shaun Pollock analysed RR's defeat vs GT in their IPL 2023 match and was left totally ‘surprised’ by Sanju Samson's tactics.

Rajasthan Royals crashed to a heavy defeat against Gujarat Titans in Match 48 of IPL 2023, losing by nine wickets in Jaipur on Friday. Chasing a target of 119 runs, GT reached 119/1 in 13.5 overs, with Wriddhiman Saha slamming an unbeaten knock of 41 runs off 34 balls. Meanwhile, captain Hardik Pandya played a quickfire unbeaten knock of 39 off 15 deliveries. The RR bowlers had a poor outing, with Yuzvendra Chahal managing to bag a dismissal.

Gujarat Titans players celebrate the wicket of Rajasthan Royals' Sanju Samson.(PTI)

Initially, RR skipper Sanju Samson won the toss and opted to bat. But in a rather shocking manner, RR faced a batting collapse and were bowled out for 118 in 17.5 overs. Samson played the only noteworthy knock, registering 30 off 20 balls. For GT's bowling department, Rashid Khan was in fiery form and scalped three wickets. Meanwhile, Noor Ahmad took two wickets for the visitors.

Speaking on Cricbuzz, former South Africa cricketer Shaun Pollock revealed that he was surprised by RR captain Samson's tactics, especially his use of spinners. "I was a little bit surprised by some of the tactics employed there. After 1-2 overs, you realized that it wasn't really swinging. So, they were late to get to the spinners to look if maybe if they could have had an impact, was a little bit of a surprise", he said.

Pollock also pointed out that as GT reached the target with ease, it showed that Rajasthan simply had a batting meltdown. "There wasn't much on the surface, it is got to be disappointing to be bowled out for 118. The ease with which they reached 119 just shows that it was a batting meltdown rather than anything to do with the conditions", he said.

After the win, Gujarat remained on top of the IPL 2023 points table, with 14 points in 10 matches. Meanwhile, R are fourth with 10 points in 10 games.