Former India wicket-keeper batsman and 2-time IPL winner with Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings Robin Uthappa has slammed the Rajasthan Royals for their uncanny decision last night.
The Kumar Sangakkara-led management sent out Mumbai-born bowling all-rounder Tanush Kotian to open the innings in only his debut IPL match whereas in the Ranji Trophy, he bats at either 8 or 10.
That particular move baffled Uthappa and he slammed the franchise during the post-match analysis with Jio Cinema.
After winning the toss, Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson put the Punjab Kings to bat first at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Stadium. The hosts got off to a very poor start as their batters just weren't looking comfortable enough on the slow track at Mullanpur.
Punjab were reduced to 5 wickets by the 13th over itself with their score being at 70 runs. Tanush Kotian, who is originally a spin bowling all-rounder, was not given even a single over to bowl.
The first 5 wickets were taken by Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Keshav Maharaj, and Kuldeep Sen and if Punjab were able to post a target of 148, then it was because of the efforts of Livingstone and Ashutosh Sharma.
In response, Rajasthan Royals had got off to a decent start but their decision to send Tanush Kotian did not go down well as he took too many balls to score just 24 runs. Following his dismissal, Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmeyer among others laid the foundation for Rajasthan to win the game in the last over.
Robin Uthappa says Rajasthan Royals need to stop taking uncanny decisions like they did with Tanush Kotian
While speaking to Jio Cinema in the post-match analysis, Robin Uthappa, who was at the English commentary box at that time, was confused to see Tanush Kotian come out to open.
Uthappa could not figure out the logic behind that particular decision and claimed that Rajasthan Royals, despite being a very solid team, should refrain from taking such decisions.
Of the 31 balls that he played, Kotian scored just 24 runs at a strike rate of less than 100 and scored just 3 fours.
"They have to a lot of lessons from this game. They do this to themselves every season. They are a solid side. They don't need to do anything silly and they will end up at the top of the table. But somehow, they do something like this every season with just befuddled everyone."
"I was dumbfounded in the commentary box when I saw Tanush Kotiyan walking out to open the batting. What's the logic? Putting a kid who is playing his first match in the IPL in a situation that he has never been in." - Robin Uthappa said via Jio Cinema.
Rajasthan stretched their lead at the top
Shimron Hetmeyer's death over blitz took the Rajasthan Royals towards a 3-wicket win which was also their 5th win of the season. With that, RR have stretched their lead at the top of the points table as they become the first team to touch double figures in IPL 2024.
from CricketAddictor https://ift.tt/N6QrubV
0 Comments