Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Steve Smith said the loss of three early wickets without a proper partnership up front was the reason behind his team's defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Despite Jos Buttler's 12-ball 22, RR was reduced to 31/3 in the fifth over, and needed its middle order to lift it out of the trouble and post 154/6 in 20 overs. However, RCB chased the total with five balls to spare on the back of half-centuries from Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli.
AS IT HAPPENED |
"We could have done a lot better. Didn't get enough runs on the board, it was a good wicket. We couldn't get a partnership together," Smith said during the post-match interview.
The skipper then went on to praise his bowlers for the fight they showed, defending a paltry score.
"Jofra Archer bowled exceptionally, our leggies bowled well, but we didn't have enough on the board. Our top 3 should be doing the job a lot more. The last two games it's cost us. We bat quite deep, but our top 3 need to bat longer and get ourselves into the innings."
Mahipal Lomror's 47 was a major reason for the Royals to cross the 150 mark. The Rajasthan youngster was brought into this outing in place of Ankit Rajpoot, and he impressed his skipper straightaway.
"Lomror played nice under pressure and to get 155, we didn't look like getting that many. He played a mature innings. Just a few areas which we've to work on and we'll go back and look at those. It was very hot, you come back for a two and takes a bit longer to get your oxygen back," he added.
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