Mumbai: Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson rued his batters' inability to score boundaries in the death overs on a slow pitch as the reason for their seven-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL at the Wankhede Stadium here on Monday.

 

Sanju said with his batters failing to master the KKR bowling on a slow track, they fell short by 15-20 runs.

 

"I think the wicket was a bit slow and they bowled really well, but with the batting we have, I would have liked to score a few more boundaries at the end. I think we were short 15-20 runs," said Sanju at the post-match presentation on Monday.

 

Though his team lost, there were some positives for the Rajasthan Royals skipper as he managed to score his second half-century of this IPL. Sanju, who made 54, said he was troubled by a niggle but has recovered from it.

 

"I have had a niggle the last few games but I'm recovering well and (my back) is fine," he said.

 

Another heartening aspect of the match for Sanju was the fight his team put up while defending the modest total.

 

"It was a great effort (in the field). With the bowling and fielding, we showed some real fight. The body language and energy were amazing. I think we could have batted a bit better and win the toss next time for sure," he added.

 

Sanju said he could not accelerate in the death overs because of the loss of wickets at regular intervals.

 

"Wickets at intervals, that's what stopped myself to keep going with momentum. When I wanted to go hard, they bowled really well and we couldn't execute our shots," Sanju said.

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