'He hasn't scored runs at all' - Aakash Chopra mulls over Sanju Samson's lean patch for Rajasthan Royals

Sanju Samson's side ended up on the losing side at the Wankhede despite posting a mammoth total on the back of Yashasvi Jaiswal's glittering maiden IPL century. Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra was critical of the Rajasthan skipper as he failed to take advantage of the batting-friendly surface in Mumbai.

Rajasthan Royals were in the driver's seat after posting 212 runs in the first innings of the 1000th IPL match. However, it was largely made possible by Yashasvi Jaiswal's rip-roaring 124 off just 62 deliveries. Jos Buttler was the next-best run-getter in the innings with just 18 runs to his name.

Even though the Rajasthan-based outfit breached the 200-run mark in the match, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra raised the issue of Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson's lean patch. The ex-cricketer feels it is a big problem for the side despite having a power-packed batting line-up.

"Rajasthan is facing another trouble. Jos Buttler is not firing, as he usually does, this year. The start was very good but he has gone slightly down. Sanju Samson hasn't scored runs at all. So as good a team as they are, because they have (Shimron) Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel and Devdutt Padikkal as well, the team is good, but two main players not scoring runs, that's a problem," Chopra said in a video shared on his YouTube channel.

You want to chase in Mumbai because the dew comes later and it is a chase-friendly ground: Chopra

Chopra also critiqued Samson's decision to bat first at the Wankhede as the venue usually favours the chasing side due to the flat nature of the surface. The cricketer-turned-commentator reckoned the decision played a big role in Rajasthan's loss as the dew made it difficult for the bowlers to grip the ball in the latter stages of the match.

"It was amazing that Rajasthan chose to bat after winning the toss. You don't do that in Mumbai. You want to chase in Mumbai because dew comes later and it is a chase-friendly ground. In yesterday evening's match, there was so much dew that, when I asked Parthiv Patel who was there, he said that it was like a river was flowing," he added.