Sanju Samson is leading Rajasthan Royals unbelievably well, they are so calm under pressure: Aaron Finch

Former Australia cricketer Aaron Finch opened up on the performance of Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson after his side romped to a massive nine-wicket win to solidify their top spot in the IPL 2024 points table. With 14 points earned from seven wins in matches so far, the Royals have one foot inside the playoffs territory by just the halfway mark of the season. Samson has stood out not only as a leader but he has also been contributing with the bat to make the Royals’ batting lineup one of the most balanced ones in the competition, if not the most balanced.

"He's been playing really mature innings and that's what is required for the team. I think in times of T20 cricket, the ego of the batsman can get in the way of what the team needs sometimes but he's been playing each and every situation exactly how it's needed to be done. I think he's leading the side unbelievably well, you can see how calm the Rajasthan Royals are when they're under pressure. And I think that the only game they lost was when they had that meltdown against GT right at the back end of the game, so they've been so clinical right throughout this IPL and a lot of credit has to go to Sanju for that," Finch told Star Sports Cricket Live.

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Former West Indies cricketer Brian Lara spoke about Yashasvi Jaiswal’s performance last night. Jaiswal was the chief contributor with the bat in a chase of 180, smashing an unbeaten 104 off just 60 balls with nine fours and seven sixes to announce his return to form following a quiet start to the tournament.

 “...the fact of the matter is, he's taking his time, looking at the ball right from up at the back, and he's playing cricketing shots. He's got all the stuff, he doesn't have to worry about it. And when you do get on top of the bowlers, that's when you take it back, because that's what I love about Yashasvi. It was well put together, great cricketing shots, he's managed throughout the innings, and anyone knows, if you're chasing such a good total, at Jaipur and you bounce through the innings, you're soon as going to get there. So, he's shown a lot of responsibility, a lot of maturity, and I'm very happy to have him back.”

Lara shared his thoughts on Sandeep Sharma’s performance. Sandeep, returning from an injury, shone with ball, scalping a match-winning fifer to be named the Player of the Match despite Jaiswal’s ton. 

“Very, very big impact, and also mentioned the fact that he went unsold a couple of years ago, and came in as a replacement player, and this man is cherishing every moment he has out in the middle. You know, every cricketer in India wants to play in the IPL, and they want to play continuously, and that disappointment of not being selected in an IPL auction, he's now repaying Rajasthan Royals for their belief in him, he is a true professional, I've watched him over the years, he's not express-paced, he's not, you know, one of the boys that, you know, everyone talks about, but he gets the job done every time he goes out in the middle, and he's just that consummate professional that every team likes to have in their ranks.”

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Finch also previewed the CSK VS LSG game. "If there is a team that is set up to play on a surface like Chepauk, it is LSG. I think coming from their home ground which is being relayed, they've got a great spin attack in Krunal, who is so accurate and he can play a role which is similar to Jadeja. When you look at the spinners and the big hitters, I think they are a team which matches up really well against CSK."