Tom Moody Slams Sanju Samson for Tactical Blunder in RR's IPL Exit

Former Australia batter Tom Moody has criticized Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson for his tactical decision-making in the IPL 2024 Qualifier 2 match against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH). RR's 36-run defeat ended their hopes of reaching the final, which will now be contested between SRH and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Chasing 176, RR struggled to keep up with the required run rate, eventually finishing on 139/7. Moody believes that Samson's decision to send Dhruv Jurel ahead of Shimron Hetmyer was a "tactical blunder."

"Hetmyer had to go in ahead of Dhruv Jurel, regardless of whether he played very nicely," Moody said on ESPNcricinfo. "They needed to negate the two left-arm spinners, right at the outset. That was the hole, Sunrisers had in their attack and they needed to negate that."

Moody argued that Hetmyer's ability to play spin would have been crucial in countering SRH's left-arm spinners, Shahbaz Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma, who shared five wickets between them.

"They should have sent Hetmyer in and said just play your game. Take it down in your zone, let's get ahead in this game, do not allow these left-arm spinners to take control of the game," Moody added.

Former India batter Virender Sehwag echoed Moody's sentiments, stating that Hetmyer's inclusion earlier in the innings would have been beneficial.

"I was surprised by their decision to bring in Hetmyer so late. They should have bought him earlier, because there were two left-arm spinners. The quicker a left-arm batters comes, it would have been better," Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

RR's defeat highlights the importance of tactical decision-making in high-pressure matches. Samson's decision to hold back Hetmyer proved costly, as SRH's left-arm spinners exploited the weakness in RR's batting lineup.

Tags: #IPL2024, #RajasthanRoyals, #SunRisersHyderabad, #TomMoody, #SanjuSamson