IPL 2021: Purpose is to play some good cricket to bring up spirit of entire country, says Samson

New Delhi [India], April 29 (ANI): Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson on Thursday said that the purpose of his side is to play some good cricket in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season to bring up the spirit of the entire country as the nation battles a rampant second Covid-19 wave.
Earlier today, Rajasthan Royals (RR) announced a contribution of INR 7.5 crores (over $1mn) towards Covid relief to help with immediate support to people in India impacted by the surge of the number of infections. Players along with the team owners and team management have come forward to raise funds and have been working along with the Rajasthan Royals' philanthropic arm Royal Rajasthan Foundation (RRF) in partnership with the British Asian Trust (BAT).
"I think it is the least we can do looking at the financial part. We often talk about the situation throughout the country and the world, I think it is very important for us. We feel very privileged to be out there and play this game. I think we just need to go out there and play some good cricket, we keep having discussions of the purpose of playing this game today. The purpose is to play some good cricket to bring up the spirit of the entire country," said Samson while replying to an ANI query during a virtual press conference.
Quinton de Kock and Krunal Pandya starred with the bat as Mumbai Indians registered a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals here at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday. De Kock and Krunal played knocks of 70 and 39 respectively to give Mumbai a much-needed win this season.
With this win, MI has held on to its fourth position in the points table and the side now has 6 points from 6 games. On the other hand, RR remain at the seventh spot with just 4 points.
"I think we figured it out, it was a decent wicket, the wicket was fine and the ball was coming to the bat. We were 20-25 runs short, I think we need to play some fearless and positive cricket when we go out there next," said Samson.
"I believe it is a funny tournament, funny things have happened in the past, we believe in our players. We know we are going through a tough phase, we know our star players are not available for us. I am proud of my team that we are still talking positively and we are looking to win the coming games," he added.
Earlier, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, and Shivam Dube got among the runs as Rajasthan Royals posted a score of 171/4 in the allotted 20 overs. Samson (42), Buttler (41), and Dube (35) got among the runs, but none of them scored at a rollicking pace and as a result, Mumbai Indians' death-over specialists Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah managed to maintain a stranglehold in the end. (ANI)