It was a rough night for Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson on Wednesday, and his wallet’s feeling the sting too. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) slapped him with a Rs 24 lakh fine after his team lagged with a slow over-rate during their IPL 2025 clash against Gujarat Titans (GT). To top it off, RR got hammered by 58 runs, leaving fans and players scratching their heads.
The trouble didn’t stop with Samson. This is RR’s second slow over-rate slip-up this season, and the fines are piling up. Earlier, stand-in skipper Riyan Parag had to cough up Rs 12 lakh after a match against Chennai Super Kings. The IPL isn’t playing around—other RR players, including the Impact Player, are also facing penalties of Rs 6 lakh or 25% of their match fees, whichever hurts less, according to an official IPL statement.
The game itself was a nightmare for RR at Narendra Modi Stadium. Chasing a steep 218, they crumbled to 159 in 19.2 overs, with GT’s bowlers tearing through their lineup. Samson, who smashed 41 off 28 balls with four fours and two sixes, admitted things fell apart at crucial moments. “We leaked 15-20 extra runs while bowling,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “And when we needed a spark, we kept losing wickets.”
For a moment, it looked like RR might fight back. Samson and Parag put on 48 runs together, and Shimron Hetmyer’s big hitting kept hopes alive. But once Samson got out, the wheels came off. “That’s where we lost it,” he said bluntly.
Samson gave props to Jofra Archer for a fiery start—nabbing GT’s Shubman Gill early—but said the team veered off their game plan after that. “We had something planned, but they outsmarted us. We’ll figure it out tomorrow,” he added.
This season, RR have looked solid when batting first, but chasing big totals? That’s a different story. The 58-run drubbing has sparked chatter about their ability to handle pressure. “When you lose, you wonder—should we have chased better? Should we have done something different?” Samson mused. Still, he’s determined to turn things around. “We don’t just want to win batting first. We want to be a team that chases and wins too.”
With this loss—and the hefty fine—RR now face a tough stretch ahead. They’ll need to regroup fast if they want to get their IPL campaign back on track. For Samson and his crew, it’s time to dig deep, fix the mistakes, and come out swinging.
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