Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Nitish Rana praised fast bowler Jofra Archer for his match-winning spell against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in match 11 of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025). Archer registered figures of 1/13 in three overs as Rajasthan won by six runs.
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00:00We'll begin, one question at a time, please.
00:04Yes.
00:04Haritesh, congrats on your long run.
00:07Firstly, how was the wicket?
00:08And how do you feel after this important innings that
00:12has given Rajasthan the first victory of the season?
00:15I think the wicket was a little better than the last game.
00:17And it was very important to catch it in power play.
00:21Because in the last game, we learned
00:23that the new ball that comes on a good bat
00:26doesn't come on the old ball.
00:28So the plan was to know the wicket,
00:33to know what the best shots can be to play on this wicket.
00:36And we tried to implement that.
00:38And hopefully, it went well and we got those two points.
00:42Sorry, just one more question.
00:43Did you have a target in mind when you were in the middle,
00:46actually?
00:46Because you were looking like getting 200 above, actually,
00:49at one point.
00:51Sir, there was no target.
00:53But yes, you can't bat in one flow.
00:56From the first ball to the last 120th ball,
00:59you can't bat in one flow.
01:01The game runs in a lot of parts.
01:05And when the middle overs come, there's a little slowdown.
01:08But yes, at the end of the inning,
01:10I was thinking that maybe we're 10 to 15 runs short.
01:13I was thinking 200.
01:15But on this wicket, 180, I guess, was a very good score.
01:17And credit goes to Jofra for putting the ball in power play.
01:21Power play was very important, as important as batting.
01:25With that ball, credit goes to Jofra,
01:28who gave us such a good start in power play.
01:31Nitish, what was the thought process behind Jofra,
01:34actually not completing his foot over first?
01:37Because you had a chance.
01:39Jofra, actually, didn't complete his foot over first.
01:42He was bowling well.
01:43So he didn't complete his foot over first.
01:45Sir, as I just said, after power play, the ball is a little old.
01:50After that, the ball starts to spin a little,
01:53and it starts to stop a little.
01:56I guess, the 4-over quota is not written anywhere.
01:58Obviously, he was bowling a very good ball.
02:01On the trot, it's very difficult to get a 4-over in T20,
02:04because you have to save something for the back end.
02:06But when we got a ball like Hasaranga in the middle overs,
02:09or a 4-out Hasaranga, so we decided there
02:12that we go with the spin.
02:15We brought Karthik in the game.
02:17We knew how much skill he had.
02:20And hopefully, as he bowled just one over,
02:23we didn't think he would bowl one over.
02:25But in those scenarios, the game goes on.
02:27At that time, what two or three senior players think,
02:30or how the captain thinks, that's important, I guess.
02:33In the next match, if there's a chance,
02:35we'll get Jofra to bowl a 4-over.
02:37Sir, I think, if I'm not mistaken,
02:40you won the first match of the season.
02:42So when did you know that you had to come to the first down
02:45for this match?
02:47What was your initial thought?
02:49Sir, I got to know yesterday.
02:50Rahul sir called me before going to practice.
02:53And I didn't come to practice yesterday.
02:55I wasn't feeling well.
02:57So then I got to know that I was batting at number 3.
03:00And I guess, Brian told me that I could bat at number 3.
03:04So I didn't say no to him.
03:06I told him that I'm ready to bat where the team wants me to.
03:10I guess that decision was very good.
03:12That's because, I've said the same thing in the interview.
03:16When I was batting in the first two matches,
03:18I was trying to hit hard.
03:20I felt like I had to hit hard.
03:22So in today's match, from the last two matches,
03:25my learning was that if I try to place,
03:28if I try to use pace in this wicket,
03:30how much pace I can use on the new ball,
03:32if I try to do that, then my success rate
03:34can increase in making runs.
03:36And today, I did that.
03:37And it was a good inning.
03:40And I got two important points for the team.
03:43Last question.
03:45You have captained two or three teams.
03:50How did you like your captaincy?
03:52You have a good feeling today.
03:53What can you say about the first half of the season?
03:56I think captaincy, sir, is very result-oriented.
03:59If your result is in your favor,
04:02then everyone says that you're a very good captain.
04:05I don't believe that.
04:06I think there are small battles in the T20 game.
04:08How you win those battles, with which bowler you win,
04:11with which batsman you win, I guess,
04:13that's important.
04:14A player knows that.
04:15And Riyan is very calm as a captain.
04:18And this dressing room is also very calm.
04:20And I guess, it starts with the coaches.
04:22Because the kind of atmosphere that Sanju has created,
04:26or even Rahul sir has created for the dressing room,
04:28the environment is such that you don't want to win too much.
04:33You don't want to lose too much.
04:34You want to maintain a level in the dressing room.
04:38I think we saw that in the first two matches as well.
04:40No one panicked too much.
04:42And we just tried to focus on the process.
04:46And today, because of that process, we got two points.
04:52What is the turning point in this game?
04:54You're not the assailant, you're the scorer.
04:57Sir, I believe that Riyan's catch on the covers,
05:02I think that was an important turning point in the game.