CHENNAI: Rajasthan Royals skipper Steve Smith rued letting Delhi Capitals make some extra runs in their IPL match on Friday, which proved decisive in the end. Delhi posted 184 for eight, the lowest first innings total in Sharjah this season. Shimron Hetmyer (45 off 24) and Marcus Stoinis (39 off 30) added quick runs towards the end.
"I think the wicket did slow down a bit, probably it was not as good as it was in our first two games. But having said that, we probably let them off the hook in the first innings. We probably let them get 10-15 too many," Smith said.
"During the chase, we lost wickets again. I got out, we just kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. Chasing 180-odd on a wicket that has slowed up is not easy. We always knew 180 would be a tough chase, we needed to string together partnerships but we were not able to do that," added Smith.
Smith was happy with the improved fielding of his team. "Fielding had been disappointing so far throughout this tournament. So it was pleasing to see a couple of good catches and pull off two run outs. It was nice to see that it (fielding) has stepped up a little bit."
Talking about Rahul Tewatia, the Royals captain said: "Tewatia bowled really well. He summed up the conditions nicely and was able to read the batsmen. He did a terrific job with the ball, hit a few off the middle with the bat in hand. He is a valuable player for us."
Rajasthan are placed at seventh on the table, with just four points from six games. "There are plenty of areas that we need to work on. Our batting has not been good enough, our top three have not scored big runs in the last three games and that has been disappointing. There is some execution stuff with the ball as well. It is not an easy game after all. We are doing something wrong and that is hurting us," Smith said.