Steve Smith boosts Rajasthan's morale post Bangalore loss, says 'The equation is simple'

Riding a bumpy ride so far in the IPL 2020, Rajasthan skipper Steve Smith made it clear to the squad in the dressing room what their aim was after facing a disappointing defeat against Bangalore. The Australian talisman highlighted that the equation now is to win all the remaining five games to make it to the playoffs. The squad's head coach Andrew McDonald also had a few words for the squad post the match and asserted that the show must go on. 

Skipper Steve Smith also cited the stunning innings by AB de Villiers to get Bangalore over the line on Saturday against Rajasthan. Smith highlighted de Villiers' 'special innings' for the team to get inspiration from and have some belief in themselves. 

"The equation is pretty simple for us now. We need to win the next five games if we want to make the qualifiers. We are getting ourselves in a position to win games, we just got to start closing them out. That's the crux of it. I don't like to point at the players in the opposition, but if you look at the way AB de Villiers played at the back, he just had so much belief in him that he was going to get them home and took a pretty special innings, to be fair," Smith said. 

At present, Rajasthan sit on the bottom of the table at the seventh position just above Punjab with 6 points to their name. Steve Smith & Co will face MS Dhoni's Chennai on Monday at Abu Dhabi as they both look to get back to winning ways.

Moreover, Head Coach Andrew McDonald praised Robin Uthappa and Steve Smith for their performances against Bangalore and ensured that the team's spirit remains high. He said, "Got to keep moving forward. The show continues... I want to make special mention, Robin Uthappa, well played at the top of the order. Giving us a nice foundation and Smudge, welcome back amongst the runs. There were some contributions around that, no doubt. And with the ball, we were in nice positions at times, built pressure, as a collective. We are playing good cricket that means we can win games. The next goal is to start winning and that is the reality and the challenge whether we like it or not." 

Bangalore snatch a last-over thriller

Chasing 178, De Villiers smashed six sixes to help Bangalore win the game after all seemed lost for them following the dismissal of Virat Kohli with the team struggling at 104 for three in the 14th over. The seasoned South African launched into Jaydev Unadkat for three successive sixes in the 19th over to swing the match in his team's favour. He finished the game in style, hitting Jofra Archer for a maximum with two balls still to go.

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