IPL 2020: Rajasthan coach opens up on why the team need to win their remaining games

Rajasthan coach Andrew McDonald said teams that have nothing to lose are 'quite dangerous' and they will be looking to be one such team going forward in the ongoing Dream11 IPL 2020. McDonald's remark came after the inaugural edition's winners suffered an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Hyderabad at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Thursday. 
By the virtue of this loss, the 2008 champions are placed at the second-last position (7th) in the points table with just eight points from their 11 matches so far.

'The challenge ahead is pretty clear': Andrew McDonald

"The challenge ahead is pretty clear and that is to win three in a row and see where that net run-rate gets us. I still think that potential seven wins can get you through. For us, it is about continuing to prepare and continuing to believe that we are good enough," McDonald said during the post-match press conference.

"We have shown throughout the tournament that we can play cricket that can compete with the best and also, win against them. I think teams that have nothing to lose can be quite dangerous at the backend of the tournament. So, we will be looking to be one of those teams," he added.

At the same time, the Rajasthan coach also heaped praise on Hyderabad's batsmen Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar for anchoring the run-chase successfully despite having lost two big wickets of skipper David Warner and Jonny Bairstow early on.

"You have to give credit to the two batters, they played extremely well. I think we had enough pressure on them with those two early wickets. It was an extremely good partnership, so full credit to the two batsmen at the crease," McDonald said.

"If you look at the comparison between the two teams, it is that those two batsmen got fifty, we did not have anyone going past fifty. If you narrow it down to what went wrong in the batting innings, we did not have that solid contribution of a fifty-run score," he added. 

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Hyderabad add precious two points to their tally

Manish Pandey scored an unbeaten 47-ball 83 and was involved in a 140-run stand for the third wicket along with Vijay Shankar (52*) after the Orange Army had lost two big wickets of skipper David Warner and Jonny Bairstow early on chasing a target of 155. 

In the end, the 2016 winners got past the finish line by 8 wickets and 11 balls to spare.

The former champions will next be seen in action against the title-holders Mumbai at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

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(With ANI Inputs)