Rajasthan Royals lost the contest in their batting Powerplay. By the time the field restrictions were lifted, RR had lost half their side with 28 runs on the board chasing the 172-run target set by Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday. RR never recovered playing in their Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur, dismissed for 59 in 10.3 overs, the third lowest total in IPL and RR's second worst, to suffer a 112-run defeat.
The men in pink who began spectacularly after finishing runners-up in 2022 as they won four of their first five matches, could now be staring at a disappointing end to their season. A win in their final league match will only lift them to 14 points. Mathematically they are still not out. But in most calculations, it may not be enough. For RCB, the win keeps them in the race for the playoffs. Another two wins will see them finish on 16 points, though run-rates could still play a role.
RCB, like RR and Punjab Kings, are on 12 points, but are placed fifth due to their superior net run rate.
CONTRASTING POWERPLAYS
RCB’s batting Powerplay never really took off. They were 42/0 after the six overs. At the time, the impression was that they weren’t pushing the issue enough. The home side bowled as many as four overs of spin and tempted Virat Kohli to attack the slower bowlers. Kohli resisted and meandered to a run-a-ball 18, only to be dismissed in the seventh over by pacer KM Asif’s slower ball.
After that, RCB’s batting essay was a tale of two innings. Faf du Plessis’s 55 (44b) and Glenn Maxwell’s 54 (33b). Both would have liked to stay on to do more damage in the death overs but it was young Anuj Rawat’s 6, 6, 4 that closed the innings on a high, lifting them to 171 on a sluggish Jaipur pitch.
{{/usCountry}}After that, RCB’s batting essay was a tale of two innings. Faf du Plessis’s 55 (44b) and Glenn Maxwell’s 54 (33b). Both would have liked to stay on to do more damage in the death overs but it was young Anuj Rawat’s 6, 6, 4 that closed the innings on a high, lifting them to 171 on a sluggish Jaipur pitch.
{{/usCountry}}In the final analysis, Maxwell’s knock was a blinder. The Australian big-hitter frequently turned left-handed and that allowed him to stroke boundaries to both sides of the field. One of the reverse sweeps proved a misadventure as Sandeep Sharma castled him in the 18th over. But Rawat’s cameo (29* - 11b, 3x4, 2x6) gave their total more heft.
The half-time discussion in the RR dugout may have been about getting ahead of the game in the Powerplay. But in a must-win contest, deciphering information right can be critical. Yes, the pitch was slow, but the ball was not turning viciously.
RR’s batters came out swinging the bat like there was no tomorrow. RCB pacers Mohammed Siraj and Wayne Parnell were fired up. The in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal launched into a powerful drive but found the fielder second ball and left without scoring. Jos Buttler followed for no score, after chasing a wide Parnell delivery. Captain Sanju Samson (4) cross-batted to a short delivery from Parnell and perished with the score 7/3.
Joe Root (10) was in the side just for this kind of eventuality, but he too didn’t last long. Neither did Devdutt Padikkal (4), probably Plan B in RR’s impact substitute strategy. But the left-hander gave a catch to mid-wicket off off-spinner Michael Bracewell.
After the early collapse, RR didn’t bother to re-strategise. Shimron Hetmyer kept swinging and middled a few. But there was no message from the dug out to take the match deep and try to help improve the run rate. Parnell ended up with the best figures of 3-0-10-3.
“There are a lot of different ways to look (in hindsight). The people out there might have thought the game was still in their hands,” Samson said after the match.
“I don’t know,” he replied, when asked where the season went wrong. “Funny, funny things can happen at the end of league stage. You just have to keep your hopes high and try your best.”