Things are beginning to turn for worse for Rajasthan Royals (RR) as the current IPL season inches near its halfway mark. They now have three losses on the trot, and their latest defeat which came against Delhi Capitals (DC) would sting them more than others. Its largely due to the fact that they were within inches of triumphing over, by no exaggeration, the best team of the tournament. After taking the game to a Super Over, Rajasthan lost the plot by somehow leaving Nitish Rana, one of their best hitters, warming the bench, and Delhi did not hesitate cashing in on that brain fade.
Now, they make a return to their home venue in Jaipur to battle the growing threat in the shape of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), who are quietly and steadily climbing the rungs to the top.
RR have already fallen down to the lower half in the table, and if this match goes against them too, they will have to rely on other teams to even stay in the contention for playoffs.
LSG, on the other hand, have everything RR would desperately fancy having right about now: winning momentum, aggression, and a near full-strength squad.
Team Overview:
The big news that came out of the Rajasthan camp is that their skipper Sanju Samson is out once again with an injury. After leaving the ground with an abdominal injury in their last game against DC, he has been sidelined for this game. Their vice captain, Riyan Parag will stand-in for him in this crucial fixture. Parag led RR in three games at the start of the tournament as well when Samson was recovering from a finger injury.
Parag’s form, alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal’s gradual but steady journey of finding rhythm, makes up for some of RR’s very few positives. Jaiswal’s recent innings include three half centuries in four games which make him RR’s best bet on Jaipur’s tricky deck. But elsewhere in their batting lineup, it’s been a tale of dismal returns. Nitish Rana, although has played a couple of extremely impactful innings, he hasn’t clicked as consistently as RR would have liked.
Add to this the constant dilemma of getting Shimron Hetmyer break into the top five by batting Rana at a lower spot. Amidst all this, their sluggish outings in middle overs have been all but avoidable.
With Samson now out, RR also have some selection headache looming large. They have 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who can be slotted in at the top positions but would it be fair to throw the teenager into the pressure cooker, that too on his debut? One thing that they can do is to shuffle their order, by moving Parag or Rana up to open.
In the bowling lineup, Jofra Archer has been erratic at best. The death overs have been the real challenge for Rajasthan, which is something Rahul Dravid admitted as well. Dravid pointed out that their bowlers have consistently leaked 15–20 extra runs, which have cost them many games. Will this be the game RR finally look past Tushar Deshpande and replace him with someone like Akash Madhwal or Yudhvir Singh.
LSG, in contrast, are finally getting into a very solid rhythm. They have coped fairly well with the injuries that came their way early in the season. With Mayank Yadav having returned back to the squad, their lineup gains the menace they were missing this year. Yadav was a revelation in the previous season, constantly clocking 150+ kph with a barely believable ease.
LSG’s main asset are Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh. The pair has gathered more than 650 runs in this season so far. In addition to that they have a middle order that knows how to hold their ground. With a spin duo as good as that of Digvesh Rathi and Ravi Bishnoi breathing fire in tandem, LSG really have everything they need to land right in the playoffs if they push hard enough.
Head-to-Head Matches:
In five matches played between both sides, LSG have only won one and lost four games.
Weather and Pitch Report:
This match is Jaipur’s second time hosting this season. The first match was a day fixture, which saw RR crumble to a crushing nine-wicket loss. Jaipur’s surface in that game played quite two-paced but became better as the game progressed. The toss-winning captain would want to bowl first on such a surface which doesn’t really offer too much of an assistance to batters.
Prediction:
RR have been short on form and morale, and now, with Samson out, they are short on leadership as well. Unless their top order batters do better than they have done this season, LSG would be happy capitalizing on the opportunity on the road.
Where to Watch:
India: Star Sports Network, JioHotstar
UK: Sky Sports, SkyGo
USA: Willow TV
Australia: Kayo TV, FoxTel Go
Bangladesh: T Sports, Toffee app
New Zealand: Sky Sports NZ
Afghanistan: ATN
South Africa: SuperSport
Sri Lanka: Dialog
MENA: Cricbuzz
