Rajasthan Royals’ uphill climb to towards
the Playoffs spot begins. The first obstacle in their path is Royals
Challengers Bangalore, who are in a comfortable position in the top 4. With 6
games remaining, a loss would hurt more than some of the previous ones. We are
currently on 6 points, and going by previous seasons, 16 points usually seal a
spot for teams in the Playoffs. We need 5 wins of our 6 games to secure those
many points. The time for us to begin the climb is now.
Plot:
Both Rajasthan Royals & RCB lost their
previous games. The Royals lost to the Capitals from a winning position in
Dubai, while RCB lost to Punjab in the final over in Sharjah. When these two
teams met last, the RCB bowlers were all over the Royals batting order,
restricting them to 154. Devdutt Padikkal & Virat Kohli put together a
clinical chase to keep their winning run going.
Consistency seems to be the hole to plug in
the Royals ship. The only consistent performer for Rajasthan Royals this season
has been Jofra Archer. He has bowled with steam and has picked up wickets in
almost each of his spells. He has 12 wickets to his name, while the next best
for RR are the 5 wickets each by Gopal & Tewatia, the two premium spinners
in the team. The addition of Kartik Tyagi has aided the bowling, and the unit
has done a decent job in their past few games. The much-celebrated top-order is
yet to follow suit though, and if they have to put together a string of
victories, they have to fire soon.
During RCB’s loss to KXIP, we saw Kohli
make some bizarre decisions. Kohli will look to come back sharper when he faces
us. The RCB team looks well-balanced. They have variety in their bowling attack
and their top order has been firing more often than not. If our bowlers could
take quick wickets in the Powerplay, we could leave RCB tottering, exposing
their lower middle-order early in the game. Our batsmen will have to play with
skill against the likes of Chahal & Sundar who have given away very few runs
this season.
Stage:
Dubai International Stadium
This will be the Royals’ third consecutive game in
Dubai. We won the first one and lost the second. One learning from both these
games is that we need to maintain partnerships while batting, as the pitches
have gotten slower. A new batsman will take a few balls before he can get going
in Dubai. It is vital for set batsmen to make their runs count more than ever.
While pacers may look to dig the ball into the dry surface, spinners could slow
down their speeds and put more revs on the ball to extract grip & turn.
Acts:
Jos Buttler vs Chris Morris
Buttler is someone who isn’t shy of playing risky
& innovative strokes to the fastest bowlers in the world. He smashed a six
and two fours off scoops against Nortje before being bowled in our last game.
Against Chris Morris, Jos has strike rate of over 150 and has never been
dismissed, so far. We could witness another sparkling start to the Royals’
innings.
Jofra Archer vs Aaron Finch
The duo has faced off several times in international
as well as T20 competitions around the world. The battle is pretty even too. In
83 balls, Finch has taken Archer for 109 runs and has been dismissed thrice.
Finch has been known to leave a gap between his bat & pad early on, and
Jofra’s in-dipper that Shaw was a victim of, could be a good weapon against the
Australian.
Rahul Tewatia vs Nitin Saini
We know that Tewatia is not worried about short,
pacey deliveries coming at him. He loves to swat them away over square leg.
Saini got a taste of some of Tewatia’s hitting in our previous encounter. If
the two happen to face each other in the death overs, we could be in for a
rollicking contest – sharp pace vs clean hitting.
The Royals have relied on individual
brilliance with the bat, so far, to take them over the line. If they need to
win consistently, the batting unit will have to come together, stitch some
partnerships and take more responsibility. The bowlers have been hitting the
right lines and lengths and are used to the surface as well. Another loss could
leave the Royals in a position from where they will have to win all the
remaining games. An eye will have to be kept on the net run-rate too. Let’s get
together and take this challenge head-on.
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