'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUG/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAwT/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAM7HHp//xAAfEAACAQQCAwAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgQAAwUxERIyUdL/2gAIAQEAAT8AfFSL5Ed48Brokiyu+vOu3j7NPhcgzsRaxp5OyzfNf//EABYRAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAv/aAAgBAgEBPwByX//EABcRAQADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAgP/2gAIAQMBAT8AdbM//9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Rajasthan Royals (RR) suffered their third defeat in the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they went down against the Delhi Capitals by 20 runs despite a superlative knock from the Rajasthan skipper Sanju Samson. On the back of this win, Delhi Capitals kept their hopes alive of going through to the playoffs.
On a belter of a pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, the home team Delhi Capitals posted a more than competitive score of 221 in their allotted 20 overs after being put into bat by Samson. The opening duo of Jake Fraser-McGurk and Abishek Porel laid the foundation with half-centuries and despite a middle-order stutter, the Capitals managed to post a massive score on the board.
It was Tristan Stubbs who provided the late-order flourish with a 20-ball 41 to take the Capitals to 221. The Royals were jolted early in the run-chase but captain Sanju Samson got them back on track with a flurry of boundaries and ensured the required rate never climbed up drastically.
He found able allies in Riyan Parag and Shubham Dubey who kept the scoreboard moving with boundaries coming consistently. Samson was eventually dismissed in a controversial manner after scoring a 46-ball 86 and it opened the floodgates for the Capitals to claw their way back in the game.
RR lost their way in the last three overs as Kuldeep Yadav, Rasikh Salam and Mukesh Kumar held their nerves and stuck to their plans to hold Rajasthan back. Rasikh bowled a sensational penultimate over which was backed up by a near-perfect final over from Mukesh Kumar to take the Capitals over the finish line.
Having said that, let us have a look at three concerns for RR after their loss to the Capitals:
#1 The bowling department has been off the boil
The Rajasthan Royals (RR) bowlers were at the receiving end of a blistering batting performance from the Delhi Capitals but it was not the only game where the bowling department faltered.
While the batters have done a sensational job for RR in the tournament so far, the bowling cartel has leaked runs which eventually resulted in their loss against the Capitals.
Barring a superb spell from Ravichandran Ashwin, none of the other bowlers were spared as the Delhi Capitals took them to the cleaners. Trent Boult and Sandeep Sharma conceded 48 and 42 runs, respectively, in their four-over quota while Avesh Khan went for 42 runs in his two overs.
Meanwhile, Yuzvendra Chahal, who recently made a return to the Indian T20 World Cup squad, has been taken to the cleaners in the last five six games. After a brilliant start to the campaign where he was leading the charts for the Purple Cap, Chahal's performance has dipped significantly.
#2 Over-reliance on Sanju Samson
The Rajasthan skipper is currently the leading run-scorer for RR in the tournament and has been like a rock at the top order. He has been at his fluent best, scoring 471 runs in 11 games at a strike rate of 163.54 and an average of 67.29. While Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal have scored three centuries between themselves, the consistency factor has been missing in the last few games.
Riyan Parag started the campaign with three fifties in his first four games and despite scoring runs pretty consistently in the remaining games as well, the impact hasn't quite been the same. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had a breakthrough season last year, hasn't quite found his feet which has resulted in RR's downfall at the top of the order.
At the start of the season, Shimron Hetmyer was tipped to play the finisher's role for RR but he hasn't managed to face enough balls in the competition to make a significant impact.
Powell made way for Donavan Ferreira as he was nursing a niggle. It has come down to Sanju Samson to bail them out of pressure and with Buttler set to miss the playoffs, it's time for the rest of the batters to rise to the occasion.
#3 RR lack a proper all-rounder who can lend an ideal balance to the side
The Rajasthan Royals have lacked a proper all-rounder in the last two seasons which has affected the balance of the side. While the impact player rule has neutralised the role of all-rounders to a certain extent, a proper all-rounder still provides the ideal balance to any side.
Ravichandran Ashwin has been sent up the order on a few occasions and he has delivered. However, he hasn't managed to make an all-round impact. Riyan Parag has also contributed a few overs in this edition but doesn't look like the wicket-taking option which Samson would have wanted.
The Royals hardly tinkered with the combination which yielded them results from match one but as the tournament reaches its business end, the time might have come to test out a few of their bench strengths before heading into the playoffs. They don't have too many all-round options but Samson might just want to use someone like an Ashwin or Parag in different roles in the remaining group games.
