It’s happening again. Rajasthan Royals fans have been heartbroken like many other IPL fans in 2023, watching their team drift to a breathtaking start and come completely unstuck in the second half of a chase. You know the feeling: the target seems attainable, the scoreboard looks good, until – bam, the wheels fall off. It’s not a collapse, exactly. It’s a slow-mo. unravelling. Call it déjà vu, or just good old-fashioned inconsistency, but for RR, failed chases have been the story of the season.
When a Flying Start Isn’t Enough
Let’s start with the positive – RR’s top order is on fire. Against Punjab Kings, they made 89 in the powerplay – the most they’ve ever made. It was, without question, vintage T20 batting. But then, as the game wore on, the innings transitioned into something far too familiar. The momentum fizzled, wickets fell at crucial times, and once again, they fell short by 10 runs.
This isn’t the only time this has occurred. It is the fifth chase this season where RR have lost despite being in a strong position in the early stages of the innings. Section. The pattern? An explosive start, a lull in the middle order, a frantic finish, and not making it. It’s like watching someone run a lap at a marathon and forget the water bottles and cramp up half lap into the race.
From Flow to Freeze: RR’s Mid-Innings Struggles
RR’s middle-order resembles a Bermuda Triangle of momentum. Two wickets can derail a chase in the same way that a jet would hit turbulence. In what should be the consolidation and acceleration phase of a chase, the middle overs instead become a dot ball and misfire minefield.
Take Hetmyer. He’s a well-recognized game finisher, but he was out of nick against Punjab. A more likely scenario was jet lag (did he go back to the Caribbean?), and this is somewhat reasonable as his attempts to dig them out did not convince anyone. Maybe it was just an off day. Now, RR are going to need five or six more and over for the final push, and instead, they are wasting balls into the abyss.
Likewise, seasoned heads like Samson have not been consistent either. Furthermore, when everyone starts their innings chewing up 11-10 balls to get going, the scoreboard flatters to deceive. Once the asking rate climbs, the pressure increases, and all of a sudden, the chase, which felt manageable before, now feels like climbing Everest in flip-flops.
Read Also: The Race to the Top 4 – Who’s In, Who’s Out, and Who’s Just Hanging On?
Captaincy, Composure, and the Little Things
Cricket is all about moments, and RR continues to fail in the critical ones. It is worrisome that small margins cost them victories. There were a few tactical decisions against Punjab. In particular, Punjab’s use of spinners was intelligent—Harpreet Brar bowled stump-to-stump, and took the rhythm away—and RR could not do the same when they bowled. RR’s spinners gave RR 58 in 6, while Punjab’s spinners were able to hold RR to 52 in 8.
On-field leadership is also a part of this. Shashank Singh’s gutsy call to bowl Brar in against two left-handers paid off handsomely. Would RR have done something like this? Maybe not. But in T20 cricket, taking risks and player management can make the difference between winning and losing. And lately RR has found themselves on the losing end.
Will they find the magic to finish what they start? Or will RR become the kings of “almost” for this season? What do you think it will take to break that trend? Let us know.
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