For any side to have lost players of the calibre of Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes before the start of an Indian Premier League (Indian T20) season, it would be an uphill task to sustain against some of the best teams in the circuit and remain in contention of finishing in the top four by the end of the league stage. After all, Rajasthan Royals, who were placed fifth in the points table of Indian T20 2021 when the tournament was postponed, had been impressive in patches but not consistently with the resources that were available with them in India.
Rajasthan Royals played 7 matches in which they lost 4 and won 3, which gave them an overall 6 points and fifth place in the points table. However, none of that promised them any better run up into the top four, given that the teams occupying the first four spots — Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians — were far too good for any challenge that Rajasthan Royals could have thrown at them.
Now, ahead of the second leg of Indian T20 2021 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Rajasthan Royals have been depleted further ahead with the withdrawals of their star English wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler and wily Australian fast bowler Andrew Tye — considered one of the best bowlers in the format with an impressive record in the Indian T20.
But Rajasthan Royals have done well to fight the persistent fire by acquiring the services of some in-form T20 players such as New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips, West Indies’ Evin Lewis and Oshane Thomas, while handing the South African spinner Tabraiz Shamsi his first Indian T20 contract for the remainder of the Indian T20 2021 season.
Chris Morris, the costliest player in the history of Indian T20 at INR 16.5 crores, did extremely well to finish the first leg in India a few months ago as the second highest wicket-taker in the tournament. Along with the other Indian bowlers in Chetan Sakariya and Jaydev Unadkat, he took charge of the bowling department bringing in all his skills and experience that he has acquired in the global T20 circuit. But it was the batting which led Rajasthan Royals down on a few occasions.
Rajasthan Royals’ recap of Indian T20 2021 first leg
For any team in the game of cricket, momentum is an important factor in long tournaments such as Indian T20 in which they play matches pretty close to each other and are also travelling across India extensively. But the format of Indian T20 2021 was different, with teams playing their matches in a cluster at one venue before moving to another — something that eventually resulted in the breach of biosecure bubbles and the postponement of the tournament earlier this year.
In the case of Rajasthan Royals, there was no such element called momentum. They began the tournament with a 4-run defeat at the hands of Punjab Kings in a high-scoring contest, but shocked the last year’s finalists Delhi Capitals by 3 wickets in a tricky chase. Rajasthan Royals went on to lose the next match against Chennai Super Kings by a huge margin of 45 runs, which was followed by another thumping defeat at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore by 10 wickets. RR bounced back from these two crushing losses to hand Kolkata Knight Riders a 6-wicket loss.
Out of the five matches that Rajasthan Royals played in Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium, they lost 3 and won 2, before moving onto the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi, where they had mixed results as well. Mumbai Indians handed Rajasthan Royals a 7-wicket defeat but the Sanju Samson-led team showed a lot of character to bounce back and post 220/3 to crush the misfiring Sunrisers Hyderabad by 55 runs.
Rajasthan Royals will certainly miss the services of Buttler who was the second best batsman with 254 runs in seven matches, as their hopes will be pinned on captain Samson, who was the leading run scorer with 277 runs in seven matches. With the ball, Morris was exemplary in taking 14 wickets in seven matches, which was far better than their next best, another overseas bowler Mustafizur Rahman, who took 8 wickets in seven matches. Sakariya had an impressive run with 7 scalps in as many games.
Changes in the squad ahead of Indian T20 2021 second leg
The inclusion of some exciting players in Thomas, Tbraiz Shamsi, Phillips and Lewis — who has played in the Indian T20 in the past with Mumbai Indians — should bolster Rajasthan Royals as they look to improve their performances. Rajasthan Royals will certainly miss the services of Buttler, Stokes, Archer and Tye, but they are a side who can still surprise, or rather shock, even the best teams on the circuit if they fire in unison. The inclusion of Lewis — who finished 20 runs behind Roston Chase as one of the leading run-scorers in the Caribbean Premier League (2021) tournament — should hold them in good stead. Phillips is an exciting player who garnered 254 runs in 10 matches at 31.75 with two fifties in CPL 2021 while Shamsi and Thomas carry a lot of promise.
Players to watch out for in Indian T20 2021 second leg
If his horrendous run with the bat in Sri Lanka does not follow him in the UAE, Samson is one player who can be both aggressive as well as a treat to watch when he is batting in full flow. The Rajasthan Royals captain carries a huge responsibility of not only scoring big runs on a consistent basis, but also holding the team together which is susceptible against collapses.
The addition of Lewis, who was in red-hot form in CPL 2021, should take some pressure off the shoulders of Samson. The inclusion of Shamsi should also help Rajasthan address their issues with the spin, with the troika of Morris, Unadkat and Sakariya doing a fair job for them with the ball along with Rahman.
Expectations from Rajasthan Royals in Indian T20 2021 second leg
Rajasthan Royals are a team who have invested heavily in some of the most promising players from across the world, but they haven’t got desired results which is indeed an unfortunate outcome. That said, they are also to be blamed for taking obnoxious calls such as promoting all-rounder Shivam Dubey at the coveted No 4 spot in the batting order while holding back some of the better-hitters of the ball, such as Morris who won them the game against Delhi Capitals, in a format which requires best batsmen to face maximum deliveries. In Riyan Parag, Rajasthan Royals have an exciting player who can team up with Rahul Tewatia in the lower-order to cause severe damage to opposition teams, but both these players are yet to show consistency.
Irrespective of the firepower that Rajasthan Royals have been missing for this Indian T20, they still can cause severe damage and make most of the dogfight between teams such as CSK, MI, RCB and DC — provided if they make all the right moves and do not falter in crucial moments.
Devarchit Varma is a cricket writer and journalist with an experience of more than a decade, having worked at Hindustan Times (newspaper) and CricketCountry (website). Along with covering international and domestic cricket, he has also interviewed several current and former top players such as Rohit Sharma, Steve Smith, Dale Steyn, Michael Hussey, Jacques Kallis, Brendon McCullum, Shane Watson, Lasith Malinga and many more. He has also worked in other beats as a journalist in Bollywood (Reliance BigOye) and IT (SiliconIndia) industries.
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