IPL 2021 (second phase): Analysis of Rajasthan Royals
The second phase of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) season gets underway on September 19 in the UAE. Rajasthan Royals will resume their campaign against Punjab Kings two days later at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. They Royals have had a mixed season so far under the newly-appointed skipper, Sanju Samson. Here, we analyze their performance in the season.
Samson slammed a century in RR's opening encounter
RR lost their opening encounter to Punjab in what was a nail-biting contest. Chasing 222, RR lost the match by just four runs. Samson slammed a blistering hundred. The Royals then beat Delhi Capitals before losing to Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore. RR won two of the next three encounters (beat Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad, and lost to Mumbai Indians).
RR occupy the fifth spot with six points
Rajasthan occupy the fifth spot on the standings with six points. They have won three and lost four games till now. RR have a Net Run Rate (NRR) of -0.190. The likes of DC (first), CSK (second), RCB (third), and MI (fourth) are above RR.
RR will have to operate without marquee players
The Royals have been inconsistent despite winning a few emphatic ties. They duly missed the services of Jofra Archer in the bowling arsenal. The Samson-led side will also be without Ben Stokes in the second phase, who was deemed as an opener. Moreover, Jos Buttler will also miss the UAE edition. It will be interesting to see how RR operates without the marquee players.
Here are the top performers
Skipper Samson is the leading run-scorer for Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing season so far. He has amassed 277 runs from seven matches at an average of 46.16. He became the first man to score a century on captaincy debut in the IPL. In the bowling department, Chris Morris has been impressive. The star all-rounder has picked up 14 wickets at just 16.00.
RR have signed quite a few players
The absence of Buttler and Stokes for the second phase dented the plight of the Royals. They had already missed Archer in the first half. The explosive West Indies opener, Evin Lewis, has replaced Buttler. Meanwhile, fast bowler Oshane Thomas has replaced Stokes. South Africa's in-form spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (replaced Andrew Tye) and New Zealand's Glenn Phillips (replaced Archer) had joined earlier.
