RR show spirit to outclass KXIP but batting experiments, faltering stars have cost team dear

The spirit and belief that Rajasthan Royals showed en route to their 15-run win against Kings XI Punjab on Tuesday wouldn’t have looked out of place in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s stupendous collection of defending modest totals.

An unexpected counter-attack from the Rajasthan bowlers during the Powerplay overs bore the Shane Warne rubber stamp.

And the Australian spin legend was hands on – team huddles, offering tactical advice during time-outs and mentoring fellow leggie Ish Sodhi. The New Zealander, coming back into the side, was pivotal during Rajasthan’s win, finishing with miserly figures of 1/14 from his quota of overs.

Rajasthan were tipped to blast teams away. They came out of the player auction grinning from ear to ear having captured the core of the Rising Pune Supergiant side that had reached the final last year. Also bolstering their ranks were two of the Big Bash League’s breakout stars.

With Steve Smith denied an invitation over the ball-tampering scandal that unfolded in March, all eyes were on how, or whether, new skipper Ajinkya Rahane could set the tone for the rest of his team to follow. There was much at stake for the classy Mumbai batter, with his white-ball credentials having yet to receive a thumbs-up from certain quarters.

That feeling was epitomised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India selectors when they announced the India squad for England and Ireland limited-overs matches on Tuesday. Rajasthan’s star-studded squad also meant that they had moved away from being the league’s version of the Moneyball franchise.

Expensive flops

Alas, nothing seems to have worked for the hapless Rajasthan so far. Their batting, barring a breath-taking power-hitting exhibition at Bengaluru, has come a cropper. The much hyped D’Arcy Short has been made to look ordinary whenever slower bowlers are operating. Krishnappa Gowtham is getting to grips with going for 31 times his base price at the auction. Star all-rounder Ben Stokes and pacer Jaydev Unadkat are enduring a never-ending quest to find their Midas touch from last season.

Haphazard selections have played their part too, especially among the foreign players. Jos Buttler had very little time to bulldoze bowling attacks. Henrich Klassen was neither given time to succeed nor fail, while the charismatic Jofra Archer, for reasons unknown, was warming the bench during the initial run of games.

The redemption

With a series of chopping and changing experiments in the top-order notwithstanding, Rajasthan entered Tuesday’s match against Kings XI Punjab languishing at the bottom of the table. Three back-to back defeats can do that to a team. This is, after all, an arena where reputations and on-paper strength count for scant little.

The fault lies at the top of the order, where Rajasthan have constantly struggled to sculpt a settled top order. Rahane, for the promise he showed at the start of the season, tapered off. The ploy to have the skipper bat through the innings. But the ability to shift gears effortlessly in the tail end of the innings have become a pre-requisite of a batsman’s arsenal in this format. Rahane needs to look no further than the mercurial KL Rahul’s late acceleration on Sunday for inspiration.

Rahane has to wait for another day to revive his batting form although his team’s overall effort at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium showed the will and desire to keep playoff hopes alive till their final game.

Rajasthan’s batting still requires surgery. Perhaps the same top-seven could come out guns blazing this time next season. As of now, Rajasthan’s four wins have merely come through sheer individual brilliance alone.

Stokes is slowly showing glimpses of what makes him a true box-office cricketer. Gowtham, who had an inspired day in the office at Jaipur, has taken strikes towards justifying his hefty price tag. As for Rahane, this is a make-or-break time for him to prove his credentials. His latest scratchy effort did not help his cause as a limited-overs batsmen. But defending a modest 153 would do his faltering reputation as a leader no harm. Punjab’s gung-ho approach during the Powerplay overs – they’d lost three wickets – also played its part.

Rahane and Rajasthan live to fight on for another day and taking into account the erratic form of the bottom-half, there is no reason not to fancy their chances. But as they enter the business end of the season, they would know that they have the unenviable task of getting wins against Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore. That might be a bridge too far.