IPL 2019: 3 changes that could help Rajasthan Royals turn their fortunes around

After losing their first three matches of IPL 2019, Rajasthan Royals stand at the bottom of the points table. Even though they came close in all the matches, they failed to get over the finish line in any of them.

In the first game against Kings XI Punjab, when they were cruising towards victory, the infamous ‘Mankading’ accounted for the wicket of the in-form Jos Buttler, and the game fell out of their hands after that.

In the second game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Sanju Samson scored a fine ton and helped them post a commanding 198 on the board. But an onslaught from David Warner, Jonny Bairstow and a last-minute cameo from Vijay Shankar made sure that SRH crossed the line comfortably.

Their third game against Chennai Super Kings was another close game where they fell short by 8 runs after some fine performances from MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo.

Let us look at the problems and possible solutions for Rajasthan Royals.

Problem 1: Out of form Jaydev Unadkat leaking runs

The major headache for Rajasthan Royals has been the poor form of their ace bowler Jaydev Unadkat. It was his last over against CSK that changed the game for them. MS Dhoni scored 28 runs off it, which included three consecutive sixes. Unadkat finished his spell with terrible figures of 4-0-56-1.

Solution: Replace Jaydev Unadkat with Varun Aaron. The speedster from Jharkhand is known to bowl above 150 kmph and he has had a good domestic season too. He has enhanced his skill-set with knuckle-balls and cutters, which he learned in his recent county stint.

Problem 2: Inconsistent Rahane, and Tripathi struggling to find runs

Ajinkya Rahane is not able to deliver consistent performances as an opener. During the recent chase against CSK Rahane got out for a duck, which gave the psychological advantage to the opposition right at the start.

Solution: Rahul Tripathi should open the innings and Rahane should bat at No. 3. Tripathi is a fine opening batsman who loves to bat at the top of the order. But since the position is being held by Rahane, he is forced to play down the order. A swapping of the batting order could do wonders for both.

Problem 3: Lack of a proper finisher in the lower middle-order

In the last game, even though Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer got Royals close to the target, the lack of a proper finisher prevented them from being victorious.

Solution: Get Ashton Turner in place of Steve Smith. Turner being a hard hitter can finish the innings properly and can also bowl 4 overs for RR.