Heroes turn villains as RR snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against their 'bogey team'

As the Rajasthan Royals (RR) were seemingly coasting towards their fifth consecutive victory in IPL 2024, a 'Fan Poll' question popped up on whether a team can go an entire IPL season unbeaten.

The question had a certain cockiness about it as it felt like there was a general assumption RR had already won the Gujarat Titans (GT) clash with the opposition requiring an improbable 59 off 24 deliveries. The on-air commentators even wondered if the Royals were the new 'Invincibles'.

All of which added to a visible complacency and cockiness that had crept into RR and their players, who seemed too nonchalant for their own good until it became too late.

Scoring a massive 196/3 in 20 overs, thanks to the heroics from Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag, and reducing GT to 133/5 in the 16th over, the victory felt like a foregone conclusion until it was not.

GT skipper Shubman Gill aptly responded to most who had RR winning comfortably after his dismissal:

"When GT play don't think like that."

And boy was he ever right, as his side pulled another one of their now-famous heists, thanks to their own RR (Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan).

The duo took over after their captain had set the table with a sublime 72 off 44 and stunned the packed Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Adding 38 off just 14 deliveries, Tewatia and Rashid miraculously brought the equation to only a deuce required from the final ball.

And Rashid calmly struck a boundary as RR were left to lick their wounds after snatching defeat from the jaws of victory against their bugaboo side, Gujarat Titans. The stinging defeat was RR's first setback of IPL 2024 and their first loss at home this season.

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"I think the last ball of the game" - Sanju Samson on where the game was lost

RR skipper Sanju Samson was visibly frustrated with the team's shocking defeat from a dominant position and almost sarcastically pointed to the final ball from where they lost the game.

Taken aback by the loss, the RR skipper couldn't figure out how and where the game was 'stolen' from them.

"I think the last ball of the game (where was the game lost?). Very hard to speak at the moment. The hardest job in the tournament is when a captain loses the game and has to tell where the game was lost. When the emotions come down I'll be able to tell clearly," said Samson.

But was it only the last ball or the final phase that cost RR? Let us count the ways RR messed up a guaranteed win with self-inflicted wounds, starting with the captain himself.

RR have been hailed for its innovative strategies throughout the season and central to that has been its usage of the two-left pacers, Trent Boult and Nandre Burger, for extended spells in the powerplay. Think back to their opening spells that all but finished the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the first six overs.

And yet, with Burger out due to a slight injury, Boult bowled only two overs in the game to leave fans and experts scratching their heads.

Former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody was baffled by that move and told ESPNcricinfo after the game:

"With Trent Boult there, think he bowled 2 overs for 6 or 8 (8) which is what he usually does. But he has certainly been used plenty of times at the death before and he has got a huge amount of experience. So when it comes to pressure, he is used to absorbing it and taking on those challenges. So I was really surprised that he wasn't spent today and he has walked off the park with two overs left in the bank which does not make sense whatsoever."

Although Boult has been used only sparingly at the death in recent times, the Kiwi pacer has bowled at that stage of the innings on several occasions throughout his illustrious career.

Instead, RR went with the off-spin option of Ravichandran Ashwin in the 17th over, and while he has done the role admirably in their earlier games, his 17-run over was the start of their downfall. Another questionable move that turned another hero into a villain was using Kuldeep Sen for the crucial penultimate over in just his first game of the season.

The pacer had bowled three game-changing overs on the trot, picking up figures of 3/22. Yet, Samson chose to hold him back instead of potentially going for the kill when Sen was in rhythm and spitting fire with his thunderbolts.

That apart, the famous 'Too many cooks spoil the broth' defined RR's bowling display against GT. Boasting six specialist bowling options almost forced Samson to overcomplicate things rather than ensuring a tried and tested option like Boult bowled out at any cost.

Maintaining a slow over rate played its part in RR's forgettable ending, forcing Samson to have only four fielders outside the circle in the final over as Rashid Khan punched the exclamation point to the memorable run chase.

When the final figures of the RR bowlers read 1/48 for Avesh Khan, 3/41 for Kuldeep Sen, 0/40 for Ravichandran Ashwin in four overs, and 0/8 for Trent Boult in two overs, you understand where they possibly lost the game.

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Will RR ever vanquish the GT demon?

What is it with the Gujarat Titans for the Rajasthan Royals? Is it Rashid Khan having the wood on Jos Buttler? Or just the difference in mentality between the teams when they face each other?

Despite boasting equally strong sides, RR have managed to lose five of their six meetings against GT since the latter's entry into the IPL in 2022. After a hattrick of losses in the 2022 season, including the grand finale, RR finally won for the first time against their bogey time in the first meeting last year.

However, instead of sparking a turnaround, that result seems to be an aberration, as RR has now lost their next two outings against GT. It felt like the psychological impact of the earlier losses came into effect last night, with the team down and out (GT) seemingly having more belief than the one in cruise control (RR).

Fortunately for the Royals, this was their lone meeting with the Titans in the group stage, but should they meet in the playoffs, the game could be decided more on the side's mental demons than just the on-field skills.

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What's next? RR must use the harsh IPL 2023 experience to safeguard against a free fall

Although the GT defeat can be dismissed as a one-off, especially because RR dominated most of the contest before the final fall, the sour taste from last season should be a wake-up call.

After an impressive final run in 2022, RR began IPL 2023, like the ongoing season, winning four of their first five games. However, a close 10-run defeat to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) turned their season upside down for the worse, with the side losing four of their next five games and eventually missing out on a playoff berth.

The next few games will be worth watching for how much the players have learned from their harsh experience a year ago. For starters, they will be delighted that they already have more home wins this season (3) than the entire last season (1).

Yet, with only one game remaining at Jaipur before the final two games at their second home, Guwahati, RR plays five of its next six matches away.

How much Sanju Samson's unit can silence the crowds in the barrage of away games will determine their ultimate destination.