Rajasthan Royals: IPL 2020 review

This season for the Rajasthan Royals was everything we associate with them- a rapid burst at the start of the campaign followed by a loss of momentum in the middle and a relatively tame finish. They finished last this year, even going below CSK, who also enjoyed a torrid run, on net run rate.

The Rajasthan Royals started as the best team in IPL 2020, reading the conditions and putting up big totals. However, their momentum disappeared in the third game against the Knight Riders, when they failed to chase down 175 runs.

It was on the back of two impressive performances against Chennai and Kings XI Punjab, where the Rajasthan Royals racked up 200-plus totals.

Such was their dismal run of form that they failed to score 150 in three out of the four matches following their win against Kings XI Punjab. Four back-to-back defeats killed any hope of a Rajasthan Royals renaissance.

Apart from the two Englishmen- Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler- no other foreign player had any significant impact on the team's performances. Steve Smith, the world's best Test batsman, failed to provide any spark in the batting. In his role as captain, he failed to prevent the downfall of the side.

Even though the Rajasthan Royals won four out of their last eight games at a 50% win rate, it was never going to be enough to get them 14 points.

The Rajasthan Royals seems to be a team of individuals, where the brilliance of players contributed more towards a victory rather than a team effort. In the first match, a Sanju Samson blitzkrieg and a 3-wicket haul from Archer took the Royals over the line against CSK.

Another brilliant masterclass from Samson and a Rahul Tewatia special earned the Rajasthan Royals a scintillating win against Kings XI Punjab in their next game. The next four games, however, saw them barely cross 140 runs, and the defeats were rather one-sided.

In the Rajasthan Royals' seventh game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, an exciting 85-run stand between youngster Riyan Parag and Rahul Tewatia helped the team pull off an improbable run chase.

With three wins in the first half of the season, it seemed as if the Rajasthan Royals had finally caught some wind. However, the sweet taste of victory did not last long. A miraculous collapse against Delhi Capitals saw them lose a vital contest by 13 runs.

Chasing 162 runs, the Rajasthan Royals were 110 for four after 13 overs with Robin Uthappa and Riyan Parag at the crease. A run-a-ball chase became quite turgid as Parag got out and Uthappa also found it tough to get going. Finally, it came down to Archer and Tewatia to add the finishing touches, a task which they failed to accomplish.

With four wins from eleven games, every Royals supporters had given into their fate. However, the Rajasthan Royals found it the ideal time to pull off some incredible chases against the Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab. While not many expected them to get the better of these two in-form teams, it was the individual brilliance of the players that helped the team.

The game against Mumbai finally saw the emergence of Ben Stokes in the tournament, someone whom the franchise missed terribly in the first part of the season.

A superlative 107 not out from Stokes helped the Rajasthan Royals pull off a coup in Sharjah. Stokes continued his renewed charge in the next game against Punjab with a double-wicket and a quickfire 50 off 26 up top.

While a win in the final encounter would have given the Rajasthan Royals' an outside chance of qualifying for the IPL 2020 playoffs, they were left disappointed. Kolkata had more heart, more fire, and perhaps more desire to win the contest.

The defeat in many ways signifies the kind of season the Royals have had. For a franchise that has invested so heavily in assembling this group of players, it was a second successive disappointment for the Royals. As a team, they lacked organization and guile, especially in defending totals.

The captaincy from Steve Smith, at times, was extremely poor. In the game against RCB in Sharjah, they were clueless against a fiery De Villiers and eventually lost the contest.

Rahul Tewatia sparked in some matches and contributed with decent returns. Riyan Parag performed well in just one game against Hyderabad in the tournament. Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer are perhaps the only two who produced quality performances regularly.

In all fairness, Rajasthan's season has been nothing less than a handful of individual highlights this year.