‘With someone like Rahul Dravid as the coach…’ – Former India great slams RR after their 11-run loss to RCB

Rajasthan Royals (RR) faltered with yet another run chase in their Indian Premier League (IPL) game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Needing 18 runs to win from 12 balls, RR managed to lose the game despite being in the driver's seat for most of the game. Former India batting great Sunil Gavaskar has shared his surprise after the loss that now puts RR on the brink of exit. 

Speaking at the end of the game on Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar questioned RR’s thought process during their run chase. Gavaskar said, “I’m actually talking about the earlier matches where I wasn’t at the ground. I just saw them. So, you’re not always able to get the feeling of what’s really happening. But here, I was at the ground, and you could actually see the kind of cricket that was being played. And with someone like Rahul Dravid as the coach, it was quite baffling—it was unthinking cricket."

Dhruv Jurel’s wicket in the penultimate over with RR needing 16 off 10 balls changed the game. Jurel was out after scoring 47 runs when he was caught behind by Jitesh Sharma off Josh Hazlewood’s bowling. Jofra Archer’s wicket in the next ball meant that Hazlewood was on a hattrick. By the end of the over, the Aussie pacer had given away just one run and picked two key wickets. 

RCB end their wait for first home win of the season 

Rajat Patidar’s side were asked to bat first and scored 205 runs on the board. Virat Kohli (70) and Devdutt Padikkal (50) were the key architects with the bat for the home side. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 19-ball 49 gave RR a great start as the visitors scored 72 runs in the powerplay overs for the loss of two wickets. 

Speaking during the post-game analysis at the end of the game, the former India great lamented, “Dravid was always so precise in his thinking, and I would’ve thought that kind of approach would’ve seeped into some of the Rajasthan batters. Where is the thought process there? You can’t expect inexperienced players to always get it right, but still, it’s just a different kind of cricket.” 

In the previous two encounters, RR have managed to grab defeat from the jaws of win during a run chase. The first instance was against Delhi, where Mitchell Starc’s bowling ensured the game ended in a tie and Delhi eventually won the game via the super over. Avesh Khan then produced a death bowling classic to ensure Lucknow beat RR by two runs in a pulsating encounter in Jaipur despite the hosts needing just nine to win from six balls. The next two games for RR are at home against Gujarat and Mumbai as the Royals head into the final stretch of the season needing to win all their games.