After another debacle, Royals wait for top-four to take charge

If a 178-run target is chased down with 21 balls to spare, it can be as deflating as it gets for the side on the receiving end. Sanju Samson’s plight was no different after the 10-wicket loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday night that belonged to centurion Devdutt Padikkal. Yet, deep down the Rajasthan Royals captain knew an off-day for his bowlers can’t cover the batting frailty that has started to bog down his bottom-placed team yet again.

“The reason (for the loss) we need to go back and find. We need some time to review and then ask some questions to ourselves. We need to have honest review about what is happening with our batting,” Samson said after the match.

Samson and the Royals team management need to act fast if they want to salvage what remains of the rest of the campaign. They have one win in three matches and would not want the gap with the top four teams widen as the IPL 2021 reaches halfway stage.

Last season too, Royals were impeded by inconsistent batting displays. Barring Samson’s brilliance early on and a couple of belligerent knocks from Rahul Tewatia, the Royals batting line-up hardly had anything to show for. They finished last. The Royals find themselves at the same position now.

The Royals tried five different opening partnerships throughout the IPL 2020 but none ended up being consistent. In the four matches this edition, they have already tried two. It had more to do with Ben Stokes’ injury. The England allrounder was ruled out of the IPL with a broken finger after the first game. It meant Manan Vohra and Jos Buttler are the new Royals openers. They are yet to show anything big as a combination. After four matches, Royals’ opening stands read – 0, 13, 30 and 14.

The openers are not the only ones to be blamed. In the Powerplay, Royals have lost two, three, two and three wickets in their four matches respectively. It shows a worrying trend, that of a weak top-order. Against RCB on Thursday, the Royals top four---Buttler, Vohra, Samson and David Miller–were back in dugout by the eighth over with scoreboard reading 43.

Every other IPL team has at least one consistent player in the top four, the Royals have none. No. 3 batsman Samson started with a mind-boggling 63-ball 119 against Punjab Kings, but his scores since then have read 4, 1 and 21. It’s only because of Royals middle order and lower order that their totals have been respectable on a couple of occasions.

“Against RCB, we struggled in the first six to seven overs, and in the next 13 overs after having a lot of wickets we still managed to get 176. You see ability there. We need to build partnerships. And one among the top four need to get a big score,” Kumar Sangakkara, Royals’ director of operations, said after the loss.

“It’s all about the situation that you are in and then taking good options. Basically, those which are more in your control than out-and-out risks. You play according to the fielding position and pitch. The whole thing about T20 is to have that intent to score and if the ball is not in that area, then you try and rotate the strike.”

After the early setback, Royals regrouped with No. 5 Shivam Dube (46 off 32 balls) and No. 7 Tewatia (40 off 23 balls) taking charge. They hit nine fours and four sixes together, and ensured the Royals went past 175.

“The middle-order and lower middle order really fought well. It was quite impressive to see. I thought Shivam batted really well and showed a lot more intensity and awareness than in the other three games. One of the areas he matches up really well against is spin. That’s his strength. Today he showed the ability to dominate the slower bowlers,” Sangakkara said.

“Shivam got out a little early but before he came in we were already in a tough situation. We need to bat smartly in the Powerplay and keep those partnerships going and one or two among the top four need to score those big scores. Unfortunately, today we didn’t manage that.”

After Royals posted 176 in 20 overs, their bowlers couldn’t take a single wicket as RCB openers Padikkal hit a 52-ball 101 and Virat Kohli scored a 47-ball 72. “The pitches out there are very good these days. There are a lot of opportunities for the batsmen to score. It’s very tough for the bowlers the really manage those totals and keep them in check. So, we really need to manage the other die in intensity,” Sangakkara said.