'There's lot to play for next season': RR accept harsh 'We're out of the tournament' reality ahead of must-win GT game

It has been a season of near misses and frustration for the Rajasthan Royals, who find themselves sitting in the penultimate spot in the points table, having managed just two wins in nine games. They have yet to play five more games this season, all of which are must-win, starting with the contest against the Gujarat Titans at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. But Rajasthan seem to have accepted their fate.

It has been a rough fortnight for Rajasthan, who experienced three close defeats, all in a chasing cause. They failed to chase down nine runs in the final over against both Delhi Capitals, where the match was decided via Super Over, and Lucknow Super Giants, before choking again against the RCB at the Chinnaswamy last week.

Speaking to the press on Sunday ahead of Rajasthan's third home game in Jaipur this season, bowling coach Shane Bond accepted that the 2008 champions are already out of the race to make the playoffs. However, he still believes that Rajasthan will put up a fight in the remainder of the matches as they are still eyeing keeping their preparations ready for the next season.

"The hardest thing is that, for 35 overs of games we've played really well and in fact have been in control in some games and probably got into positions where we should have won," Bond admitted on Sunday. "You have to give credit to the opposition, they were good enough in those tight moments to go over the top of us and win those games.

"I suppose that's what hurts us. We're 2 (wins) and 7 (losses), and go, jeez, where we could sit on the table, but there's nothing we can do about that now. We're probably out of the tournament in terms of the points table, but that doesn't mean there's not a lot to play for. Obviously, as a team, we want to make sure we finish the season strong and continue playing well, but also for individuals there's a lot to play for, for the next season, wanting to stay with the franchise.

"For me it's been really disappointing, I think we're all competitive, we want to win, and when you've got a bunch of people who've worked really hard like our guys have, I don't expect them to just turn up and go through the motions, I expect us to turn up every day with the right attitude, bring energy and make life as hard as we possibly can for the opposition that we're playing against. I feel like we've done that for most of the competition. We've lost a lot of close games, we just haven't quite been good enough."

Notably, Rajasthan are still mathematically in the race to make the playoffs. However, a win in all the remaining matches might not be enough for them to make it through. What it surely will is that it will spice up the contest in the final month of the IPL 2025.