Runners up Rajasthan Royals dish out perfect recipe for success even in IPL 2023
IPL 2023: Rajasthan Royals among the most balanced sides in the tournament. Royals played finals against Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022. Jos Buttler was the orange cap holder with 863 runs in IPL 2022.
If there was a chef preparing a perfect team dish, it would have the right amount of top-order batters, the correct flavour of middle order and finishing batters, and to finish it off, a perfect tinge of spinners and fast bowlers. And guess what? We have an absolutely perfect team on paper, not made by chefs but by the management of the Rajasthan Royals (RR)! Yes, the men in pink have jotted down all the necessary armour for an absolutely destructive T20 team and placed it perfectly in their squad.
Demolishing Opening Duo
The Royals from Rajasthan have an absolutely nerve-wracking upper order composed of Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal and they have Devdutt Padikkal as a backup opener. A destructive left-right combination. We got glimpses of things to come in RR’s opening match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, as the duo belted 85 runs in just 5.5 overs for the opening stand. Buttler, who has been a beast of an IPL performer with an average of 40.07 strikes at 150.81 on any given day, tonked 22 balls for 54 in RR’s opening encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). When Buttler is at the other end and the world is talking about the non-striker too, such is the talent of the young, left-handed Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored a blistering 37-ball 54 runs in the first match of the season. For someone so young, Jaiswal already possesses a healthy career IPL strike rate of 135.67, which is the need of the hour in T20 cricket.
Read More: IPL 2023, SRH v RR: Rajasthan Royals seal emphatic win against Sunrisers Hyderabad
A well-balanced middle order
He walks in at number two, the captain of the pack, Sanju Samson. The man who needs no introduction and whose playing style will be the same any hour of the day. See the ball, hit the ball! And that’s exactly what he did in the season opener, scoring 55 runs at a strike rate of 171.88 with four massive sixes. If an early wicket falls, Devdutt Padikkal can step in as the number three batter, who averages 27.43, and can steady the innings with the style of play that suits him. Again, a left-right combination can be maintained to prevent the Royals from disturbing the opposition's line, length and field placements.
The flamboyant Riyan Parag swaggers his way into the middle of the alphabet as the number five. Parag, who has yet to have a breakthrough IPL season, has always shown signs, and if he picks up well, Rajasthan would head in the right direction with respect to finishing games. Just in case things go haywire, Rajasthan also has Joe Root as a backup who can walk into any team, not just Test teams but also T20 teams, given his leadership skills and ability to play spin.
Read More: IPL 2023: Prasidh Krishna’s injury layoff will hurt Rajasthan Royals
Lethal finishers and all-rounders!
Caribbean is the flavour of T20 cricket, and this flavour gives the finishing touches to Rajasthan’s batting order. The deadly duo of Shimron Hetmyer and Jason Holder holds down the fort for the Royals in the finishing department. Hetmyer, who has scored 853 runs in 90 IPL innings, has come into his own ever since he moved to the Rajasthan Royals. A typical West Indian left-hander with hefty power smothering the leather of the cricket ball with an IPL career strike rate of 151.78. In the opening game, the same was on display as he powered the Royals above 200 with a 16-ball 22-run cameo in the final overs.