The sound of Rashid Khan’s thunderous leg before wicket appeal will continue to ring in the ears of the Rajasthan Royals batters as they scramble to snap out of vacation mode before their playoff hopes slip away completely. The Afghan spinner produced a vintage spell, picking up four crucial wickets as a Riyan Parag-less RR middle order looked completely lost while chasing a daunting 230 target.
That feeling of rust and hesitation summed up Rajasthan Royals’ night when they returned to action after an eight-day break to host Gujarat Titans at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday, May 9. Their previous outing had takenplace on May 1 at the same venue, where they suffered a defeat to Delhi Capitals. But instead of using the break to reset their campaign, RR appeared to have slipped deeper into a sleepy daze from which Shubman Gill and co. brutally jolted them awake.
The signs began showing right from the toss. In walked Yashasvi Jaiswal instead of regular captain Riyan Parag, who missed the game due to a hamstring injury. What followed was a string of decisions that seemed to lack tactical conviction, almost as if Rajasthan were still trying to shake the cobwebs off after the long break.
One of the biggest talking points was the decision to leave out key pacer Nandre Burger and bring in an extra batter. Burger had endured a difficult run in the previous three matches, but his absence disrupted the bowling balance significantly. More importantly, it exposed Jofra Archer, who looked alarmingly out of rhythm.
Archer, perhaps still mentally lingering in Jaipur’s relaxed evenings, delivered one of his most forgettable spells of the season. The English quick conceded 46 runs in just three overs, including an over that stretched to 11 balls. His inability to control the new ball allowed the Gujarat Titans to settle immediately into cruise control.
NO PLANNING OR SIMPLY POOR BOWLING?
The uncertainty in RR’s plans became even clearer in Jaiswal’s comments after the match.
“I think we were looking to bowl in good areas, and they were batting well. We looked to cut down the boundaries and big shots. I think it was pretty good from them,” the stand-in captain admitted.
When asked about dropping Burger, Jaiswal’s response reflected the simplicity, or rather the over-simplicity, behind RR’s planning.
“No, I actually didn’t think that much. I had a simple plan, who’s my bowler and who can give me some good overs in the powerplay. Nothing much from my end.”
That lack of clarity translated directly onto the field. With Archer struggling and Tushar Deshpande unable to make any real impact, Rajasthan looked completely clueless against the fluent opening stand between Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill. The duo stitched together a commanding 118-run partnership that sucked the energy out of the contest early.
Ironically, it was RR’s slower bowlers who briefly woke the hosts from their slumber. The spinners managed to drag things back slightly during the middle overs, forcing the Gujarat Titans to pause their assault momentarily. But just when Rajasthan seemed to be regaining some control, the final overs once again exposed their lack of discipline and execution.
Still, despite GT posting a massive total, there remained a strange sense that Rajasthan could chase it. This was, after all, a batting line-up that had previously pulled off a similar chase against the then-unbeaten Punjab Kings. And even after the early wickets of teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Jaiswal within five balls, RR still possessed enough firepower to threaten Gujarat.
AFGHAN MAESTRO MAGIC
But then came the storm from Nangarhar, Rashid Khan, searching for the rhythm that once made him the most feared T20 spinner in the world, finally found his groove again under the Jaipur lights. His first breakthrough came against Dhruv Jurel, who had threatened to shift momentum with a blistering 24 off just 10 deliveries. Rashid lured him into misreading the googly completely and cleaning him up.
Within the same over, he struck another devastating blow by dismissing Donovan Ferreira, the hero of Rajasthan’s previous successful chase. What had once looked like a steep but manageable chase quickly turned into a complete collapse.
Rashid continued tightening the screws, dismissing Shubham Dubey and Ravindra Jadeja to complete a masterclass in middle-order destruction. Rajasthan crumbled from 40 for 2 in the powerplay to 136 for 7 by the time Rashid completed his spell.
The Royals folded not with resistance, but with resignation, and perhaps that was the most worrying sign for Rajasthan, not the defeat itself, but the sense that they never truly woke up. Eight days away from the field seemed to drain their sharpness rather than refresh them. Their bowling lacked intensity, their plans lacked clarity, and their chase lacked belief.
For the Gujarat Titans, the victory carried enormous significance as they climbed into the top four with 14 points, strengthening their playoff push. For Rajasthan Royals, however, the vacation may now be over, because another sleepy performance could end their season.
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