In a season filled with high hopes and important challenges, the Royals of the Royals of Rajasthan (RR), Rahul Dravid, openly expressed his disappointment after the recent defeat of the team against the kings of Punjab. This loss marks the tenth of RR in season IPL 2025, positioning them ninth on the point table. Dravid highlighted the problems in all the departments, stressing that the performance of the team did not meet expectations. Despite a promising start to the season, including a century outside competition by young talents Vaibhav Suryavanshi, RR had a hard time maintaining coherence, especially in the bowling of death and the middle stick.
After the defeat of RR at 8 gates against the Kings of Punjab, Dravid recognized the gaps of the team, declaring: “There is no point in blaming the drummer. I think that with the ball too, to be honest, I did not think it was a counter of 220, it was a window of 195, 200, and we gave 20 additional points.”
“If we look at the figures, we have probably not been good enough with the ball. Both to take counters and control the races. We chas 200-220 each match,” he added.
He pointed out that conceding additional races was a recurring problem, which makes it difficult for the shot unit to chase high total. Dravid has also noted that the team has often been in good positions but has not managed to capitalize, especially in the lower average order, where large shots lacked.
“It was difficult. We got closer, but we could not finish the work. It was one of these types of seasons where you always feel with the ball that we probably give 15-20 additional runs, then you were in very good positions to win the games, but we could not click and get the work and a little around this lower and lower order.
The Bowling of RR’s death was an important concern throughout the season. In the matches against the Gujarat titans and the Capitals of Delhi, the team conceded more than 70 points in the last five Overs, stressing the need for better execution in the stages of the last series of the game. Dravid stressed that, although the plans were solid, the execution failed, leading to unfavorable results.
The performance of the team has aroused criticism from the big crickets, notably Sunil Gavaskar, who expressed his confusion on the lack of strategic play of RR, in particular under the direction of Dravid. Gavaskar pointed out: “With someone like Rahul Dravid as a coach, it was quite confusing, it was an irregulated cricket.” He questioned decision -making and the team approach during crucial moments, suggesting a deeper defect in their strategy.
Despite the team’s difficulties, the young prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi was a bright point. The 14 -year -old made the headlines with a century of 35 bullets against the Gujarat titans, presenting his immense potential. However, he also faced setbacks, including a two -ball duck against the Mumbai Indians, highlighting the high professional crickets. Dravid asked realistic expectations concerning the performance of Suryavanshi, stressing the importance of supporting young talents through successes and challenges.
“I mean, it made five games now where the margins are really one or two sure that you need in this phase, which we just couldn’t do,” Dravid said after the match. “It is therefore not that we lose too many counters, we are only five years old today, but we just couldn’t hit these blows.”
While RR is preparing for their last match of the season against Chennai Super Kings, the emphasis is placed on the recovery of pride and avoiding the lower spot on the table. The leadership and Dravid experience will be crucial to guide the team during this difficult period. The results of the season highlight the need for introspection and strategic adjustments to constitute a more resilient and coherent team in future campaigns.
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