It’s been a long time since Rajasthan Royals were formed IPL The last. 13 seasons to be exact. They then won the inaugural season in a story campaign in 2008, defeating the more hardcore Chennai Super Kings in the summit clash. Since then, CSK have made it to the finals eight times – winning four of them. RR has since managed three playoff appearances. But this time, he has put together a scintillating bowling unit and a batsman in the form of his life as he linked them to put them on the verge of their second IPL trophy.
Let’s take a look at his IPL 2022 journey so far:-
a big statement
RR finished seventh out of eight teams last season. Of the four players they could retain, they chose to stick with three, releasing the rest of the members. In the mega auction, the former title winners made a solid team on paper. The team started their campaign on a grand note with four wins in a row (last year they achieved a total of five). Initially, they beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 61 runs after posting 210/6. Jos Buttler starred with his first four centuries of the season in their second win over five-time champions Mumbai Indians. They beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by four wickets to complete a hat-trick of wins and made it four for four with a narrow three-run win over Lucknow Super Giants.
A short blow before Chahal’s hat-trick
For their fifth match, RR ran into a formidable Gujarat Titans and suffered their first defeat of IPL 2022. Impressed by this, RR reacted with another hat-trick of victory. Buttler scored one century after the other and defeated Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals in two high-scoring matches. And then the bowlers stepped in as they defended 144 against the star-studded RCB batting line-up. The win against KKR became all the more memorable, thanks to Yuzvendra Chahal taking a hat-trick in his four-wicket overs chase.
inconsistency creeps in
RR got off to a great start by winning seven out of their first eight matches. The high-flying Royals faced turmoil when they lost to MI and KKR. MI ended their run of eight losses against RR, while KKR took revenge. They made a comeback with a six-wicket win over Punjab Kings, but lost to Delhi Capitals for their fourth defeat. The defeat dented RR’s hopes of making the top four.
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With other teams catching up, RR also stepped up their game. They also increased their net run-rate by defeating Lucknow Super Giants by 24 runs, all but sealed the playoff spot. However, there was a top-two finish which would give them two shots to make it to the final. With their last over win against Chennai Super Kings, which was also their last league match, RR sealed the second spot.
A Long Way But Date With the GT Seal
In the first qualifier, RR faced GT – for the second time in the season. Buttler played a brilliant knock of 89 off 56 to help a challenging 188/6 at the Eden Gardens. But David Miller (68*) and Hardik Pandya (40*) helped GT complete the target with three balls to spare. RR now entered the second qualifier where they face RCB.
The famous Krishna and Obed McCoy shared six wickets to restrict RCB to 157/8. And then Buttler became the second player to score four centuries in a season, leading RR to a seven-wicket victory and the IPL 2022 final where he will face GT.
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