Match 23 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season at Sharjah gave quite a surprise. Unlike the initial matches, the clash between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) witnessed scores less than 200, something unusual we get to see at this UAE stadium. With Sharjah being a batting paradise, fans were roped in for a surprise on DC’s comparatively low total, while minds blew on seeing RR perform. DC bowlers totally overpowered the RR side and swept them early, registering a 46-run win.Let’s just hog some light on the possible reasons why RR lost by such a margin.
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The toss decisionWith the toss in RR’s favor, they chose to bowl first and the decision proved fatal later on. Often the toss-winning team at Sharjah chooses to bat first, as the pitch primarily is batsmen friendly. Hitting the ground with their bowling attack, they did restrict DC at a comparatively low score but were unable to put on a show with the willow.
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Archer for HetmyerDC were off to a poor start and all the major batsmen nearly fell for cheap. It was just Marcus Stoinis and Shimron Hetmyer, who managed to drive DC to a reasonable total. RR Skipper Steve Smith probably made a wrong decision of backing Jofra Archer for the last overs. Accounting the initial situation, he could have deployed him when Hetmyer was knocking some big hits in the middle overs. So, some mindful usage of their star all-rounder could have changed the match results.
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RR’s unstable batsmenThe problem that has come to the fore is the lack of skilled batsmen for RR. Their young gun Yashasvi Jaiswal has been an underperformer, as of now. Besides the former Indian player, Robin Uthappa, on whom RR relied upon in the initial matches for his experienced repertoire, has to be benched following his poor performances. The team direly needs the inclusion of Ben Stokes, who can help the franchisee escalate the points table.
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