After a brilliant start to the season, Rajasthan Royals choked midway through the tournament. They are currently at the fifth position on the points table with 14 points under their belt. They have played all of their league matches but are still in the hunt to occupy the fourth spot.
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The Royals won four out of their initial five matches, and they were cruising towards the playoffs. However, in the last nine matches, they lost as many as six times. A thumping 112-run defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore at home hampered their Net Run Rate (NRR) to a large extent.
Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings have sealed their place in the playoffs and they will play the Qualifier 1 in Chennai. Lucknow Super Giants have also sealed a berth for themselves. Rajasthan, Mumbai Indians and Bangalore are in a battle to become the last team to qualify for the playoffs.
What are Rajasthan Royals Chances of Qualifying for IPL 2023 Playoffs?
For Rajasthan to qualify, Sunrisers Hyderabad will have to beat Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium. If Mumbai wins, they will reach 16 points and the Royals will get knocked out. Mumbai’s NRR is below Rajasthan, and if they lose, they will finish behind Rajasthan in the league table.
The last league match of the tournament is between Bangalore and Gujarat. Hence, Rajasthan would want Gujarat to win the match by a margin of at least five runs. Bangalore and Rajasthan are tied at points but RCB’s NRR is better than that of Rajasthan. If Gujarat wins by that margin, Rajasthan will qualify.
In short, Royals want both of the games on Sunday to go in their favour. If any of Mumbai or Bangalore wins, Rajasthan will get eliminated. Bangalore can qualify even after losing their last match, but by less than five runs.
What Went Wrong for Rajasthan Royals?
There is no hiding to the fact that RR are themselves to blame for being in this situation. They have a great team, but failed to stand tall on their potential as IPL 2022 runners-up. All-rounder Jason Holder could not defend 17 runs in the last over against Mumbai. Pacer Sandeep Sharma bowled a no-ball on the last ball of the match. Furthermore, they got all out for just 59 runs against RCB.
Had Sanju Samson or his men managed to avoid any of these aforementioned errors, the situation would have been completely different for them on the last day of IPL 2023 league phase.
