RR is now placed 8th in the IPL 2025 points table with 4 points from 9 games.
Sandeep Sharma revealed that the Rajasthan Royals (RR) have been struggling in important moments following yet another batting collapse by his team in a run chase in the (IPL 2025) Indian Premier League.
Yashasvi Jaiswal's 49 kicked off RR's chase of 206 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium. However, the side failed to complete the chase at the end, losing by 11 runs to Royal Challengers Bengaluru. This defeat has also left RR's playoff prospects dangling by a thread.
“We haven’t been able to grab the crunch moments, whether we are chasing or defending a total. In T20s, all teams get those moments, those opportunities, that you must catch. This year, we are dropping important catches, we are losing wickets exactly when we need to step on the accelerator. It happens in T20s, and that’s been our concern. We are crumbling in the crunch moments," said Sandeep at the post-match press conference.
Sandeep also highlighted that RR is missing its captain Sanju Samson. Samson has been on sidelines after hurting his side in their clash against Delhi Capitals (DC), where they lost the match in the Super Over.
“Obviously, his absence has been felt. He’s a very experienced captain and player, and as a batsman, he’s very smart. So yes, his absence has definitely been felt. He didn’t captain the first three matches, and after that, he got a side injury again. Obviously, all this is costing us. All these things have come together and are pulling the team down," he added.
RR, now in seventh place in the points table, is on a five-match losing streak in the IPL 2025. The last time they lost five consecutive games was during the IPL 2009-10 season.
“I think we should go to the ground and express ourselves and look at each match as a separate entity and try to win them. In T20s, streaks are very crucial, whether you are winning or losing.
In all three games (that RR has lost), we needed nine runs an over, and in T20s these days, the kind of hitting ability we see, a run rate of nine shouldn’t be tough. But we are losing wickets in between and when we try to accelerate, it’s not happening. We are losing wickets when we need to bring the asking rate down and are not being able to execute the plans,” Sandeep stated.
“Last season, we were able to do exactly that. We had the same people: Riyan (Parag), Dhruv (Jurel), Yashasvi (Jaiswal). They were winning those moments. We were fielding well. That’s another thing we are lacking this year," elaborated Sandeep.
RR will next host table toppers Gujarat Titans at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Monday evening.
(PTI inputs)