"Failed to score 9 runs in two consecutive matches...": RCA Official Jaideep Bihani weighs on RR's recent defeats

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], April 23 (ANI): Following Rajasthan Royals' (RR) successive defeats from seemingly winning positions in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), Jaideep Bihani, Convenor of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA), has raised serious concerns about the franchise's performance following their narrow defeats against Delhi Capitals (DC) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

RR, who were cruising in their previous two fixtures, first stumbled against Delhi Capitals (DC) and then dramatically collapsed against LSG, which led to a failure in chasing gettable targets in the final overs. The two consecutive defeats have sparked widespread discussions among fans on social media, especially considering their dominant position for most parts of the matches.

Bihani expressed his disappointment and suspicion regarding the team's performance and told ANI, "The knowledge that I possess of cricket, and the general notion of public...the last over is a do-or-die over in T20. When 26 runs are being scored in the final two overs, we failed to score 9 runs in two consecutive matches. This is the general feedback, and cricket has previously been associated with fixing. Those who have common knowledge will know that a full toss that came on the fifth or sixth ball was a golden opportunity for the batter."

In their previous encounter against Lucknow Super Giants, skipper Rishabh Pant trusted experienced speedster Avesh Khan and handed him the responsibility of ensuring their comeback story ended on a fairytale note. Avesh, with his searing yorkers, exposed Rajasthan's Achilles heel and knocked them off the perch by successfully defending nine runs in the final over to ensure LSG's return to winning ways.

While Pant bore a cheeky smile on his face as Lucknow managed to get out of jail by the barest of margins, Parag wondered what went wrong for them and took the blame on himself, saying he should have finished the game himself in the penultimate over.

Also against Delhi Capitals, Mitchell Starc's brilliance in the 20th over took the match to the first super over in their Indian Premier League clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

RR required nine runs from the last over. Starc bowled a brilliant over, giving only eight runs, hence the match went to a super over. In the Super over, RR finished with 11 runs, setting a target of 12 runs for DC.

KL Rahul and Trishan Stubbs came to bat for DC, and Sandeep Sharma was bowling the super over for RR. Rahul and Stubbs finished the match in 4 balls.

Starc bowled exceptionally well in the 20th over and in the super over of the 32nd encounter of the ongoing 18th edition of the cash-rich league. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)