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3 Major Mistakes From Last Game Vs RCB That RR Should Rectify For Today's IPL Match

Bhargav Dixit

RR have lost their last four matches. [Source: @AIRNewsHindi/X]RR have lost their last four matches. [Source: @AIRNewsHindi/X]

Having already lost six Indian Premier League 2025 matches, another loss will put Rajasthan Royals in a must-win situation. Apart from winning their remaining five league matches, they’ll also have to depend on the NRR (Net Run Rate) in order to qualify for the playoffs.

Considering their recent performances, Royals require a drastic turnaround for them to be able to achieve all of this. With odds against them in abundance, the first and foremost thing they can do against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium tonight is not repeat the following mistakes:

1) Batting Nitish Rana at No. 6

When RR had bought batter Nitish Rana for INR 4.2 crore during IPL 2025 auction, it appeared as if they wanted a reliable Indian name for the No. 3 role. Despite most of his T20 (including the IPL) outings coming at Nos. 3 and 4, Rana was their No. 6 batter against RCB in Jaipur earlier this month.

In spite of him scoring a match-winning 81 (36) against Chennai Super Kings at No. 3 in Guwahati last month, it is unfathomable as to why he has been moved up and down the order. It’s not as if batters replacing him at No. 3 are being able to create better impact.

2) Shimron Hetmyer’s Entry Points

In the general run of things, Shimron Hetmyer is Rajasthan’s designated finisher. However, in captain Sanju Samson’s absence, he should be spending more time in the middle. Hence, the 28-year-old player could be promoted in the batting order especially when batters above him haven’t been able to perform to the best of their abilities.

Across eight innings this season, the left-handed batter has faced more than 20 balls just twice. A strike rate of 172.55 during those two innings justifies how he can add more firepower to a mis-firing batting unit.

Position
Innings
Runs
Average
Strike Rate
3541,25326.65128.77
4511,22928.58134.31
5731,30822.94136.53
6491,10233.39155.43

[Shimron Hetmyer T20 Stats]

Notwithstanding his better average and strike rate at No. 6, Hetmyer, as an experienced name in the global T20 circuit, should be handed the additional responsibility of facing more balls especially till the time their skipper is not part of the Playing XI. 

While batting first, there is little sense in sending him to bat in the last four overs when a promotion has it in it to benefit the franchise.

3) Indian Pacers Leaking Runs

In the 4.3 overs that Tushar Deshpande and Sandeep Sharma bowled against Royal Challengers in the last contest, they conceded 50 runs at an economy rate in excess of 10. A respective economy rate of 10.63 and 9.92 conveys how the two haven’t been able to put curbs around batters.

In fact, RR is the only team to have two Indian pacers leaking runs at more than 9.5 (min. overs 120) this season. Speaking particularly of pacers, Royals’ unit dismissing just 20 batters is the lowest among all franchises this season. 

Additionally, 45.05 makes them the only set to average in excess of 40 this season. A strike rate of 26.7 means they are the only ones who strike less than once per four overs.

Thus, it wouldn’t be a bad time to try Akash Madhwal especially in place of Deshpande, who is nowhere close to a career-best IPL 2024.