IPL 2022 | RR vs DC | Will Rajasthan miss Shimron Hetmyer?

The inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) will take on Delhi Capitals (DC) in the 58th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at the Dr DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. This will be a crucial fixture for both sides as they are trying to consolidate their place in the top four. 

While Rajasthan is in a more comfortable position with seven wins in 11 matches, for Delhi, the remaining encounters are virtual knockouts.

Rajasthan has mostly been clinical with their performances in the tournament so far. However, the key to their successful run has been two or three players like Jos Buttler, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Shimron Hetmyer. But one of these three pillars will be absent during the match against Delhi.

Shimron Hetmyer left the RR camp temporarily on Monday morning to attend the birth of his first child. He has been instrumental in giving RR some powerful finishes this season. In a match where RR will be looking to win and ensure their berth in the playoffs and maintain their winning momentum before the business end of the tournament, the absence of Hetmyer might be a factor.

To find out how important the West Indian has been for the Men in Pink, let us first take a look at his record in IPL 2022.

IPL 2022: In the 11 innings he has batted so far, Hetmyer has scored 291 runs at a strike rate of 175. His RPI of 26.45 is quite impressive for a player doing a finisher's job in the team. As a finisher, he has played mainly in the death overs and has been excellent in the phase. He has scored 210 runs in the slog overs in the tournament so far at a strike rate of 214.28. This is evidence of the fact how important he has been for Rajasthan in giving them impactful finishes.

To get a better understanding of his impact on the team let us look at some of his performances in the tournament.

Vs SRH (5th Match): Rajasthan's top order gave them a good start while batting first in the match. They were moving towards a formidable total and required a strong finish to bat the opposition out of the match. Shimron walked out to bat when the team's score was 148 for 3 in the 15th over. He played a brilliant little cameo of 32 runs from 13 deliveries at a strike rate of 246.15. His innings took Rajasthan to a total of 210 runs in their 20 overs. The bowlers successfully defended the total and won the match by 61 runs.

Vs MI (9th match): Rajasthan batted first in the match and were off to blazing start courtesy of Jos Buttler. The Englishman scored a brilliant century and played a knock of 100 runs from 68 balls. Hetmyer walked into bat with the team's score at 130 for 3 in the 15th over. He played a fiery knock of 35 runs off 14 deliveries, added impetus to the innings, and took RR's total to 193 in 20 overs. The RR bowlers were on the mark once again and helped the team win the match by 23 runs.

Vs LSG (20th Match): Rajasthan were again batting first in the match, and the batters struggled to score fluently. They lost a few wickets and were reeling at 67 in the 10th over of the innings. Hetmyer played a blistering knock of 59 runs from 36 deliveries at a strike rate of 163.89. RR was able to put on a fighting total of 165 runs from their 20 overs and ultimately won the match by 3 runs in a thriller of a contest.

Vs KKR (30th Match): This was one more match where RR batted first and were off to a formidable and fiery start. Buttler once again played a brilliant knock of 103 runs off 61 balls, and RR was on their way to a big total. Hetmyer played an innings of 26 runs off 13 balls at a strike rate of 200 and ensured his team posted a total of 217 runs in 20 overs. RR won the match by 7 runs.

Vs PBKS (52nd Match): In their latest encounter against PBKS, RR was chasing a target of 190 runs. They got a good start with Jaiswal and Buttler laying a solid foundation. But Devdutt Padikkal was finding it challenging to score fluently, and as a result, the pressure was mounting on the Men in Pink. Hetmyer played a breezy knock of 31 runs off 16 balls at this stage. He took his team to victory by six wickets with two balls remaining in the match.

These are the important knocks he has played in winning causes for the team. Besides this, he also played a couple of gusty cameos when RR ended on the losing side.

He has been very impactful in the RR middle order this season. Hetmyer's presence has added dynamism to the batting. While it has been Buttler, who has given them solid starts in the tournament, it has been Hetmyer who has provided the perfect finishing touches. His impact is clear from the fact that he has scored 18 percent of the team's runs in the winning matches. 

His absence in the middle order will definitely create a void in the middle order. It will be interesting to see how the team management deals with his absence. Fans will be eagerly waiting to see who RR uses as the player to fill the shoes of Hetmyer. With the demanding knocks Hetmyer has played till now and his impact on the team, I feel RR will surely miss his services in today's match against Delhi.