Follow UsIf we were to apply the ‘when X side last won the Y title’ template to Rajasthan Royals, it would look something like this:
When Rajasthan Royals last won the IPL
* Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag were 6 years old
* Virat Kohli was an uncapped player
* Ravichandran Ashwin hadn’t bowled a single ball in the IPL
* Shane Watson was a white-ball specialist who’d played just 3 Tests for Australia
We can go on and on and on, but you get the idea, don’t you? It really has been that long since the Royals last got their hands on the coveted IPL Trophy.
After a decade of mediocrity, IPL 2022 has finally witnessed the Royals re-establish themselves as a genuine force. The inaugural winners enjoyed an outstanding auction, but under the leadership of Sanju Samson, Rajasthan have managed to realize their potential on the field.
On Sunday, 14 years on, lying in front of the franchise is the opportunity to finally get its hands on the trophy that has eluded it for far too long. Breaking the 14-year-duck should be motivation enough for Rajasthan to enter a packed Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad all fired up, but for Samson’s side, there is an even bigger incentive: they have a chance to "do something special" for the face of the franchise, the ‘First Royal’ Shane Warne, who tragically passed away earlier in the year following a cardiac arrest.
"The tournament, right from the start, it has been for him and I think we need to take one more step for him," skipper Sanju Samson said following his side’s victory over RCB in Qualifier 2.
"It's really special. I don't want to talk too much about it but we’re one step closer. We want to do something special for him."
The Royals paying homage to Warne by lifting the IPL title in the year of his death, in many ways, would be the ultimate fairytale.
A certain Gujarat Titans, however, would argue that them lifting the title in front of 132,000 people at their home stadium in Ahmedabad would be an even bigger fairytale.
Unlike Rajasthan, Gujarat did not have the greatest of auctions, and they were one franchise who were nearly unanimously written off by everyone, prior to the competition. Few had them finishing in the Top 6, let alone making the playoffs.
But much like their opponents on Sunday did 14 years ago, the Titans have defied all odds to prove to be the biggest surprise package of the competition.
First season. Home Final. 132,000 fans. Is it written in the stars for Gujarat to lift the title? Time will tell.
The Obed McCoy rejuvenation that has enriched RR's pace attack
On the back of the Royals making it to the final, the limelight has largely been on three players: Jos Buttler, Prasidh Krishna and Sanju Samson. While Buttler has understandably been the talk of the town for his maniacal display with the bat, Prasidh’s bouncebackability has seen the youngster be showered with praise. Samson, meanwhile, has received plenty of plaudits for the way he’s gone about leading the side.
The performances of one player, however, have largely slipped under the radar, and that’s Obed McCoy.
Since his reintegration back into the side — nearly a month after being humiliated by Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede — McCoy has been nothing short of outstanding. Exclusively bowling outside the powerplay, the West Indian has taken 8 wickets in 4 matches, maintaining an astounding ER of 7.4 despite bowling all the ‘tough’ overs.
In this period, the left-armer has bowled 8 overs at the death and has astonishingly managed to go at under 7 runs per over.
In Qualifier 2 against RCB, the 25-year-old was tasked with bowling the 18th and 20th overs respectively. RCB looked set for a 170+ score when Samson threw the ball to him, but McCoy conceded just 10 runs off the 2 overs he bowled, continually out-foxing the batters with his variations (in particular, the signature slower dipping full toss). Together with Prasidh, the West Indian ensured that the Royals restricted RCB to a total that was well below par.
McCoy has been a revelation since his return to the side; in the first Qualifier against Titans, his 7-run penultimate over, in fact, nearly got the Royals over the line.
Skipper Samson would be hoping for the left-armer to churn out one more world-class spell to take the side all the way.
Gujarat will need their seamers to be on the money
After blowing teams off with pace in the initial part of the season, it has been a struggle for the Titans’ seamers in the past six matches. In the month of May, the Titans have won and lost 3 matches, but the bowling has largely been carried by the spinners: the slower bowlers have averaged 19.9 while maintaining an ER of 6.7 compared to the pacers, who have averaged 44.6 while going at 9 RPO.
In the first Qualifier against Rajasthan, too, it was the spinners that bailed the Titans out. While R Sai Kishore managed to pick the crucial wicket of Jos Buttler, the magician Rashid Khan bowled an otherworldly spell of 4-0-15-0 to ensure that the Royals did not go beyond par. On the night, the quicker bowlers’ 12 overs traveled for 130 runs.
How the wicket will play come the final remains to be seen, but if Qualifier 2 between RCB and RR is any evidence to go by, the seamers will have a significant role to play. It will, therefore, be imperative for the Gujarat pacers to be on the money.
Mohammed Shami, in the past few games, has more or less been his usual self while Yash Dayal, despite being expensive, has chipped in with crucial breakthroughs at key junctures. The Titans would ideally like for Dayal’s economy to be significantly lower, but one suspects they’d still take a 2/40 or a 1/38 from the left-armer, granted he gets big scalps.
Hardik Pandya, though, would want to see major improvement from Alzarri Joseph, who in Qualifier 1 proved to be ordinary. Joseph, after starting the season on the bench, has taken Lockie Ferguson’s spot in the XI owing to the New Zealander enduring a shocking run of matches, but the 25-year-old has thus far failed to provide real cutting edge with the ball.
Across his last five games, Joseph has averaged 61 (2 wickets in 14 overs) while going at 8.7 an over, and has specifically been extremely ordinary in the powerplay. The last 4 powerplay overs of Joseph have seen the right-armer concede 50 runs while failing to take a wicket.
Rashid and Sai Kishore have been exceptional in the latter half of GT’s campaign, but come Sunday, the Titans might find it hard to get over the line should their seamers not compliment the slower bowlers.
Probable XIs
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Obed McCoy
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami