OPINION
Follow Us“To our First Royal”
When Rajasthan Royals started their 2022 campaign, the mission was clear. To pay the tribute to the most recognized Rajasthan Royals player ever, their first captain, their first winning captain, and a mentor par excellence, Shane Warne, whose tragic death had got the entire cricketing world mourning.
For once, they had a team worthy enough to win the title - a bunch of serious match-winners and no laggards to boot the anarchy. Under Sanju Samson, Rajasthan Royals posed a confident look, meant business right from the outset and won matches they had no business winning, triumphed in the face of solid blows.
Only if cricket was a sport of pure fantasy, Rajasthan Royals had no business not winning the whole damn thing. As much as Gujarat Titans made the championship run so easy and effortless, Rajasthan Royals had as much authenticity as a team, ramping for mission domination.
Hence, the loss in the final, part of their own doing, would hurt so much. The dream came crashing down in one night of misjudgment and the title slipped away from their grasp. But it was a mission they could be super proud of and be prepared for the next season, with a hope that had eluded them in the last decade.
The success stories
Absolute Jos power added impetus to Samson's bruteness
To state Jos Buttler was at the peak of his powers was an understatement. Buttler has been the best T20 batter in the world for a while and the IPL had seen his carnage for far too long. But in 2022, there was no stopping. 863 runs at an average of 57.53 and a strike rate of 149.1 don’t just come to a swashbuckler. He was a player, operating in a different class and plane.
Buttler’s success further imbibed a deeper philosophy that had always worked for Samson. Samson showed great intent in this season and looked to deal with the damage as early as possible. He had the most of his impact in the first 20 balls and 13 of his 26 sixes (50%) came in the first ten balls he had faced.
As contradictory as it may sound, the same approach further helped him consistently score runs for his team as well. Not only did the skipper have the license of not worrying about his consistency and reverted back to his impact nature, but that served well for the Royals to put up scores in the first innings that could safely be defended later on.
Chahal not showing any mercy
The fact about Yuzvendra Chahal is you can always bank on him. In the last couple of years, his performances didn’t match up to the standard he had set for himself, hence, a lot of talks were about his effectiveness. But in 2022 IPL, Chahal showcased to the world that he is still a force to be reckoned with and his impact has no boundaries.
The purple cap holder in the Indian Premier League took 22 wickets with a bowling SR of 12 and an economy rate of just 7.3 in the first 11 games. His performances alongside that of Buttler and Samson were central to the Royals racing ahead and eventually finishing at the second position on the points table.
Breakthrough star
Obed McCoy had a brilliant season with West Indies, but unlike his compatriot Odean Smith, who dumped all expectations with Punjab Kings to render an utterly flop season, he stood tall. McCoy didn’t have the greatest start to the IPL this season, going for over 40 runs in his first two matches that saw him lose his spot in the playing eleven, but he was very impressive since his return, taking eight wickets at an average of 14.8 and an economy rate of 7.4.
Among pacers in the death overs in IPL 2022, McCoy’s economy rate of 8.1 was the third-best, just behind Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. As the Royals aim for the gun, with a fantastic Indian core intact, McCoy will be a definitive pick that they would want to consider in the next season. For they had lost way too many opportunities in the past for the lack of a proper Indian core, but now that they have one, with promising stars, it is imperative to look beyond the immediate future.
