3 similarities in RR's issues in IPL 2023 and 2024

Rajasthan Royals (RR) suffered a shocking fourth consecutive defeat against the lowly Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Guwahati on May 15. After another dismal batting performance saw them score only 144 in their 20 overs, the bowlers fought valiantly before PBKS pulled away and won by 5 wickets in the penultimate over.

It meant RR remained stuck on 16 points after 13 outings, with a top-two finish that seemed inevitable a fortnight back now hanging by a thread. While they have qualified for the playoffs, Sanju Samson's unit has lost momentum at the worst possible time in the tournament.

The road for RR thus far has some painful similarities to last season, where the side started strong before tapering off at the back end of the competition to miss the playoffs shockingly.

Despite boasting a strong roster on paper, RR's late-season collapses over the last two seasons have been puzzling, considering their final run in 2022. Yet, several issues in 2023 and this season have been identical from a personnel and team level.

Let us deep-dive and look at the three similarities in RR's issues from IPL 2023 and 2024.

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#1 Jos Buttler's inconsistencies with the bat

While RR's final run in 2022 was largely built on ace batter Jos Buttler's heroics, his struggle for consistency over the last two seasons has been an issue.

The 33-year-old scored an incredible 863 runs at an average of 57.53 in 2022 with eight 50+ scores in 17 outings. However, that level of consistency has dwindled over the next two seasons, resulting in RR's issues in the batting powerplay.

Buttler scored under 400 runs last season at an average of only 28 with 4 50s in 14 games. While his average of 39.88 this season looks excellent in isolation, diving any deeper makes for sorry reading.

The champion batter scored only 359 runs in 11 games with two majestic centuries but no other 50+ scores. It has meant skipper Sanju Samson and No.4 Riyan Parag have often done the heavy lifting this season.

Eventually, the in-form duo have struggled for big scores in the last few games, leading to RR's late-season collapse. Yet, the core problem of Buttler's lack of form in the 2023 and 2024 seasons cannot be overstated.

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#2 Lack of penetration in the middle overs

While more importance is often placed on the powerplay and death overs, IPL games are more often than not decided by taking wickets or a lack thereof from overs 7 to 16 (middle overs).

RR have struggled to pick up wickets during the middle phase this season and the last, resulting in teams having wickets in hand to maximize run-scoring at the death.

The side is 7th this season with only 33 wickets in the middle overs at an average of over 35, while they were only slightly better at fifth last year with 41 wickets at an average of 28.70. And while it is hard to blame this debacle on one player, legendary spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's lack of wicket-taking has played a crucial role.

Ashwin picked up only 14 wickets in 13 games last season and an even worse seven scalps in 12 outings this year. For a bowler with over 500 Test wickets, his lack of penetration has been a key contributor towards RR's struggles to breakthrough regularly in overs 7 to 16.

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#3 Lower middle-order struggles

T20 games often come down to the final five overs with the bat and the teams with established finishers in form end up on the winning side on most occasions.

However, in RR's case, they lacked a reliable lower-middle order except for Shimron Hetmyer last and this season. The West Indian batter has averaged 27 at a strike rate of 184.44 this season after an IPL 2023 campaign with an average of 37.37 and a strike rate of almost 152.

Yet, the figures of others who tried their luck in the lower-middle order paint a sorry picture. Last season, Riyan Parag was used in that role and averaged a dismal 13 at a strike rate of under 119. Jason Holder was even worse with an average of 6 and a strike rate of under 110.

Similarly, this season, Dhruv Jurel and Rovman Powell have tried their hand at the role with little to no success. While the former averages a paltry 18.71 at a strike rate of 133.67, the big West Indian has averaged a dismal 16.20.

The combination of Buttler's inconsistencies at the top and the lack of in-form lower middle-order batters has led to RR's eventual downfall several times during last and this season.