IPL 2020: 3 Mistakes committed by the losing side in KKR vs RR

Rajasthan Royals have been eliminated from IPL 2020 with a massive defeat against KKR. It was a must-win game and RR were not at their best. There were several questionable calls and RR was left with disappointment. They won the toss and invited KKR to bat first but their bowling attack didn’t put on an ideal show. Thanks to a captain’s knock from Eoin Morgan, KKR put on 191 on the board.

Chasing 192 was an uphill task even with the presence of dew. Also, a batting collapse in the initial overs made the things worse for RR and they bundled up for 131. Pat Cummins took a four-wicket haul and Rajasthan’s chase faced a massive dent. With just 12 points against their name, RR became the third team to get eliminated.

Here are the three mistakes committed by RR against KKR:-

1. Giving three overs to Ben Stokes

RR played with four proper bowlers and two all-rounders in Rahul Tewatia and Ben Stokes. Tewatia bowled a brilliant spell and took three wickets. However, in the death when they should have used Varun Aaron, their frontline bowler, they went with Stokes. Stokes was extremely expensive and went for 40 runs in 3 overs which handed over the momentum to KKR.

2. RR’s over-aggressive approach with the bat

RR had to chase a big total of 192 with a run rate of more than 9.5. However, there was some dew expected at the later stage. RR went in with all guns blazing and tried to score big shots. They scored 19 runs in the first over itself but such an approach didn’t last long. The over attacking cricket led them to a dramatic collapse against Pat Cummins and they lost their way quite early.

3. Senior batsmen didn’t take responsibility

RR’s senior batsmen are their greatest strength. Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Robin Uthappa and skipper Steve Smith are their core strength and should’ve batted with more responsibility. Like in their previous wins, one of them has played big knocks. If anyone of them would have stayed till the end to keep their innings together, this total was very much chaseable and they wouldn’t have been eliminated.