IPL 2020: Rajasthan Royals (RR) finish last for the first time in the history of the tournament

Rajasthan Royals (RR) started their journey in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in grand style. Back in 2008, the team, captained by Shane Warne, got their hands on the trophy to kickstart their campaign. They beat the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final to emerge victorious. They won against the odds since, on paper, they didn’t have the strongest of teams by any stretch of the imagination.

However, from there on, the Royals have strained to find their feet in the tournament. Since the 2009 edition, they have made the playoffs only three times out of 10 seasons. In 2016 and 2017, RR weren’t a part of the IPL since they were serving a two-year suspension period. The Royals have mostly found themselves at the bottom half of the points table and have been the clear under-achievers.

RR fail in 2020

Going into the 2020 season in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Royals were expected to make a mark. With the likes of Steve Smith, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer in their mix, they had the firepower to make an impact and qualify for the playoffs. But that didn’t happen and after 14 matches in the league stage, Smith and Co ended eighth in the table, capping off another lacklustre campaign.

The Royals began with a couple of thumping victories against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. They also recorded the highest successful run-chase in the history of the league after Rahul Tewatia’s heroics. But apart from sparks of brilliance here and there, RR hardly threatened to get into the top two and kept sliding down the barrel in the table.

In their last league game against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Dubai, RR needed to win in order to keep their playoffs hopes alive. But to their sheer dismay, they ended up losing the match by 60 runs. After being asked to chase 192, the Royals crumbled to 131 for nine in their 20 overs. RR, in the end, were locked on six wins after 14 games with three other teams but fell behind on net run rate.