RR suffered yet another defeat while chasing 180 from a winning position. Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel were out on the same spot as the previous match to chase 9 runs of 6 balls in the last over, and they couldn’t deliver this time as well. Death over batting has become a concern for RR now, they need to find a solution for it before it costs more matches in the tournament. Let’s explore the reasons for RR’s defeat by 2 runs against LSG.
Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel’s Struggle against yorkers
Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel were retained by Rajasthan Royals ahead of the T20 legend Jos Buttler, specifically for the finishing role.
But they couldn’t perform up to their expectations. They failed to chase 9 runs off 6 balls for two consecutive matches.
Mitchell Starc exposed their weakness against Yorkers in the last match. LSG bowlers followed the same strategy against them in the death overs yesterday.
Avesh Khan’s brilliance in death overs stuns RR
Avesh Khan bowled the important 18th and 20th overs and saved the match for LSG. When 25 runs were required in 18 balls, He gave just 5 runs in the 18th over, and when 9 runs were required in 6 balls, he conceded just 6 runs and won the game.
Avesh just gave 11 runs in his last 12 balls and turned around the match. He backed his strength of pace, instead of slower ones. Every delivery clicked at an average speed of 138 KPH, and it was too good to handle.
Expensive Sandeep Sharma
Sandeep Sharma is known as one of the best death bowlers in recent years of the IPL. He successfully defended the target against the best finisher, MS Dhoni, twice in the last 3 seasons ( 2023 & 2025). Sandeep conceded 55 runs in his 4-over spell and took a solitary spell and in the super over against DC, his variations weren’t that effective to defend an 11-run target.
But, Sandeep Sharma is slowly losing that tag in the past two matches. In the last match, he conceded 19 runs in the last over against DC, and yesterday he conceded 27 runs. RR lost both the matches by small margins. His bad form for the past two matches played a crucial role in RR’s defeat.
Also Read:Â RR vs LSG : RR Stumble In Another Run Chase, Avesh Khan’s Thunderbolts Steals 2 Run Win