Big picture: RR's problems keep getting bigger

That things haven't quite gone to plan for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in IPL 2025 is known. Barring Yashasvi Jaiswal, their top order has underperformed, the bowlers have consistently struggled, and they are languishing in the bottom half of the points table. If that isn't enough, they are sweating over captain Sanju Samson's fitness as they get ready to host a resurgent Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

Samson was forced to retire after hurting his side in RR's previous game, against Delhi Capitals (DC). Rahul Dravid confirmed at the pre-match press conference that Samson "experienced a bit of pain in the abdominal area". He further said that Samson had undergone scans, and his availability would be decided based on the reports.

If Samson does not recover in time, Riyan Parag is expected to take over the captaincy reins. Parag led RR in the first three games of the season, with Samson recovering from a finger injury. At the time, Samson had batted as an Impact Player and did not keep wicket.

If he is not fit, then who replaces Samson? There is Shubham Dubey, who has been coming in as an Impact Player for RR, but he isn't a top-order batter. Then there is Kunal Singh Rathore, the 22-year-old wicketkeeper-batter. The other option is for one of Parag or Nitish Rana, or even Dhruv Jurel, to open the batting with Dubey slotting in the middle order.

RR do have a readymade opener in Vaibhav Suryavanshi, but he is only 14 and untested. Will RR risk such a young player in a game where a loss could derail their season? They have just two wins in seven games so far and a loss would mean having to do a lot of catching up for the playoffs.

For LSG, who started the season without Akash Deep, Mayank Yadav, and Avesh Khan, and lost Mohsin Khan, they have held their own quite brilliantly. After seven games, they have won four and lost three and a win will take them to ten points. With Mayank back in the mix, they now also have an almost full-strength bowling unit to choose from.

It didn't seem that way when the season started, but LSG now have a solid chance to make it to the playoffs. Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh have scored 652 runs between them. The middle order has been dependable, while spinners Digvesh Rathi and Ravi Bishnoi have been more than a handful.

LSG are coming into the game having suffered a defeat to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at home. They will want to make amends against a patchy RR side.

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Form guide

Rajasthan Royals LLLWW (last five matches, most recent first)
Lucknow Super Giants LWWWL

New loyalties

Yudhvir Singh was part of LSG in IPL 2024 and is now with RR. Avesh, who has been key in LSG's fast-bowling lineup this season, was part of RR last year.

In the spotlight: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mayank Yadav

Yashasvi Jaiswal's form was always going to be critical in RR's fortunes but with the top order misfiring, it becomes even more crucial. Jaiswal had a poor start to his season with scores of 1, 29 and 4, but has since scored three fifties in his next four innings and looks fluent.

Jaiswal scored 75 the last time he was in Jaipur on what was a tacky surface. He has a handy record here - two fifties and a hundred in 11 IPL innings - and would want to step up.

Mayank Yadav had a breakthrough IPL 2024 where he touched the 156.7kph mark on the speed gun and regularly breached 150 clicks. He played just four matches, in which he picked up back-to-back Player-of-the-Match awards in his first two games, and seven wickets in all. It got Mayank an India debut against Bangladesh in October last year.

However, since then, he has been down first with a back injury and then a toe injury. But he is now back and expected to play a pivotal part in LSG's push for a playoffs spot. He joined the team on Tuesday and his express pace adds a new dimension to what has already shaped up to be a more than handy bowling attack.

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Team news and likely XIIs

Despite the loss against CSK, LSG are unlikely to make too many changes to their starting XI. Mayank is almost certain to make his IPL 2025 debut. He is likely to come in place of Akash Deep, who has seemed off the mark since returning from a back injury.

Lucknow Super Giants: 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Mitchell Marsh, 3 Nicholas Pooran, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk) , 5 Ayush Badoni, 6 David Miller, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Mayank Yadav, 11 Digvesh Rathi, 12 Ravi Bishnoi

RR could bring in Akash Madhwal or Yudhvir in place of Tushar Deshpande, who has hardly inspired any confidence so far this season. If Samson is not fit, Jurel is likely to don the wicketkeeping gloves. Kumar Kartikeya is expected to come in as the impact sub.

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Sanju Samson (capt, wk)/Vaibhav Suryavanshi/Shubham Dubey, 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Dhruv Jurel, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Tushar Deshpande/Akash Madhwal, 12 Kumar Kartikeya

The big question

Pitch and conditions

There has been only one game so far this season in Jaipur - a day game - where RR went down by nine wickets against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The pitch felt a touch two-paced but eased out as the evening progressed. The Sawai Man Singh Stadium isn't historically a high-scoring venue. Since IPL 2023, the average first-innings score here has been 179. There is a warning in Jaipur for excessive heat, but the temperatures should drop by the time the match gets underway. Dew could be a factor later in the evening.

Stats and trivia

• Pooran is just one away from 9000 T20 runs

• Pooran has fallen to Jofra Archer three times in seven T20 innings and averages just 13 with a strike rate of 108 against the quick

• Nitish Rana has fallen to Avesh twice in five IPL innings

• Bishnoi has the wood over Shimron Hetmyer in T20s, having dismissed him three times in six innings - Hetmyer has an average of 8.00 and a strike rate of 65 against the legspinner

• RR have the third-best run rate in the powerplay (9.69) and third-worst run rate in the middle-overs (7.39) in IPL 2025

Quotes

"We have suffered a little bit with our death bowling. I think that is another area for us that we need to get slightly better with, working with slightly more in execution. I think our plans have been pretty good. It is just more around the execution of some of those skills. A lot of teams are going for runs, but it is those extra 15-16 runs that we seem to go for. Even if, say, for example, a 57-60 is acceptable in the last five overs, it has become almost a norm now. We seem to go for 72-77. "
RR head coach Rahul Dravid