The Rajasthan Royals have suffered a season of close calls and despair, second-last in the points table with only two wins from nine games. With five games left, all matches are do-or-die affairs, beginning with their next match against Gujarat Titans at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. However, it appears the team has resigned themselves to their fate.
Rajasthan Royals’ Poor Campaign
Rajasthan’s recent streak has been challenging, losing three heartbreaking close matches, all while chasing. They came up short by nine runs in the last over against Delhi Capitals in a Super Over thriller, then lost closely to Lucknow Super Giants, and then slipped against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium last week.
RR Almost Out Of Playoffs Race
While mathematically still in the playoff hunt, Rajasthan’s chances of making it to the playoffs are lean trumping all their remaining games may fall short. Their attempts, however, could add more drama to the final few games of IPL 2025, making the tournament even fiercer.
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Shane Bond Looks Towards Next Season
Before Rajasthan’s third home match of the season, bowling coach Shane Bond spoke to the media, conceding that the 2008 IPL champions are probably out of playoff contention. However, he was optimistic that the team will keep struggling hard in the remaining games, looking to generate momentum for next season.
“You Have To Give Credit To Opposition”
“The hardest thing is that, for 35 overs of games we’ve played really well and in fact have been in control in some games and probably got into positions where we should have won,” Bond said on Sunday.
“You have to give credit to the opposition, they were good enough in those tight moments to go over the top of us and win those games.
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Rajasthan Royals Just Won 2 Matches Out Of 7
“I suppose that’s what hurts us. We’re 2 (wins) and 7 (losses), and go, jeez, where we could sit on the table, but there’s nothing we can do about that now. We’re probably out of the tournament in terms of the points table, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a lot to play for. Obviously, as a team, we want to make sure we finish the season strong and continue playing well, but also for individuals there’s a lot to play for, for the next season, wanting to stay with the franchise.
“For Me, Its Been Really Disappointing” Says Shane Bond
“For me it’s been really disappointing, I think we’re all competitive, we want to win, and when you’ve got a bunch of people who’ve worked really hard like our guys have, I don’t expect them to just turn up and go through the motions, I expect us to turn up every day with the right attitude, bring energy and make life as hard as we possibly can for the opposition that we’re playing against. I feel like we’ve done that for most of the competition. We’ve lost a lot of close games, we just haven’t quite been good enough.”
