IPL 2022: 3 reasons why Rajasthan Royals has the best batting lineup in the tournament
Rajasthan Royals (RR) won the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008. They have been waiting for their second title ever since. As the 15th edition of the league is all set to get underway on March 26, the Jaipur-based team would be hoping their title drought ends soon.
This time around, IPL is being played as a 10-team tournament, with two groups and 74 matches overall. Each team plays all the other sides of their group, and one team of the other group, twice. They play the other teams once.
Rajasthan Royals have assembled a very good squad after this year's IPL mega auction. Their major signings at the auction were Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Ravichandran Ashwin - an impressive core of batsmen and bowlers.
Though the overall look of the team is good, it's their batting department which is especially impressive on paper. It can be argued that the Royals have the best batting line-up among all teams.
To make this point clearer, let's look at 3 reasons why Rajasthan has the most impressive set of batsmen for this year's IPL.
#3 Rajasthan Royals has good finishers and backups
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RR will most probably designate Riyan Parag and Jimmy Neesham to the finishing roles this season. Nathan Coulter-Nile could also be used in place of Neesham if the team wants to strengthen their bowling.
However, that means the youngster Parag will have to take up more responsibility. The team has shown a lot of faith in him in the last three seasons. The boy from Assam will be looking to prove himself this time.
If the team feels that the designated finishers aren't performing up to their potential, Jos Buttler or Sanju Samson could also be shifted down the order.
RR's batting backups include Rassie van der Dussen and Daryl Mitchell - two quality overseas picks who have started very well in international cricket. They have also invested in some domestic options that include the experienced Karun Nair as well as youngsters such as Anunay Singh and Dhruv Jurel.
#2 Rajasthan Royals have quality middle-order batsmen
RR's most probable middle-order lineup will be Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson, and Shimron Hetmyer. These three batsmen have proved their worth at crucial moments during the last two seasons. All three of them can complement each other very well.
Padikkal can take on the spinners in the middle overs or hold up an end, as per the team's requirements. Although he opened the batting for Royal Challengers Bangalore, the shift to number three is something he won't find difficult. His record in the middle overs is impressive - 428 runs at an average of 39 and a strike rate of 130.
Captain Sanju Samson has improved his T20 game a lot. In the last two IPL seasons, he has scored 859 runs in 28 matches at an average of 35 and a strike rate of 146. He has shown controlled aggression with the bat ever since he was made the captain. Sanju is good against all types of bowling and is arguably RR's most important batsman after Buttler.
Shimron Hetmyer is among the most formidable middle-order batsmen in the T20 format. Since 2020, he has scored 427 runs in IPL at an average of 28 and a magnificent strike rate of 159.
#1 Rajasthan Royals' destructive opening pair
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Rajasthan Royals are most likely to start with the opening combination of Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal. This pair offers a left-right combination at the top of the order, which is always tough to bowl at for the opposition.
Buttler is arguably the best T20 batsman in the world, at the moment. Since 2020, he has scored 1627 runs in 49 T20s at an average of 42 and a strike rate of 143. He offers consistency at an incredible scoring rate - something which few batsmen around the globe can offer.
Jaiswal has also been impressive in the few games he has played for Rajasthan. The jump from U-19 cricket to IPL is not easy. It will take some time for him to settle down and play his natural game at this level.
his level.
his level.
his level.