"They just had all bases covered"- Shane Watson shocked with Rajasthan Royals' dip in form in IPL 2023
Former Rajasthan Royals (RR) all-rounder Shane Watson was a bit baffled with the way RR lost their way in the second half of the tournament. Sanju Samson and Co. had a phase where they lost five out of six games and that has potentially proved to be the reason why they're almost out of the playoffs race.
RR also lost by a massive margin of 112 runs in their previous game and that might have certainly dented their confidence. Watson couldn't believe how the Royals lost form after being magnificent in the first 5-6 games of the tournament.
Speaking on 'The Grade Cricketer' podcast, here's what Shane Watson had to say about Rajasthan Royals' season:
"After the first 4-5 games, I had Rajasthan Royals in the final as well. They just had all bases covered with quality spinners and pacers and also with Jaiswal in great form. They didn't really seem to have any weakness. I would have been disappointed with the way they fell off a cliff there halfway through the tournament."
Watson shed light on how RR might have tried to tinker with their playing XI, giving a bit too much importance to match-ups. He added:
"From my experience, Rajasthan over the years have started well, but then they have gone searching for match-ups and have chopped and changed their team. People then start to look over their shoulder and that's disruptive. That seems to be the only possible problem, because especially this year, they just had a great team."
Shane Watson on RCB's biggest challenge
While the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) look in great shape to make it to the IPL 2023 playoffs, Shane Watson feels their overdependence on star players, especially their top order, is something they could struggle with come the knockout game in Chennai.
On this, he stated:
"The biggest challenge RCB will face is if their top three fail, they have struggled. They have a good bowling attack, but they have tapered off a bit and the finals will be in Chennai. They don't even have Yuzvendra Chahal to make the impact with the ball."
RCB have a much better chance of qualifying for the playoffs after their massive win against the Royals and then against the Sunrisers Hyderabad as well.