IPL 2022 Final, GT vs RR: Rajasthan Royals' road to the final
India Today
Rajasthan Royals have won the IPL only once, when Shane Warne led them to glory in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2008. The Sanju Samson-led RR reached the 2022 final after defeating RCB in Qualifier 2.
Rajasthan Royals will be looking to clinch their second trophy of the Indian Premier League when they take on Gujarat Titans in the 2022 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahemdabad on Sunday (May 29).
The Rajasthan-based franchise has tasted victory only once, when Shane Warne led the team to glory in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2008. Since then, RR have made only three playoffs (2013, 2015 and 2018) before reaching the final hurdle of the 2022 season.
After finishing seventh in the eight-team tournament last year, Rajasthan Royals revamped their squad by retaining only Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of the mega auction.
The Royals had a busy auction as they added the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Prasidh Krishna among others. In the support staff, they brought in Sri Lankan great Lasith Malinga to brainstorm and prepare the strategies with his compatriot Kumar Sangakkara.
The journey commenced with two consecutive wins before the ride turned into bumpy. Let's have a look at how the Royals fared in the 15th edition of the IPL.
The Royals downed SunRisers Hyderabad and the five-time champions Mumbai Indians respectively in their first two matches. The first one was a team effort, with the entire top-order contributing and Chahal, Boult and Prasidh being among the wickets. The second game was a one-man show as Buttler registered a century against MI.
After two wins, RR faced a defeat against RCB. However, Rajasthan recovered quickly as they had a three-match winning streak towards the end of the first half of the tournament. With two losses and six wins, RR maintained their position in the top four. The period also saw Chahal at his best as he took a five-wicket haul against KKR and Buttler recorded two more centuries in IPL 2022. RR also became the victim of the controversial no-ball game against Delhi Capitals, which they nonetheless won.
