IPL 2020: ‘RR’s batting order is a disorder’ – Aakash Chopra slams Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals (RR) slumped to their 7th defeat of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League match yesterday. They now find themselves at the 7th spot on the points table requiring a miracle to qualify for the playoffs.

In yesterday’s match against SRH, RR got off to a brisk start but soon lost their way while batting. Following Robin Uthappa’s needless run-out, Ben Stokes found it very difficult to middle the ball. Those who came after him also found the going tough as RR could only manage 154 runs. The score was chased down after an initial stutter by the SRH batters courtesy of Manish Pandey‘s 83 and Vijay Shankar‘s 52.

RR’s hopes of making it to the playoffs now hang by a thread having won just four matches. Even in these four matches, they had to rely on Rahul Tewatia to pull off a heist to pull through. The biggest problem for RR has been their unstable batting order. RR have experiment with a plethora of opening pairs over the course of the tournament.

The likes of Jos Buttler , Ben Stokes, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Steve Smith and Robin Uthappa have all opened the innings in the tournament. The lack of a settled batting order has gravely affected RR’s consistency in their batting which has been a key reason for their position on the table.

‘Your whole boat sinks’ – Aakash Chopra

Following Rajasthan Royals’ loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra took to his YouTube channel to express his views on the match. He was extremely critical of RR’s batting order. He said, “Rajasthan Royals have an issue that their batting order is actually a disorder. Their batting order is beyond my understanding at this point of time because Jos Buttler, who is their best player is being sent at No.4 while they are opening with Ben Stokes, whose bat is not firing.”

Chopra was also unhappy with Stokes’ form with the bat. He said, “The extent to which Ben Stokes’ bat has not been firing can be understood by the fact that he has played more than 100 deliveries and he is yet to hit a six. They have signed Ben Stokes and not Aakash Chopra that he is scoring with just the fours and singles.”

“Rajasthan Royals had expectations from Ben Stokes but he is not able to deliver there but the entire innings is becoming slow. Because of that Sanju Samson plays a bad shot to get out as the pressure is mounting. By the time Steve Smith comes to bat, the match is almost going out of their hands and in such a situation if Jos Buttler gets out, already you have reduced his effectiveness by giving him less overs to bat, then your whole boat sinks,” Chopra further said.

Also Read: Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals’ Twitter handles engage in playful banter