As the fight for a playoff spot gets tougher, the lack of substantial contributions from these seasoned campaigners has upended the Royals’ plans.
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IPL 2023: Rajasthan Royals, Gujarat Titans look to get back to winning ways
After starting the season with three 50s in four games, it looked like last year’s leading scorer, Buttler, would continue where he left off. But his struggles over the last five games, including two ducks, offered an indication of a collapse in England’s batting form.
So far in nine matches, the Royals’ opener has scored 289 points (SR 138.94).
At this point in the IPL, he is far from his usual dominant self. To complicate matters, Royals captain Samson doesn’t have great figures either. He’s been inconsistent, managing 212 runs in nine games (23.56 average), albeit at a fairly healthy 150.35 strike rate.
The unflattering Samson has yet to lead from the front.
The Royals will expect their star hitters to show up in force when they next meet the Gujarat Titans in their backyard at SMS Stadium here on Friday.
Third-placed Titans and Royals both enter the game after losses in their previous outings.
While the teams seem evenly matched in the bowling department, the Titans middle order seems to carry more weight with the presence of proven hitters like David Miller, Rahul Tewatia and Vijay Shankar. Stopping them will be quite a task for the Royals.
