Heading into their IPL 2025 clash against Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday, Rajasthan Royals find themselves in eighth position on the table with four points from seven games.
Royals head coach Rahul Dravid, however, is still confident that his boys can turn things around this season to make the playoffs.
“The team is working really hard,” Dravid said before the match against LSG. “They’re putting in a lot of effort and are aware of the situation we are in. We know we need to improve and we’re committed to doing exactly that.”
“We won’t give up. We are still in the mix and can make the knockouts if we perform well in the remaining matches. We’re not out of it yet. The team is focused on putting in improved performances and there’s still plenty to fight for,” he added.
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With seven games still left in their IPL 2025 league campaign and only four points adrift of the top four, a string of positive results can very well bring the Royals back into contention for the knockouts.
The Royals heartbreakingly missed out on two crucial points in their last outing as they went down to Delhi Capitals in Super Over despite dominating the current table toppers for large parts of the match, and that too, on their home turf.
Sanju Samson and Co., however, will be eager to return to winning ways against LSG at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday. A 4-1 head-to-head record against the Lucknow team will also give the Royals some extra confidence.
Despite the unfortunate string of results, the Royals’ opening pairing of Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Sanju Samson have been one of the positive sparks this season.
Jaiswal is the team’s top scorer with 233 runs and comes into the LSG match on the back of back-to-back half-centuries. Samson has been solid throughout and have contributed with 224 runs.
“Our opening partnership has been working really well,” Dravid acknowledged. “Both Sanju and Yashasvi have given us good starts throughout the season. Even in the last match, they were excellent before Sanju unfortunately had to walk off.”
Sanju Samson was forced to retire hurt against DC after suffering an abdominal injury while batting on 31 from just 19 balls. The loss eventually turned out to be detrimental for the Royals.
The Royals captain’s involvement in the LSG match will be based on reports of the scans he will undergo before the match, Dravid informed.
Dravid also emphasised the team’s collective intent and belief.
“T20 cricket is such that you cannot perform at every match but they are putting in good performances consistently,” he added. “The entire team is aware of the effort we need to put in to win the remaining matches and we are confident that we can play together well.”
