IPL 2023: Virender Sehwag, Rajat Bhatia Highlight 'Mistakes' Which Cost Rajasthan Royals Against Punjab

Rajasthan Royals lost to Punjab Kings in match number eight of IPL 2023 and suffered their first defeat of the season. The Sanju Samson-led side fell five runs short of the total posted by Shikhar Dhawan and his band at Barsapara Cricket Ground in Guwahati.

Chasing a target of 198, Rajasthan Royals could only muster 192 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their first game in Guwahati, which is their second home ground of the season, ending in a defeat.

The Royals seemed to have lost pretty early in the big run chase as they were five batters down in 14.1 overs. The scoreboard read 121 when local boy Riyan Parag was dismissed for 20 (12 balls) by Nathan Ellis.

But the quickfire partnership of 60 runs between Shimron Hetmyer and impact substitute Dhruv Jurel once again turned the tide in favour of the chasing team. With 16 required from the final over, left-arm pacer Sam Curran only conceded 11 off it and helped his team eke out a narrow win.

IPL 2023 RR vs PBKS Turning Point

However, former India cricketer Virender Sehwag, while pointing out the turning point of the game for the Royals, claimed the decision to keep Hetmyer waiting backfired. The explosive former India opener while speaking to Cricbuzz said, "Delhi, Punjab and Bangalore - the three original teams from the first edition of IPL - are yet to put their hands on the silverware. So, I would love to see any of these teams become champions this year. Coming to the match between RR and PBKS it was very interesting as both teams fought till the end."

"I think Shimron Hetmyer was sent in pretty late by Rajasthan Royals. His dismissal proved to be a turning point (but he had no other option in the end). If he would have faced more deliveries, the result could have been different. So I think, there was a lack of judgement by the Rajasthan team management because they kept a batter of Hetmyer's calibre waiting," the Nawab of Najafgarh added.

Rajat Bhatia Questions RR Team Management

Former India cricketer Rajat Bhatia - who has plied his trade for several IPL franchises, including Rajasthan Royals - was also critical of the Jaipur-based team's decisions in the game.

Praising Jurel and Hetmyer's brilliant cameos at the back end of the run chase, Bhatia said at Cricbuzz post-match show, "I thought the match was over for Rajasthan once Riyan Parag was dismissed but Dhruv and Hetmyer's partnership brought them closer to the target. But in the hindsight, Rajasthan Royals would now be thinking about the few dot balls early in their innings or a couple of missed boundaries which could have made the difference for them, or the players who failed to convert the starts."

Bhatia also questioned Rajasthan's decision to send all-rounder R Ashwin as Yashasvi Jaiswal's opening partner as it seemed Jos Buttler wasn't completely fit to open the batting. The 42-year-old former Delhi cricketer said RR could have gone with Devdutt Padikkal - who is a genuine opener - instead of Ashwin.

"The decision to open innings with R Ashwin was a questionable move, you could have gone with Devdutt Padikkal (if Buttler wasn't completely ready to open due to the injury he sustained while fielding). Padikkal scored runs in the IPL opening batting (for RCB) but he isn't looking comfortable in the batting position Rajasthan have slotted him in."

Terming coach Kumar Sangakkara's decision to promote Ashwin as an opener as shocking, Bhatia said, "Since I have played for Rajasthan and I know for a fact that many of their decisions are surprising. R Ashwin opening the batting instead of going with a genuine opener in Padikkal in this game proved it again. Ashwin didn't score a single run off the four balls he faced. Such decisions after a period of time are shocking, not surprising."