The Indian Premier League’s franchise cricket side, the Rajasthan Royals (commonly referred to as RR), is based in Jaipur, Rajasthan (IPL). The team is situated at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. It was established in 2008 as one of the original eight IPL franchises.
“Transform Society through Cricket, and Cricket through Innovation” is the motto of the Rajasthan Royals. The group is a well-known international sports brand that follows the principle that obtaining royal status requires work rather than inheritance.
The “Spirit of Royalty” separates Rajasthan Royals from countless other sports franchises worldwide. The team believes in being royal at heart. Let us take a glance at the history of RR.
RR History
RR defeated the Kings XI Punjab by six wickets in their opening match of the 2008 IPL at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium. In a successful run chase, Shane Watson’s perfect 76 off 49 balls earned him the title of man of the match.
The Royals also won in the next six games. When they defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 65 runs, they were the first team to go to the semifinals.
They faced the Chennai Super Kings in the championship game. On June 1, 2008, the Royals won the match by three wickets.
Because of his versatility and ability to help the squad in many ways, Shane Watson was named the tournament’s man of the match.
The Fall in performance
Sohail Tanvir was unable to represent the squad during the 2009 IPL season since the PCB refused to give its approval for Pakistani athletes to compete in the league.
When Australia traveled to the UAE to play Pakistan in an ODI series, Shane Watson was also sidelined for the entire season. The team appeared slightly weaker without these two players than it did the previous year.
Out of the eight participating clubs, Rajasthan Royals placed sixth. The Royals, however, were unable to advance to the semifinals.
The 2010 IPL Season that followed was a poor beginning for RR in the league. At the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, they fell short of the Mumbai Indians by just 4 runs.
They observed numerous setbacks. Therefore, they missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
The Tough Times
In 2011, due to the failure to disclose their ownership changes, the Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab were expelled from the league. With the High Court’s assistance, the teams were reassembled.
The Rajasthan Royals’ 8-wicket victory over the Kumar Sangakkara-led Deccan Chargers marked the IPL 2011’s grand opening. Rajasthan was disqualified from the contest since they placed sixth overall out of the 10 teams who participated in it, winning 6 of the 14 games they played and losing the other 10.
Rajasthan Royals only managed to win seven out of their sixteen games during the 2012 IPL Season, the league’s fifth season. In terms of points, this retained them in seventh place.
They defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in the elimination round in 2013, but they were eliminated from the competition after falling to Mumbai Indians in the second qualifier.
Rajasthan Royals qualified for the playoffs in the 2015 IPL after placing fourth in the league stage. They were eliminated from the competition nevertheless after losing to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the eliminator. The team was again banned for 2 years.
The comeback
In the following years, there was a series of changes in captainship. The team performed barely well. In 2020 Steve Smith was awarded the captaincy.
The squad won its first two games of the season, which was a tremendous start. But they were unable to continue their good work. In 2021 Sanju Samson was the new captain.
Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, and Yashasvi Jaiswal were the three players the organization ultimately decided to keep before the major auction in 2022. Rajasthan finished the season as the runner-up thanks to several players’ outstanding performances.
RR Cricket Team Records
Team Performance
| Year | Total | Wins | Losses | No result | Tied & won | Tied & lost | Win % | Position | Summary |
| 2008 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78.57 | 1st | Champion |
| 2009 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 46.15 | 6th | Group-Stage |
| 2010 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42.86 | 7th | Group-Stage |
| 2011 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 | 6th | Group-Stage |
| 2012 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43.75 | 7th | Group-Stage |
| 2013 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62.50 | 3rd | Playoffs |
| 2014 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 | 5th | Group-Stage |
| 2015 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 50.00 | 4th | Playoffs |
| 2016 | Team was suspended | ||||||||
| 2017 | Team was suspended | ||||||||
| 2018 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46.67 | 4th | Playoffs |
| 2019 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 35.71 | 7th | Group-Stage |
| 2020 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42.85 | 8th | Group-Stage |
| 2021 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35.71 | 7th | Group-Stage |
| 2022 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58.82 | 2nd | Runners-up |
| Total | 182 | 88 | 89 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 48.35 | One Time Champion |
Team wins, losses, and draws
| Opponent | Span | Matches | Won | Lost | No Result | Tied & won | Tied & lost | Win % |
| RCB | 2008–2021 | 24 | 10 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 45.45 |
| CSK | 2008–2015, 2018–2021 | 25 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 |
| DC† | 2008–2012 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 77.77 |
| DD | 2008–2021 | 24 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| KKR | 2008–2021 | 24 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 41.66 |
| KTK† | 2011 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| MI | 2008–2021 | 23 | 11 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45.83 |
| PBKS | 2008–2021 | 23 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 58.69 |
| PWI† | 2011–2013 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80.00 |
Top-5 Rajasthan Royals records in the IPL
The top scores of RR in the IPL are bliss to watch. The following section contains the highest record of RR in IPL:
Highest Totals
| Score | Opposition | Venue | Date |
| 226/6 | PBKS | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, UAE | 27 September 2020 |
| 223/5 | CSK | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, India | 3 April 2010 |
| 220/3 | SRH | Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, India | 2 May 2021 |
| 217/7 | DC | Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad, India | 24 April 2008 |
| 217/4 | RCB | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, India | 15 April 2018 |
| 217/7 | PBKS | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India | 12 April 2021 |
Lowest Totals
| Score | Opposition | Venue | Date |
| 58 | RCB | Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa | 18 April 2009 |
| 81 | KKR | Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India | 17 April 2011 |
| 85 | KKR | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, UAE | 7 October 2021 |
| 90/9 | MI | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, UAE | 5 October 2021 |
| 92 | RCB | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, India | 18 March 2010 |
Individual Records
Most Runs
| Rank | Runs | Player | Matches | Innings | Period |
| 1 | 2,812 | Sanju Samson | 108 | 104 | 2013-2022 |
| 2 | 2,810 | Ajinkya Rahane | 100 | 93 | 2011-2019 |
| 3 | 2,372 | Shane Watson | 78 | 76 | 2008-2015 |
| 4 | 2,159 | Jos Buttler | 56 | 55 | 2018-2022 |
| 5 | 1,276 | Rahul Dravid | 46 | 45 | 2011-2013 |
Highest individual score
| Rank | Runs | Player | Opposition | Venue | Date |
| 1 | 124 | Jos Buttler | SRH | Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, India | 2 May 2021 |
| 2 | 119 | Sanju Samson | PBKS | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India | 12 April 2021 |
| 3 | 116 | Jos Buttler | DC | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India | 22 April 2022 |
| 4 | 107* | Ben Stokes | MI | Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE | 25 October 2020 |
| 5 | 105* | Ajinkya Rahane | DD | Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, India | 22 April 2019 |
Highest strike rates
| Rank | Strike rate | Player | Runs | Balls Faced | Period |
| 1 | 161.24 | Yusuf Pathan | 1,011 | 627 | 2008-2010 |
| 2 | 150.52 | Jos Buttler | 1,576 | 1,047 | 2018-2022 |
| 3 | 146.92 | James Faulkner | 382 | 260 | 2013-2015 |
| 4 | 144.79 | Michael Lumb | 278 | 192 | 2010-2010 |
| 5 | 141.27 | Shane Watson | 2372 | 1679 | 2008-2013 |
Most Centuries
| Rank | Centuries | Player | Innings | Runs | Period |
| 1 | 5 | Jos Buttler | 57 | 2,304 | 2018-2022 |
| 2 | 2 | Shane Watson | 76 | 2,372 | 2008-2015 |
| 2 | 2 | Ajinkya Rahane | 93 | 2,810 | 2011-2015 |
| 2 | 2 | Sanju Samson | 106 | 2,849 | 2018-2022 |
| 3 | 1 | Ben Stokes | 31 | 604 | 2018-2021 |
| 3 | 1 | Yusuf Pathan | 42 | 1,011 | 2008-2010 |
RR Current Squad
The current squad of RR comprises the following players:
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Karun Nair
- Rassie Van Der Dussen
- Riyan Parag
- Shimron Hetmyer
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Daryl Mitchell
- James Neesham
- Ravichandran Ashwin
- Shubham Garhwal
- Dhruv Jurel
- Jos Buttler
- Sanju Samson
- Anunay Singh
- Corbin Bosch
- KC Cariappa
- Kuldeep Sen
- Kuldip Yadav
- Navdeep Saini
- Obed McCoy
- Prasidh Krishna
- Tejas Baroka
- Trent Boult
- Yuzvendra Chahal
By far the journey of RR has been adventurous and tough. The coming performance of the team always awaits excitement and thrill. Let us see what the team has to offer in the future in IPL 2023.
