The Delhi Capitals bowlers have come under the scanner for their poor death over bowling, but on Wednesday, they silenced critics with a sizzling display to bowl Gujarat Titans out for a paltry 89.
With eight points from 11 games, RR are placed second from bottom in the eight-team table and a loss on Saturday will end their slim chances of qualifying for the knockout stage.
Bowling three overs between them at the death, the South Africans kept it tight, giving just 15 runs and taking 2 wickets.
The Virat Kohli-led RCB has won five of its eight games on the back of all-round performances but seemingly blundered in the eight-wicket defeat to laggards KXIP on Thursday.
Rajasthan Royals, struggling at the penultimate spot on the points table after two wins and four straight defeats, need something special against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Sunday's IPL match in Dubai.
With three play-offs spots already sealed by Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings and Royals Challengers Bangalore, KKR consolidated their position for the fourth and final spot, finishing their league engagements with 14 points from 14 games and an impressive net run-rate of 0.587.
CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad will work "wonders" for Indian cricket, according to Pandya, if he maintains this kind of form.
The 2023 IPL season gets underway on Friday, March 31, 2023, with a blockbuster clash between the Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings.
The Punjab Kings, who have heavily relied on skipper Shikhar Dhawan, will need their batters to step up as they face a confident Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday.
PHOTOS of the IPL 2023 match between Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday.
Umran Malik says he would want to cross the 155kmph speed mark one day
Andre Russell produced a superb showing with ball and bat, but it still wasn't enough to prevent the Kolkata Knight Riders from going down by eight runs against the Gujarat Titans.
Check out the top knocks of the DC vs GT match.
Images from the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Table-toppers Mumbai Indians are on course to make it to the play-offs but the game is crucial for Rajasthan, who are languishing in seventh place. Defeat would mean a step closer to elimination.
Head coach Brian Lara said losing wickets in the Powerplay has been a problem for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2023.
Jofra Archer, who smashed 27 from eights, helped Royals hammer 30 runs off the final over to finish on a massive 216 for seven in their 20 overs.
Shubman Gill's fiery knock and Rashid Khan's superb all-round showing took Gujarat Titans to victory in the IPL 2023 opening match against the Chennai Super Kings.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings, in Dubai, on Tuesday.
Images from Friday's IPL match between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals, in Sharjah.
Mumbai bowlers restricted Delhi to 211/7 and then cantered to the target in 31.5 overs, as Prithvi Shaw tore into the Delhi attack.
RR have a lot of issues to sort out, particularly in the absence of key foreign players like Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes.
Fit-again India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is attempting to make his comeback by taking part in the D Y Patil T20 tournament, starting in Mumbai, on Monday. Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are also on their road to recovery after sustaining injuries.
It's just two games into the tournament but Hardik Pandya already seems to have loads to worry about in his second stint with Mumbai Indians, the leadership part not quite falling in place thus far.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians, in Sharjah, on Tuesday.
While DC made a superb start under new captain Rishabh Pant, RR suffered a four-run defeat against Punjab Kings
Chennai Super Kings' batters dazzled before the bowlers ran riot to thrash Gujarat Titans by a thumping 53-run margin.
Strangely, Gill's innings resembled something off a One Day International scorecard rather than a T20 considering its steady pacing, patience and sheer resolve.
The Royals can take solace from the fact that they emerged victorious earlier in the season against GT.
'The feeling is surreal,' tweeted Surya
The average score in T20Is at the Narendra Modi stadium is 163 and those quiet middle overs by RR spinners helped restrict GT to a par score of 177.
The game at the Eden Gardens played out like a pendulum with the match swaying this way now and the other way next.
IPL 2020 has been an exhibition of superb fielding and here are glimpses of some of those efforts...
Opener KL Rahul blasted his way to a fastest ever half-century in Indian Premier League as a new-look Kings XI Punjab started their campaign on a resounding note defeating Delhi Daredevils by six wickets, in Mohali on Sunday.
Rishabh Pant's belligerent unbeaten half-century helped Delhi Capitals' to a narrow four-run win over Gujarat Titans.
The Englishman cut Cummins upishly only to see wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik leap to his left and pull off a two finger catch, which the commentators ruled was the catch of the tournament.
Bairstow made Delhi pay for the miss, hitting 48 runs in 28 balls.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy's failure to clear fitness tests has ruled him out while Thangarasu Natarajan is racing against time to be battle-ready, making him doubtful for at least the early part of India's five-match T20 series against England, starting in Ahmedabad, on Friday.
It's a pity that all the cricketing brains in the dugout -- Brian Lara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara and Dale Steyn in coaching roles -- cannot convert performances out in the middle.
RCB will hope their win materialises into a spot in the play-offs, especially given the way their bowlers performed and Kohli getting his mojo back.
