The Royals' pace coach threw his full support behind a resurgent Jofra Archer, praised the squad's fighting spirit, and made it clear - wearing the RR badge still means playing with pride, passion, and purpose.
Sporting sunglasses under his helmet, Iyer attempted to shield his eyes from the intense Anantapur sun. However, his unconventional approach failed to ward off the heat, as he was dismissed for a seven ball duck.
Captain Shreyas Iyer is pleased that Punjab Kings displayed the right mindset after being put under the pump by aggressive Rajasthan Royals top-order batters.
Can't afford any slip-up, need to start winning games: RR coach Dravid
273 runs to his name, he has surged to the second position in the Orange Cap race and also became the first Indian to cross the 200-run mark in IPL 2025.
IMAGES from the IPL 2022 game between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Pune, on Tuesday
Ahead of the 2018 IPL, Smith was the only player retained by the Royals for Rs 12.5 crore.
On Thursday, opener Suryavanshi was out for a duck, while young Jaiswal too could not make an impact, scoring just 13 runs as RR were all out for 117 at their home ground, chasing Mumbai Indians' 217/2.
The series already in their pocket, India will look to address their batting woes against an England team gunning for revenge after feeling hard-done by a debatable concussion substitute when the two teams clash in the fifth and final T20 International in Mumbai on Sunday.
Virat Kohli enhanced his status as a lone ranger by notching up a record-extending eighth IPL century but Royal Challengers could only manage just about par-score of 183 for 3 against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Saturday.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the Asia Cup match against Pakistan?
Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah returned to India's T20 squad for next month's Asia Cup, but IPL star performers Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal missed out.
Rajasthan Royals skipper Steve Smith was all praise Ben Stokes and Sanju Samson after the eight-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in the IPL match in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Earlier, India B were all out for 282 in their first innings in reply to D's first essay of 349.
The likes of Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag and Rinku Singh will get another opportunity to enhance their red-ball credentials when the final round of Duleep Trophy matches begin in Anantapur
Rajasthan Royals Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara hailed Sanju Samson's contribution after the team sealed a berth in the final of IPL 2022, saying the Kerala man has performed the triple roles of wicketkeeping, captaincy and batting with aplomb.
Mohammed Shami's first white ball outing since 2023 World Cup final was below par but Bengal survived a fine all-round effort by Arshdeep Singh
Led by Sanju Samson, the Royals are on a roll, winning an impressive four matches in a row.
IMAGES from the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday
Ishan Kishan made a dream start at his new IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad with a match-winning century against Rajasthan Royals.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the upcoming three-match T20I series against West Indies with an injury and was replaced by Kerala's wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson.
'Hardik is also a part of leading group. When we sit, we decide what we want to do in the game going forward and also on the field. He is always around. It's like we have a lot of captains on the ground.'
'Sanju backed himself to get the job done, and he nearly did'
With just two wins from eight outings, Rajasthan find themselves languishing in eighth place on the points table.
Local hero Sanju Samson struck a blistering 48-ball 91 as India A romped to a 36-run victory over South Africa A in the fifth and final unofficial ODI, helping the hosts claim the series 4-1, in Thiruvananthapuram, on Friday.
Chetan Sakariya also impressed one and all as he returned with the figures of 3-31 in a match where Rajasthan Royals' bowlers were dispatched all around the park as Punjab Kings posted a score of 221 in the allotted twenty overs.a
'I think the position that we are in we were playing for pride today. We tried to put in the best performance that we can'
Images from the IPL 2025 match between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals in Mullanpur on Saturday
Was it Sandeep Sharma?
IMAGES from the second T20I in Gqeberha played between India and South Africa on Sunday
More than the numbers, it was the swagger. The intent. The ease with which he handled the pressure. Vaibhav didn't look like a passenger in the IPL -- he looked like he belonged.
Suryakumar Yadav has been named the captain for this T20I series, bringing his leadership and experience to the relatively young squad. Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma will serve as the wicketkeepers, while key players such as Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, and Washington Sundar are included to strengthen the batting and bowling departments.
Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid acknowledged concerns about the team's death bowling performance in the ongoing IPL but expressed confidence in their ability to improve execution in upcoming matches.
Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson feels mistakes are part and parcel of T20 cricket and his team will have to stick to their process despite enjoying a dream run in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
Images from Monday's IPL match between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals, in Mumbai.
While DC made a superb start under new captain Rishabh Pant, RR suffered a four-run defeat against Punjab Kings
Shortly after the Royal Challengers Bangalore game against the Rajasthan Royals ended at the Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur, Virat Kohli called wife Anushka Sharma and spoke to her and their three-year-old daughter Vamika.
Rajasthan Royals take on Punjab Kings aiming to seal their IPL play-offs berth, in their penultimate league match.
Suryakumar Yadav reaffirmed the stance that no one is 'bigger than the team' and having a 'selfless' approach after the hosts handed Bangladesh a shellacking in the final T20I.
Sunrisers Hyderabad buried Rajasthan Royals under a deluge of runs to start its IPL 2025 campaign in thumping fashion with a 44-run win in Hyderabad on Sunday.
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