Royals’ bowling has not been up to the mark: Dravid

Though Tushar Deshpande picked up the openers early, Royals could not prevent Kings from posting a big total.
| Photo Credit: R.V. MOORTHY

Rajasthan Royals’ batting crumbled under pressure while pursuing a target of 220 against Punjab Kings, stumbling in a run chase for the fifth time in IPL 2025, but head coach Rahul Dravid felt the bowlers shared the burden of the side’s wretched run this season.

“It’s been one of those seasons where we always feel that we probably gave 15-20 runs extra. If we look at the season, bowling has not been up to the mark. Neither in taking wickets nor in stopping runs. We’ve chased nearly 200 every game, even then we’ve managed to get close.

“Shimron Hetmyer at the back end, maybe missed out this season, which was a bit tough on us. But that can happen. He’s done so well for us in that role in the past three seasons. That’s the nature of the game. I don’t really think we felt the need to tweak it [batting order] too much,” Dravid said.

Kings’ spin-bowling coach Sunil Joshi praised Harpreet Brar whose three scalps allowed the side to rein the opposition in despite conceding 89 runs while picking up a sole wicket in the PowerPlay.

“Brar has been consistent throughout the season. Last year also we saw how he bowled. Time and again, he’s proven himself when he has had the opportunity. He was there to perform and got the wickets for us,” Joshi said.

He also allayed any concerns around Shreyas Iyer suffering an injury after the PBKS captain was subbed out in the second innings. “It was just a niggle when he was batting. That’s it.”