RR have become a really good team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) lately. In 2022, they came second in the league. Jos Buttler did great batting, and Yuzvendra Chahal and Trent Boult were awesome at bowling.
Chahal was new to the team but did really well, taking the most wickets in the season. He got 27 wickets in 17 matches. In 2008, when Rajasthan Royals won the title, Sohail Tanvir, Shane Warne, and Shane Watson were amazing with the ball.
Now, fans hope the bowlers will do great again in the next IPL. They want to win another trophy. So, let’s talk about the five best bowling performances in Rajasthan Royals’ history.
Here’s the list of RR’s 5 best bowling performances of all time in IPL:
5. Prasidh Krishna’s 3/22 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2022
In a cricket match, Rajasthan Royals beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets. This win helped Rajasthan Royals reach the final match. Jos Buttler got the best player award for scoring 106 runs without getting out. But earlier in the game, Prasidh Krishna bowled really well. He got the important wickets of Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, and Wanindu Hasaranga. Krishna only gave away 22 runs and took three wickets in his four overs.
4. Shreyas Gopal’s 4/16 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2018
Rajasthan Royals came back to play in the IPL in 2018 after being banned for two years because of betting. Ajinkya Rahane led the team, and they made it to the playoffs. In one crucial match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, held in Jaipur, Shreyas Gopal, a leg-spin bowler, played a significant role.
In the match, Rajasthan batted first and scored 164 runs, with Rahul Tripathi scoring 80 runs without getting out. When Royal Challengers Bangalore started batting, Rajasthan got the important wicket of Virat Kohli early. But the partnership between Parthiv Patel and Ab de Villiers made it seem like Royal Challengers could win easily.
Shreyas Gopal, however, remained calm and focused. He took important wickets in the ninth over, dismissing Patel and Moeen Ali. Then, in his next over, he got Mandeep Singh out. Even though Ab de Villiers was still playing, Shreyas managed to get him out too. De Villiers had scored 53 runs off 35 balls. Eventually, Rajasthan restricted Royal Challengers to 134 runs, and Shreyas Gopal was named the Player of the Match for his bowling figures of 4 wickets for 16 runs.
3. Yuzvendra Chahal’s 5/40 against Kolkata Knight Riders, 2022
In 2022, Yuzvendra Chahal bowled really well in a cricket game. It was in the IPL, a big cricket tournament. He played for the team called Royals. They were playing against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at a place called Brabourne Stadium.
Royals batted first and made 217 runs. One of their players, Jos Buttler, scored 103 runs. KKR started batting and they were doing pretty good. But then Chahal, who bowls spin, took five wickets. He got out five of the KKR players. Because of his good bowling, Royals won the match by seven runs. Chahal was chosen as the best player of the match.
2. James Faulkner’s 5/16 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2013
Australian cricketer James Faulkner played an important role for the team Rajasthan Royals (RR) during the years 2013 to 2015. In 2013, he showed his bowling skills and became the second-best wicket-taker in the competition. His bowling helped RR reach the playoffs.
In their last game before the playoffs against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), RR lost by 23 runs. However, Faulkner bowled exceptionally well, limiting SRH to a score of 136 runs. He bowled four overs, giving away only 16 runs and taking five wickets, which included well-known players like Parthiv Patel, Shikhar Dhawan, and Darren Sammy.
1. Sohail Tanvir’s 6/14 against Chennai Super Kings, 2008
Since 2009, players from Pakistan couldn’t play in the IPL. But in 2008, some famous Pakistani players were in the first season of the league. Sohail Tanvir, a new international player then, played for Rajasthan Royals.
He was the best bowler in that season and got the Purple Cap. His top performance was against Chennai Super Kings in Jaipur. Rajasthan Royals won that match with Sohail Tanvir taking 6 wickets for 14 runs.
He got key players like Parthiv Patel, Stephen Fleming, and Albie Morkel out. He was also given the Player of the Match award for his great bowling.
READ MORE: Top 5 bowling performances of all time for KKR