‘No panic in dressing room’- Coach Sairaj Bahutule after RR’s tight loss to LSG

The Rajasthan Royals (RR), who should have easily won both of their games, have lost two close games in three days. They failed in each game despite needing only nine runs from the last over. They lost the Super Over match against the Delhi Capitals (DC) and were defeated by a margin of just two runs against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

RR lost four crucial points as a result of these close defeats, which would have allowed them to move up the IPL 2025 standings.

Instead, they are now in eighth place at the halfway point of the league season, having only won two of their eight games thus far.

In spite of the defeats, RR’s spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule believes the team has been playing well and is still committed to the future. He attributed the calmness in the dugout to Rahul Dravid‘s presence and underlined the value of maintaining composure. He admitted that T20 cricket has made mistakes, but he was certain that he would learn from them and concentrate on the next games.

In all honesty, we’ve been playing some excellent cricket. Simply put, the outcome hasn’t disappeared. There is a lot of peace in the dugout because Rahul (Dravid) is there. It is important to be calm and take things as they come since everyone has played enough cricket in that dugout. However, after the Royals’ defeat at the hands of LSG in Jaipur on Saturday, Bahutule remarked, “Yes, it’s been difficult, but that’s the way the game goes. We lost by two runs this game and the last game with the super over.”

In the T20 format, there is a great deal of danger. There are many mistakes that you make, and we try to minimise them. We could have completed it in a few overs alone, in my opinion, when we were in a partnership. But once more, Avesh bowled that well. We could have completed it, then. However, we remain completely collected and peaceful about it, and we simply look forward to the next game,” he continued.

Sandeep Sharma is consistent: Bahutule

Bahutule acknowledged Sandeep Sharma’s consistent efforts in crucial overs and stressed that the team does not lose because of one player.

“That doesn’t mean I can take anything away from him because he’s a fabulous bowler. He’s always bowled those important and tough overs. Definitely, we would’ve had 20 runs less, maybe 10-15 runs lesser to chase. But (still) I think we were set to chase that target,” Bahutule said on Sandeep.

“Don’t think any team wins or loses because of a player. I’ll be honest with you, it is a team game. In the previous match too, he gave two overs with very few runs – 5 and 7 runs. So generally, we forget those important overs and we keep emphasising on overs which he has not bowled well. But I think for us, he is a 100% giver. And the team backs him, everybody backs him,” he added.

Young team will learn from the setbacks: Bahutule

He highlighted the importance of unity, especially in tough times, and felt the young side is learning from its mistakes. He admitted that despite being in strong positions, and having lost both matches, the team continues to back each other.

“It’s not easy to go there and perform day in and day out with the same intensity. But I just feel, I think we are a unit. Things are not going our way, the results are not going our way. But I feel it’s a young side and I’m sure everybody is hurting and they will learn from their mistakes. You were in a commanding position in both the matches, still you were on the losing side,” he said on the loss of the two close encounters.

There is clarity among us: Bahutule

Bahutule stated that the clarity among players and support staff, especially under Rahul Dravid’s guidance, is exceptional. He felt the plans were clear, but execution faltered in the final moments.

“The clarity with us, with the support staff and the players and in the dressing room is absolutely the best I’ve seen. Rahul is very clear about whatever the plans are, the game plans are. It’s just that on that particular day, the execution from players didn’t happen and it was just in that last over, things didn’t go our way. Most of the time, we were in the game and we were playing good cricket. So, I just feel that we just didn’t get over that finishing line. I think they will assess the situation and will let us know,” he said of the rumours about the team.