In this piece we look at some stats which define the performance of Rajasthan Royals (RR) – who under Shane Warne’s inspirational leadership – won the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008, went through a tough phase thereafter before again constantly punching above their weight in the last few editions.

1: Number of IPL Titles

RR won the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008 beating CSK in the final with a thrilling victory off the last ball of the match!

They had finished as table-toppers in the group stage winning 11 of their 14 matches.

400-plus: Three RR batsmen scored 400-plus runs in 2008 – Shane Watson, Graeme Smith and Yusuf Pathan.

15-plus: Three RR bowlers picked more than 15 wickets in 2008 – Sohail Tanvir, Shane Warne and Shane Watson.

2: Number of Most Valuable Player Awards – Shane Watson

Watson (RR) is the third player to win this award twice along with Sunil Narine and Andre Russell (both KKR on both occasions).

Watson gave two outstanding world-class all-round performances – in 2008 and 2013. He was RR’s highest run-getter in their victorious campaign in 2008 scoring 472 runs in 15 matches at a stunning strike rate of 151.76. He also picked 17 wickets at an economy rate of just over 7.

He again had the highest aggregate for RR in 2013 with 543 runs at a strike rate of 142.89 while also chipping in with 13 wickets.

51.02%: Percentage of Matches Won in the IPL

RR has won more than they have lost in the IPL. Considering the fact that they haven’t always had the big names in their squad this is a good achievement suggesting that they have always punched above their weight.

RR have won 75 of the 147 matches they have played in the IPL.

55.55%: Maximum Win Percentage (min. 10 matches) against a team (vs RCB)

RR has won 10 and lost 8 of the 20 encounters against RCB.

33.33%: Lowest Win Percentage against a team (vs CSK)

RR has a woeful record against CSK having lost 14 of the 21 matches between the two sides.

81.25%: Maximum Win Percentage in a Season (2008)

RR won 13 (including the semi-final and final) of the 16 matches they played in the 2008 edition.

35.71%: Lowest Win Percentage in a Season (2019)

RR had their worst season in the last edition of the IPL in which they won just 5 of their 14 matches.

2009-2012: Worst Period for RR in the IPL

RR finished 6th out of 8 teams in 2009, 7 of 8 in 2010, 6 of 10 in 2011 and 7 of 9 in 2012.

4: Number of times entered Knockouts

RR won the IPL in 2008 and also made it to the playoffs in 2013, 2015 and 2018.

223/5: Highest Total (vs CSK in Chennai in 2010)

58: Lowest Total (vs RCB in Cape Town in 2009)

It is the second-lowest total in IPL history after RCB’s 49.

105: Largest Margin of Victory by Runs (vs DD in Mumbai in 2008)

RR amassed 192 and bowled out DD for 87 in the semi-final in 2008.

2: Lowest Margin of Victory by Runs (vs MI in Durban in 2009 & Deccan Chargers in Nagpur in 2010)

3: Number of Tied Matches (vs KKR in Cape Town in 2009, KKR in Abu Dhabi in 2014 & Kings XI in Ahmedabad in 2015)

2810: Maximum Aggregate Runs – Ajinkya Rahane

2: Maximum Number of Hundreds – Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane

47.72: Best Batting Average (min. 400 runs) – Jos Buttler

161.24: Highest Strike Rate (min. 400 runs) –Yusuf Pathan

105*: Highest Individual Score in a Match – Ajinkya Rahane (vs Delhi Capitals in Jaipur in 2019)

309.09: Highest Strike Rate in a 30-plus Innings – Chris Morris (vs SRH in Mumbai in 2015)

Chris Morris blasted an unbeaten 34 off just 11 deliveries against SRH at the Brabourne Stadium in 2015.

8: Maximum Number of 200-plus Strike Rate Innings (min. runs 25) – Yusuf Pathan

560: Highest Aggregate in a Series – Ajinkya Rahane (2012)

2372 & 61: Watson’s Aggregate Runs and Wickets for RR

It is the second-highest on both counts for RR in their IPL history making Watson one of the premier all-rounders of the tournament.

65: Maximum Number of Wickets – Siddharth Trivedi

Right-arm pacer, Siddharth Trivedi is the highest wicket-taker for RR in the IPL. He has picked 65 wickets in 75 innings at an economy rate of 7.58.

57: Maximum Number of Wickets (spinner) – Shane Warne

Warne picked 57 wickets in 54 innings for RR at an economy of 7.27.

6.46: Lowest Economy Rate (min. 20 wickets) – Sohail Tanvir

18.8: Best Bowling Average (min. 20 wickets & 15 matches) – Shreyas Gopal

15.2: Best Bowling Strike Rate (min. 20 wickets & 15 matches) – Shreyas Gopal

The leg-spinner, Shreyas Gopal was RR’s leading wicket-taker and the fourth-highest overall of the 2019 edition in which he picked 20 wickets in 14 matches at an economy of 7.22.

6-14: Best Bowling Figures in an Innings – Sohail Tanvir (vs CSK in Jaipur in 2008)

These are the second-best bowling figures in IPL history!

Tanvir was the highest wicket-taker in the inaugural season picking 22 wickets in just 11 matches at an excellent economy rate of 6.46.

28: Maximum Wickets in a Season – James Faulkner (2013)

144: Highest Partnership for any Wicket – Ajinkya Rahane and Shane Watson (vs CSK in Ahmedabad in 2015)

It is the fifth-highest partnership in IPL history!

55: Most Matches as Captain – Shane Warne

55.45%: Highest Success Percentage as Captain (min. 15 matches) – Shane Warne

Warne led RR to victory in 30 of the 55 matches he captained. And more significantly to the title in 2008.

AN ALL TIME RR XI:

1) Ajinkya Rahane

2) Shane Watson

3) Sanju Samson (wk)

4) Rahul Dravid

5) Yusuf Pathan

6) Jos Buttler

7) James Faulkner

8) Shane Warne (Captain)

9) Shreyas Gopal

10) Siddharth Trivedi

11) Munaf Patel

• ipl 2020
• James Faulkner
• Jos Buttler
• Rahul Dravid
• Rajasthan Royals
• RR
• Sanju Samson
• Shane Warne
• Shane Watson
• shreyas gopal