RR vs LSG preview: Can the shaken Royals settle down and push for the playoffs?

“If we keep playing like this, we shouldn’t be fighting for the top four,” said an angry Riyan Parag after Rajasthan Royals’ last match against Delhi Capitals. Many mistakes on the field cost the team the deciding game and forced them to two must-win games in the playoff race.

Rajasthan Royals will play one of these two matches when they take on Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday, May 19 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. It will be a tricky contest as LSG have looked really dangerous since their exit from the tournament. Mitchell Marsh in particular has been in scintillating form of late and is expected to pose a big challenge for Parago’s side.

The Royals enter the game on a three-game losing streak. They looked visibly shaken after him defeat against Delhi Capitals. The captain lost his cool in the team and the coach lost his cool in the captain.

In cricket, players often talk about professionalism and maybe it’s time RR showed it on the field. Their professionalism now lies in forgetting the previous defeat and starting again as the next two games could decide the fate of their season.

RAJASTHAN NEEDS OVERALL IMPROVEMENT

Rajasthan’s dominance in the first half of the season was built on their dominating fast bowling power attack. Jofra Archer, who stormed in with raw pace, put real fear into the opposition batsmen. But as the goals slowed in the second half of the season, so did the fear factor. In his last four matches, Archer has conceded 40 or more runs three times, marking a noticeable shift in the mood in the RR camp.

Rajasthan will need Archer at his absolute best if they are to overcome Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis on Tuesday.

Another big concern is the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal. He has made just one fifty in his last nine matches and will need to pull his socks up to provide some cushion for the middle order. Riyan Parag batted well but Rajasthan might need one huge innings from their skipper in such a pressure game.

WHAT ARE LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS DOING?

The Rishabh Pant– The leading side have been constantly looking for clarity this season. And surprisingly, they seem to be finding the pieces game after game. The only thing they still haven’t figured out is the ideal batting position for Pant himself.

In a rather bizarre post-match interview after the last match, Pant suggested that there may be too many votes to decide in LSG. The situation was quite similar last season as well, when Zaheer Khan was eventually dropped at the end of the campaign.

Now after the play-off run, LSG will look to play party spoilers in the final stages of the season and hope that the lessons learned from this campaign will help them build a bigger role in the IPL next year.

JAIPUR PITCH TERMS

The pitch at Sawai Mansingh has turned into a dream batting surface in recent matches. This is increasingly becoming a place of chasing, meaning that the captain who wins the toss is expected to bowl first.

Rajasthan might also bring back Ravindra Jadeja for this game after resting him in the previous match. Earlier in the season, Jadeja played the decisive knock against LSG to help Rajasthan secure a memorable victory.

LSG vs RR: Predicted Playing XI

RR Predicted XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Donovan Ferreira, Dasun Shanaka, Shubham Dubey, Jofra Archer, Adam Milne, Brijesh Sharma

Impact Sub: Yash Raj Punja

LSG Predicted XI: Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Mukul Choudhary, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Mayank Yadav, Akash Maharaj Singh.

Impact Sub: Prince Yadav

– The end

Issued by:

Amar Panicker

Published on:

May 19, 2026 11:08 AM IST