RR bowling coach Shane Bond took a dig at his bowlers after they conceded over 200 again in their loss to Gujarat Titans on Saturday, May 9. Rajasthan conceded 229 runs in the first innings against GT at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium and eventually lost the match by 77 runs.
In the last three matches, Rajasthan collected 229, 222, 226 before being bowled by Gujarat. During the clash in Jaipur Jofra Archer had a rough triphe bowled the last 11 balls and conceded 46 runs during his three-over spell. The loss also meant that RR have lost three matches in Jaipur this season.
In the post-match press conference, Bond said that Rajasthan did not play well in the conditions. He said RR bowlers need to think outside the box.
Bond said the decision-making against GT was not consistent enough
“We just didn’t play well enough in the conditions we know. We were outplayed by our opponent,” Bond said. “I look at the pitchers, they just have to be better, right? You have to think outside the box a little bit. There’s two things: decision-making and execution. I think you probably noticed tonight that the execution wasn’t consistent long enough.”
“BOWLERS HAVE TO THINK DIFFERENTLY”
With the IPL seeing batsmen become ultra-aggressive, Bond said bowlers need to think outside the box to deal with them and get results.
“And I think if you look across the board in the IPL, that’s just the way it has been. The batsmen, they come out, they play ultra-aggressively and they put pressure on the bowlers. So as a bowler, you have to ask, well, what can I do differently?” (They) need to spend more time with the analysts to know exactly where each batsman is going to go … the zones they are going to score in,” Bond said.
The RR bowling coach said that the bowlers do not develop themselves and claimed that the only way to go about it will be to sense an opportunity to shine amidst all the batting chaos.
“I might have to bounce the shorter track and the longer track. I’ve got to be able to get around the wicket and the bowl on both sides. So, when you see bowlers doing the same thing, game after game after game, and getting the same result, then my question would be: you have to do something different and develop your game. You look at the batsmen, they’ve developed now, they’re playing an upper-end renovation.” a number of shots, so bowlers also have to develop their range of skills, I think it’s a great opportunity for any bowler: ‘if I can do that, I can get promoted to a lot of money and be a superstar.’
“I don’t think you saw that all the time across the board. It’s definitely not easy for a pitcher, but you can fear it, fear what’s going on out there, or see it as an opportunity to improve and maybe get your name out there,” Bond said.
RR will next face DC after a week’s break on May 17.
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Published on:
May 10, 2026 1:22 PM IST
