Rajasthan Royals cling to playoffs hopes amid late season slide

The month of May has rarely been kind to Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. With only four wins and 14 defeats in 19 matches, the Royals have consistently struggled through the business end of the tournament. They will hope to reverse that trend when they take on a nothing-to-lose Lucknow Super Giants side in Jaipur, with the home team's playoffs hopes riding on this game.

With six wins and as many defeats, the Royals sit sixth on the table with 12 points and still have multiple qualification scenarios in play ahead of their remaining fixtures against LSG and Mumbai Indians. Two wins will take them to 16 points, which should be enough to secure a playoff spot outright if only one of Sunrisers Hyderabad or Chennai Super Kings reaches the 16-point mark. If CSK win both their remaining games and SRH beat RCB, qualification could come down to net run rate. The Royals could also sneak through with 14 points, provided several other results fall in their favour.

Royals head into this game on the back of a hat-trick of defeats, two of which have come against Delhi Capitals. They have also lost their last three home matches, piling further pressure on the side. Yashasvi Jaiswal's dip in returns, the lower middle order's lack of runs, and their struggles with the ball in the Powerplay have all contributed to the slide. After winning five of their first seven games, the Royals have managed just one victory in their last five and will be desperate to halt the slump and build momentum heading into the back end of the competition.

Although they are out of the playoffs race, LSG have shown some improvement in recent matches. Mitchell Marsh's imperious form has had a lot to do with that, with the Australian T20 captain posting scores of 111 off 56 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and 90 off 38 against CSK. Josh Inglis also did well in the other game against CSK, which augurs well at the top of the order for LSG. The bowlers have been effective too, contributing towards LSG winning two of their last three games, even if the upturn has arrived a little too late in the tournament.

When: RR vs LSG, Match 63 – Tuesday, May 19 at 7:30 PM IST

Where: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

What to expect: High-scoring contests have been the norm here, with first-innings totals exceeding 220 in all three matches at the venue this season. Two of those totals were successfully chased down by visiting sides – SRH and DC – while RR were the only team to fall short in a chase, against Gujarat Titans, making it 0-3 for them here this season. Six of the 10 matches here in the IPL since 2025 have been won by the chasing side – four of them being 200-plus chases. Another run-fest could be on the cards.

Head to head: RR have a 5-2 lead over LSG in matches involving these two sides. However, LSG have an advantage in Jaipur, having won two out of three games.

Injury/unavailability: Ravindra Jadeja missed the previous game against DC due to a niggle in his knee, batting coach Vikram Rathour revealed, adding that the break was given to him to manage that issue. He is likely to be available for the match against LSG.

Tactics & Matchups: Jadeja could prove a useful option against Mitchell Marsh, having dismissed him twice in six innings in T20s, with the batter having a strike rate of only 97.22 against him. Meanwhile, Jofra Archer has a good match-up against Nicholas Pooran, having dismissed him thrice in nine innings.

Probable XII: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Donovan Ferreira, Dasun Shanaka, Shubham Dubey, Jofra Archer, Adam Milne, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja

Injury/unavailability: There is no clarity yet on Mohsin Khan, who has missed the last few games due to an injury.

Tactics & Matchups: Mohammed Shami matches up well against Riyan Parag with three dismissals in six innings, while he has also accounted for Dhruv Jurel twice in three innings.

Probable XII: 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, Prince Yadav

• The Royals' run-rate of 11.73 in the Powerplay is the highest among all teams in this IPL. LSG, meanwhile, have the lowest run-rate (7.78) among all teams in the middle overs and RR have the second lowest (9.78) in the death overs

• Rishabh Pant has scored 403 runs in 13 innings against Royals in the IPL, averaging 40.30 with a strike rate of 154.40, with four half-centuries

• Uncapped bowlers have picked up 40 wickets for LSG, which is the most for a team in IPL 2026. They also have the best average (26.1) and the best economy (8.92) among all teams

"I feel we are a way better team than what we've played or shown in the last 4-5 games. So if we do not qualify, it's our fault" – Riyan Parag, after the loss to DC.