Plagued by inconsistency, Rajasthan Royals will be desperate to return to winning ways when they host a resurgent Lucknow Super Giants in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Jaipur on Saturday.

Having lost their last three matches, the Royals are currently languishing at the eighth spot, with two wins from their seven outings so far. With the IPL heading towards a crucial mid-season phase, the Royals’ head into Saturday’s contest after a gut-wrenching Super Over defeat to Delhi Capitals.

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RR’s campaign in IPL 2025 has been marred by inconsistency across both departments — batting and bowling. To make matters worse, skipper Sanju Samson suffered a side strain in the previous match and had to retire hurt, though he later said he was feeling “alright.”

Their batting has often blown hot and cold throughout the season, with the top order, consisting mainly of Indian batters failing to set the stage on fire consistently. This has increased the workload on the middle and lower order, tasked mainly for acceleration, as the later batters find it challenging to anchor the innings.

For Royals, the good news is their opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who seems to have regained his touch with back-to-back half centuries against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and DC. But it will have to be seen if he carries the momentum in Saturday’s match. Similarly, Nitish Rana regained form with a 51 against DC after the 81 he made against Chennai Super Kings last month, and he needs to find consistency.

Samson is yet to produce a defining knock, with the 66 he made in RR’s first match against Sunrisers Hyderabad being his best so far. Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel are also due for some runs under their belt as the duo haven’t been able to justify their selections.

On the bowling front, Jofra Archer and Sandeep Sharma have been their main wicket-taking options, as the rest of the attack have been toothless.

Meanwhile, fifth-placed LSG will also walk into the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on the back of a loss to CSK but they are in a much better position currently, with their four wins from seven outings.

Nicholas Pooran has been the mainstay of their batting line-up, with 357 runs from seven games, while Mitchell Marsh (295 from six matches) is also in top form. Pooran and Marsh are in top and third sports in the batting chart.

South African Aiden Markram has also been among runs though compatriot David Miller’s form has been a worry with 27 as his highest score in seven matches. Skipper Rishabh Pant has shown some form with 63 off 49 balls against CSK, his first fifty in this IPL from seven matches, though in a losing cause.

LSG’s bowling has also complemented the work of the batting unit, with the pace department led by Shardul Thakur and Avesh Khan doing the heavy-lifting for the side. They have a handy spin department with Ravi Bishnoi and Digvesh Rathi tormenting the batters in the middle overs.

The good news for LSG is that express quick Mayank Yadav has joined the squad after the last game but the team management is still awaiting his fitness certificate from the Centre of Excellence. Mayank has been recuperating from multiple fitness issues including a lower back stress fracture.

Squads:

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubham Dubey, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (w), Shimron Hetmyer, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kunal Singh Rathore, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya, Kwena Maphaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Ashok Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi.

Lucknow Super Giants: Rishabh Pant (c&wk), David Miller, Aiden Markram, Aryan Juyal (wk), Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Ayush Badoni, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Rathi, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi.