In 2024, France’s most successful football club, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), sold arguably the last of their big star, Kylian Mbappe, to Real Madrid for free. PSG once boasted of big stars like Lionel Messi, Neymar, Edison Cavani, Sergio Ramos and David Beckham, at a point, making them a club with a massive pull. The aim was simple: to get the Champions League trophy to the Parc de Princes
Mbappe’s departure proved to be a new chapter for PSG as they were now a team filled with very talented players, but none of them were massive names in world football. And what did the manager, Luis Enrique, do? He won the Champions League, right after selling Mbappe.
For Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, it was the beginning of a new era under new skipper Riyan Parag. With Sanju Samson traded to Chennai Super Kings (CSK), it is safe to say, RR now do not possess a superstar of his caliber, perhaps allowing their on-field performances fare a lot better. Not to forget, over the years, RR have also let go of stars like Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler.
Winning the first four games of the campaign does not guarantee you success. Even Delhi Capitals (DC) won four of their first five games last season, as RR have this year, yet failed to make it through to the playoffs. What they have created this season is a scary batting line-up. Yes, the same line-up that was reduced to 9/5 in three overs by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 13 (Monday).
However, in the four matches before that, no target looked enough, and no bowling team in the world would want to be anywhere close. However, on Monday, their middle and lower-order were tested for the first time, while chasing over 215, and fair to say, they looked a little rusty.
Top Order Menace
RR’s top order has completely spoiled them. Before their tie against RR, their top-order (1-3) had scored 559 runs at 62.11 between them to go with a strike rate of nearly 197 – all of which are head and shoulders above the other teams. They also had the most sixes (36) and the joint-most fifties (6). With the top three doing the heavy lifting, it comes as no surprise that their middle-order has more often than not been required to play without much pressure.
Not to forget, RR also have been brilliant with the ball, having accumulated 37 wickets till date, with the best strike rate in the tournament, picking up a wicket every 14.7 deliveries. Both their pacers and spinners have come to the party having picked up 23 and 14 wickets, respectively, in IPL 2026 – the most among all teams. A loss to SRH could very well be the wake-up call the team needed. A reminder that they should not get overconfident and get carried away.
The Royals have five days before their next match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), which should be enough time for them to reflect on their season so far and ensure that their first loss of the season does not leave a scar. The only way to get over such losses is to win the next and who better to do that than against KKR, who are yet to win a match this season.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top, with Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer to follow, RR have an enviable batting line-up, which has clicked so far. With their bowlers complementing them, it looks as though this could very well be their year.
RR have not tasted glory since the inaugural season under Shane Warne. Since then, they have made it to just one final and more often than not, struggled to make the playoffs.
While RR and PSG have taken different routes in their journeys, we can finally say that it is their game doing all the talking and nothing else.
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