IPL: A Royal knight on the cards

Besides a victory in its last league game, the inaugural edition winner will also need other results to go its way if it is to make the playoffs of the lucrative event, in its 13th edition now.

The best-case scenario for RR would be Kings XI Punjab losing its last match and Sunrisers Hyderabad winning no more than one in its last two outings.

In that case, RR will go through with 14 points, without net run rate coming into play.

However, RR’s first task is to do what is within its control -- win the match against the Knight Riders and then hope for the best. Given the tight situation, the bigger the margin of win, the better it will be for the Steve Smith-led side.

The Royals can certainly look forward to its batting at the Dubai International Stadium. Its talismanic England all-rounder Ben Stokes has just won a Man-of-the-Match award, having made a breezy half century after picking up two wickets, in the team’s win over Kings XI Punjab on Friday. The 2019 World Cup final hero getting his mojo back, at such a crucial juncture of the tournament, is great news for the Royals. And, needless to say, a bad one for KKR as the leading all-rounder can singlehandedly influence the outcome of a game.

Sanju Samson rediscovering his touch must have also gladdened the hearts of the RR team management.