Preview by Aayush Puthran
Rajasthan Royals have won two games in a row to kickstart their IPL 2026 campaign - a thumping victory against Chennai Super Kings followed by a come-from-behind nervy defence against Gujarat Titans. At this point they are ecstatic. Riyan Parag spoke about the merits of 'smart cricket' and 'assessing conditions' in Guwahati. Tushar Deshpande gestured that the turf belonged to him in Ahmedabad.
Siddhartha Lahiri has been around the Royals set-up for seven years. He has seen these early season successes wither away in the Indian summer every single time. No team has kickstarted the IPL season with two successive wins than Royals, and yet by the end of it, ended up without a trophy every single time.
"It's a long season, we can't get excited." Lahiri, the performance coach of the Royals, cautioned a day ahead of their second home game of the season. "We are not at all over-excited with our first two games... When we win, it all looks smart. When you lose, it looks unsmart."
Even as Royals have displayed both the ability to be dominant as well as keep calm under pressure, they would be well aware that they are far from being flawless. And to test that vulnerability, they will be up against Mumbai Indians - a team that promises to field the strong XII this season, on paper - on Tuesday.
Rajasthan Royals have won two games in a row to kickstart their IPL 2026 campaign - a thumping victory against Chennai Super Kings followed by a come-from-behind nervy defence against Gujarat Titans. At this point they are ecstatic. Riyan Parag spoke about the merits of 'smart cricket' and 'assessing conditions' in Guwahati. Tushar Deshpande gestured that the turf belonged to him in Ahmedabad.
Siddhartha Lahiri has been around the Royals set-up for seven years. He has seen these early season successes wither away in the Indian summer every single time. No team has kickstarted the IPL season with two successive wins than Royals, and yet by the end of it, ended up without a trophy every single time.
"It's a long season, we can't get excited." Lahiri, the performance coach of the Royals, cautioned a day ahead of their second home game of the season. "We are not at all over-excited with our first two games... When we win, it all looks smart. When you lose, it looks unsmart."
Even as Royals have displayed both the ability to be dominant as well as keep calm under pressure, they would be well aware that they are far from being flawless. And to test that vulnerability, they will be up against Mumbai Indians - a team that promises to field the strong XII this season, on paper - on Tuesday.
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