Rajasthan Royals go into Sunday’s game against Mumbai Indians on the back of consecutive losses. After beating Royal Challengers Bangalore in a high-scoring encounter last Sunday, Ajinkya Rahane & Co. lost to Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings in the space of just three days. Their defeat to Chennai, by 64 runs, exposed their frailties in more ways than one. And MI batting coach Robin Singh certainly believes that RR are under pressure now.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday evening, Singh said, “This is a fresh game. It can go either way. As we get to see in this tournament, everyone has beaten the other team. So, it is important to focus on what we want to do. They’re coming into his game after back-to-back losses. I’m pretty sure they’ll be under pressure after their loss against Chennai. So, we’ll make a note of the fact that they’ve lost pretty badly,” the former India all-rounder said.

Singh also shared happy news about Ishan Kishan. “I think he’s fine now. He’s recovering exceptionally well. It’s still unfortunate that he got hit. I think he got hit on the cheekbone. So, it’s pretty good that nothing happened to him. He’s been practising hard. He’s fit and ready to go,” he said.
Speaking about the three defeats we suffered in the opening week, Singh said the team had a chance to end up on the right side of the scoreline on each occasion. “In all the three games (that MI lost), we had a chance to win. I think the Chennai game was personally disappointing for me because we had Chennai under the mat. I think we saw that and understood where we went wrong. We tried to work on the areas that weren’t going too well. So the tournament is getting into the middle stages now. The pressure is always on in T20 cricket. We have had some slow starts in the past. It’s really not as important as we have to look forward to the games coming up and, especially the next game that we’re playing. Hopefully, by the end of the tournament, you’ll see us at the top,” he added.
When asked why most teams prefer chasing, Singh said, “I think most of the teams look to chase because their batting is quite deep. The wickets are more batting-friendly. And there is a lot of dew in this part of the world. That said, the scoreboard pressure will always be there, I don’t care what people say about chasing. At the end of the day, it is your comfort level and the strengths you play to.”
He was also asked about the team’s batting order in general and Rohit Sharma’s position in particular. “I think we always felt that it (playing Rohit at No. 4) will give us balance in the middle order. Evin Lewis has done exceptionally well for us. I don’t think we need to have a very explosive batsman everywhere. You need to have a combination of players, and Rohit can play any role for us. And that’s more important for us,” he said.

Singh would certainly be hoping for another blockbuster performance from the batsmen.