A power-packed Rajasthan Royals have turned it on already this IPL, winning two matches after posting scores of 193 and 210, and would be keen to extend their stay at the top of the table, when they run into Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium.
Having finished second from bottom in 2021 with just five wins from 14 matches, Royals appear to have ticked all the boxes this time, on the evidence so far. Their batting approach has been markedly different, with a run rate in excess of 8.5 in both games. Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson have hit a total of 16 sixes and they also have the likes of Devdutt Padikkal and Shimron Hetmyer, who can notch up big hits without spending too much time in the middle. While teams generally tend to slow down in the middle overs, Royals have scored at 10.07 runs per over in this phase, the highest for any team in IPL 2022.
So far, 200-plus totals have been chased down two of the three times they have been put up, but Royals have defended well…