Rajasthan Royals wrote history when they became the first team to become champions of the Indian Premier League in its inaugural season in 2008. It was legendary Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne who led RR to the IPL title in their maiden season. But they couldn’t repeat that success in the following seasons of the IPL.
After winning the IPL in 2008, RR played four playoffs. In which they played a final in 2022, under the leadership of Sanju Samson. But they fell short in the final and lost against the Gujarat Titans. And in this article, we will shed light on RR’s playoff performances in the history of the IPL so far.
How many times RR qualified for Playoffs
| Season | Group Standing | Final Standing |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 1st out of 8 | Champions |
| 2013 | 3rd out of 9 | Playoffs |
| 2015 | 4th out of 8 | Playoffs |
| 2018 | 4th out of 8 | Playoffs |
| 2022 | 2nd out of 10 | Runners-up |
1. 2008 season – Winner
The Indian Premier League came into inception in 2008, with a total of 8 teams in the first edition. But every team had some big names. However, it was Rajasthan Royals who made up the bulk of the group, winning 11 games out of 14. RR locked horns with the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in the semi-final and registered a massive win of 105 runs. Then, in the final, RR beat CSK by three wickets to become the inaugural season champions.
2. 2013 season – Playoffs
After winning the inaugural season in 2008, RR qualified for the playoffs in 2013. They were the third team on the group table with 10 wins and 6 losses out of 16 games. RR also won the Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad by 4 wickets and played Qualifier 2 against MI. However, Mumbai defeated them by four wickets, and RR’s journey came to an end there.
3. 2015 season – Playoffs
RR had a good performance in 2015 as well and made their third IPL playoff appearance. This time, they finished fourth in the group stage after winning seven games out of 14. Then Rajasthan played the Eliminator knockout against Royal Challenger Bangalore and lost the game by 71 runs to finish the competition in fourth place.
4. 2018 season – Playoffs
After getting suspended for the 2016 and 2017 seasons, RR made their comeback to the IPL in the 2018 season. And they did well in their comeback season. RR ended the group in fourth place with seven wins and seven defeats in 14 games. But their journey was cut short after they lost to KKR in the Eliminator by 25 runs.
5. 2022 season – Runners-up
Rajasthan Royals have played in the IPL finals only two times in 15 seasons. Firstly, they won the IPL 2008, and then it took them 14 years to play their second final in 2022. Sanju Samson led the team and finished second in the group with nine wins and five losses. RR lost Qualifier 1 to the Gujarat Titans by 7 wickets. Then they beat RCB by 7 wickets in Qualifier 2 to advance to the final. But they faced Gujarat for the fourth time in the competition. But GT won once again and RR finished as runners-up.