Rajasthan Royals made history when they became the first team to win the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League. It gave hope to many fans that this team would dominate the league in the future. However, it didn’t happen like that; RR couldn’t even reach the final for the next 13 seasons.
It was the legendary Australian leg-spinner who was the first player to win the IPL as a captain. He was the captain of RR, which won the inaugural season. However, after that, the franchise waited until the 2021 season, when Sanju Samson broke the jinx and RR made their second final appearance in the IPL. This article will talk about the Rajasthan Royals’ final match list in the IPL.
Rajasthan Royals final match List
| Season | Against | Venue | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Chennai Super Kings | DY Patil | June 1, 2008 | Champion |
| 2022 | Gujarat Titans | Ahmedabad | May 29, 2022 | Runners-up |
1. 2008 season Final vs Chennai Super Kings – Champion
The inaugural IPL season came with many surprises for the fans. It was the first time when such kind of competition was being played. It was Shane Warne who led Rajasthan to the top of the table among seven other teams. RR faced Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in the semi-final and won that game by a massive 105 runs to advance to the final of the first season. RR played the finals against CSK, and it was a thrilling game of cricket.
Chennai batted first and made 163/5 in their 20 overs. Yusuf Pathan picked up 3/22 for Rajasthan. Chasing the score, Rajasthan were at 3/42 in 6.4 overs. Shane Watson (28 off 19) and Yusuf Pathan added 65 runs for the fourth wicket to take their team near the target. In the end, Rajasthan reached the score of 164/7 on the last ball of the match. They made 164/7 in exactly 20 overs and became the inaugural season champions.
2. 2022 season Final vs Gujarat Titans – Runners-up
Rajasthan fans waited for 14 years to watch their team play in the final of the Indian Premier League. After winning the inaugural season in 2008, RR had three playoff appearances in the 2013, 2015, and 2018 seasons, respectively. But they were not able to make the final. But then, Sanju Samson led this team to the finals of the 2022 season. Rajasthan was the second best team in the group stage and registered nine wins out of 14 games.
They faced the table-topper Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 and lost by 7 wickets. After that RR played the Qualifier 2 against Royal Challengers Bangalore and this team they won and played the final agaisnt GT. However, RR was not lucky in the final. Batting first, Rajasthan only managed a below-par score of 130/9 in the final. None of the RR batters could make big contributions. GT didn’t have any problems in their chase, and they reached the target in 18.1 overs. GT made 133/3 to win the title, and Rajasthan fell short in the final.