Rajasthan Royals' IPL History from 2008 to 2024: Stats, records, milestones, and more in review

Indian Premier League (IPL) was launched with huge fanfare in 2008 with the major stars headlining the league. This was set to be cricket’s reply to the expanding popularity of Football leagues in Europe.

Shane Warne the biggest rockstar in the history of Cricket took a team of unfancied players to the podium. Much before ‘BazBall’ became an endearing term, it was ‘Money-Ball’ which was the most sought-after term.

Rajasthan Royals stunned the world in 2008 to win the first-ever IPL title to set the wheels in motion. The subsequent few years had the team fall off its pedestal but the last few editions have seen the Royal re-emerge from its own dark shadows.

Also Check: RR Team 2024 Players List

In this article, we roll back the years and look back at Rajasthan Royals' complete IPL journey:

IPL 2008 – Magical Shane Warne leads team to title 

When Rajasthan Royals picked their team for the IPL 2008 season, not many experts gave them a chance. After losing their first game that belief got a lot of fuel, but Warne made the difference. His team won the title against all odds by beating MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the finals.

South African opener and skipper Graeme Smith was the lead scorer with 441 runs. Sohail Tanvir of Pakistan took the bowling honours with 22 wickets. Shane Warne finished 2nd with 19 wickets. In one of the most notable stats, Tanvir recorded one of the best bowling figures in IPL history. His figures of 6/14 came against CSK at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

IPL 2009 – Sharp decline in form

With South Africa hosting the second season of IPL, many experts made Rajasthan Royals a strong favourite. Shane Warne saw his side finish sixth in the table and miss out on qualifications for the semi-finals.

Ravindra Jadeja’s 295 was the highest aggregate of runs for the Royals that year. Munaf Patel picked 16 wickets to be the leading wicket-taker for the Royals. 2009 though saw Rajasthan Royals write their name in history books. Shane Warner’s side became the first team to be involved in a super-over finish against Kolkata Knight Riders.

IPL 2010 – Misery continues for Shane Warne

Once the IPL was back in India for the 2010 edition, many hoped Rajasthan Royals to come back to form. Rajasthan Royals ended the 2010 season in the 7^th place with 12 points from 14 games.

Naman Ojha led the batting charge with 377 runs with a best of 94 not out as his best score. Siddarth Trivedi with 11 wickets was placed in the joint 20^th place with Shane Warne as the two leading wicket-takers for RR. Yusuf Pathan’s 37-ball century was the fastest ton in IPL that year and is still the 2^nd fastest in the history of the league.

IPL 2011 – Revival in Shane Warne’s final season

Rahul Dravid was brought by Rajasthan Royals during the IPL Mega Auctions in 2011. After their abysmal 2010 season, the former champions had a better season in 2011. Shane Warne’s last season saw his team finish 6^th in the table with 13 points.

Rahul Dravid was the top scorer with 343 runs with the bat with one half-century. Shane Warne ended his IPL stint with 13 wickets which was the most by a Royal bowler that season.

IPL 2012 – Misery Continues for Rahul Dravid

The retirement of Shane Warne saw the Royals side handle the captaincy baton to Rahul Dravid. Having just retired from international cricket, Rahul Dravid’s undivided attention didn’t yield any results. Rajasthan Royals finished 7^th in the table 3 points adrift of CSK who were 4^th in the table and missing out on playoffs for the third year in a row.

Ajinkya Rahane took the league by storm with 560 runs with one century to be the leading scorer for the Royals. Siddharth Trivedi took over the bowling mantle with 13 wickets to become the Royals leading wicket-taker. During the game against RCB at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Ajinkya Rahane created a unique record. His 6 fours from 6 balls made him the first batter to achieve this feat. Ajit Chadilla’s hat-trick against Pune Warriors India was the first by a Rajasthan Royals bowler.

IPL 2013 – First playoff in four years in Rahul Dravid’s final season

IPL 2013 saw three stalwarts, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, and Rahul Dravid take their final forays on the big stage. Playing and leading his side for the last time, Dravid called upon all his cricketing acumen to lead his side to the 3^rd place. This was Royals’ side's first playoff appearance for a long time.

Shane Watson returned to IPL cricket in fine style as he scored 543 runs from 16 matches. This included a century and two half-centuries to become Rajasthan’s lead scorer. With the ball, it was James Faulkner who did the trick with 28 wickets. In a notable stat- James Faulkner became the first bowler in IPL history to take fifers in the season.

IPL 2014 – Heartbreaking exit denies playoff spot

By the time Rajasthan Royals travelled to Mumbai to play the defending champions it was set to be a huge game. Aditya Tare’s six off Faulkner saw Rahul Dravid lose his cool and Shane Watson bow his head in shame. Rajasthan Royals finished 5^th missing out on the playoff spot by a whisker.

Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson shared the top spot for the leading run-scorers with 339 runs. Pravin Tambe picked 15 wickets to be the leading wicket-taker for the Royals team in 2014. When we speak about Pravin Tambe, at the age of 41, the leggie from Mumbai became the oldest player to grab a hat trick in the IPL.

IPL 2015 – Re-entry into playoffs

After the heartbreak suffered in 2014, Rajasthan Royals showed determination in the next edition. This was set to be their final season before going into two years of suspension for the IPL 2013 spot-fixing saga. Rajasthan Royals got 16 points from 14 games and finished 4^th in the table. They fell in the eliminator losing to RCB by a massive margin of 71 runs.

Ajinkya Rahane with 540 runs was the joint 2^nd for the leading run-scorers in the league. Dhawal Kulkarni picked 13 wickets to lead the bowling charge for the Royals that year. The 144-run first wicket stand between Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane was the best stand for IPL that year.

IPL 2018 – Making a fine comeback to IPL

Ajinkya Rahane was back with the Royals team as they finished 4^th in the table to make yet another playoff. Yet again the Royals stumbled in the Eliminator phase losing to Kolkata Knight Riders.

Jos Buttler’s 548 runs were the best by a Royals batter that season. The Englishman scored his runs with an average of 54 and a strike of 152 with 5 half-centuries. Jofra Archer’s 15 wickets was the most for that season by a Royals bowler. Ish Sodhi with an economy rate of 5.87 had the best economy rate in the entire IPL 2018 season.

IPL 2019 – the start of a disappointing few seasons

IPL 2019 was a forgettable season for Rajasthan Royals as they finished 7^th in the table with 11 points. The difference between the team in 4^th place and 8^th place was just 1 point making it one of the most competitive editions.

Ajinkya Rahane led the batting chats with 393 runs with one century while Sanju Samson also scored a memorable ton. With the ball, it was Shreyas Gopal who was the leading wicket-taker with 20 wickets. Jos Buttler became the first batter to be dismissed via the Mankad dismissal in the history of IPL.

IPL 2020 – The table doesn’t do justice for Royals

On paper Rajasthan Royals finished bottom of the table during the IPL 2020 season. RCB finished 4^th in the table with 14 points while PBKS and CSK also were 6^th and 7^th with 12 points. Had a few results gone their way the Royals would have been in the playoffs.

Sanju Samson was the top scorer for the Royals with 375 runs while Jofra Archer picked 20 wickets with the ball. Rahul Tewatia wrote his name in history books as he hit Sheldon Cottrell for 5 sixes to win the game for his side.

IPL 2021 – Yet another disappointing season

Unlike the previous two seasons, the IPL 2021 season’s table showed the true reflection of Rajasthan Royals. The former champions finished 7^th in the table as Shane Warne was back with his side as a mentor.

With 484 runs, Sanju Samson was the highest run-getter for RR that year. With the ball, Chris Morris picked 15 wickets with a best of 4/23. The South African became the costliest player to be picked up in IPL history for over INR 16 Crores. Jos Buttler’s 124 was the highest-ever score by an individual batter that season.

IPL 2022 – run to the final

Sanju Samson and Rajasthan Royals finally saw their stars align as they ended the league phase stage in 2^nd spot. This enabled them to reach the playoffs before making it to the finals. This was yer 2^nd final after the 2008 editions under Shane Warne, who had passed away on 4^th March 2022.

Jos Buttler set the record with the bat that season with 863 runs with 4 centuries. This was the most by a batter for that year as the Englishman ruled the roost with the bat. Yuzvendra Chahal also wrote his name in the stats as he picked the only hat-trick of the season against KKR.

IPL 2023 – Emergence of Yashasvi Jaiswal

After their amazing run during their IPL 2022 season, Rajasthan Royals ended IPL 2023 in the 5^th spot. Sanju Samson and his team had themselves to blame for missing the playoff spot. RR were bowled out for 59 while chasing 172 against RCB in front of their home fans.

Young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal with 624 runs was the top run-getter for RR. The young batter’s half-century in 13 balls set a new all-time IPL record. Yuzvendra Chahal yet again was the lead wicket-taker with 21 wickets for the Royals in 2023.

IPL 2024 – Can the Royals make a huge statement this year?

With a young side at their disposal, Rajasthan Royals have a huge chance to do well in IPL 2024. Sanju Samson will head into the season with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel who did well for India. Yuzvendra Chahal will also want to prove a point as he was dropped from the BCCI’s contract list recently. If they can keep their composure, Rajasthan Royals may be the team to watch out for in IPL 2024.