Rajasthan Royals promoted R Ashwin to No.5 in the batting order during their game against Delhi Capitals today (March 28).

Ashwin is not new to being used as the occasional floater in the IPL. Today (March 28), as RR found themselves in trouble at 36-3 in the eighth over while batting first at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, they resorted to the veteran all-rounder once again to arrest the collapse.

Circumstances leading up to Ashwin’s promotion

Rajasthan have been one of the most flexible users of the Impact player ever since the rule came in to play. In their first match of the season against PBKS, they named three overseas players in their first XI, with a choice between Rovman Powell and Nandre Burger for the fourth. As their innings progressed nicely while batting first, they didn’t require the services of the extra batter in the form of Powell and were able to use Burger with the new ball instead.

Against DC, they named the same first XI, but when Jos Buttler was dismissed lbw in the eighth over by Kuldeep Yadav, it seemed like they’d have to bring in Powell for the extra batting cushion. Instead, they sent in Ashwin at five.

Ashwin had batted at five or above in the IPL 11 times before this game, averaging 20.1 and striking at 121 with a high score of 50. Seven of those 11 occasions had been for RR.

Why did RR promote Ashwin over Hetmyer/Jurel?

RR had two more pure batters in the hut at the fall of the third wicket – Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel. Both, however, prefer batting in the death overs rather than rebuilding or rescuing an innings through the middle.

Between overs seven to eleven, Hetmyer averages  20.5 and strikes at 117.1 in the IPL. Jurel has batted in this phase only once, and was not able to survive when he did. On the other hand, their strike rates jump to 196.1 and 200 at the death respectively.

To add to that, both batters prefer facing seam over spin. Since IPL 2022, Hetmyer averages 23 against spin, striking at 107.81, while Jurel averages 22.5, striking at 140.6. With Kuldeep on song and bowling in tandem with Axar Patel, the setup was far from ideal for either of Hetmyer or Jurel to step in.

Could RR have subbed in Powell instead?

None of RR’s top six batters bowl, except Riyan Parag, who has four wickets at an average of 70 and an economy of 10.70 in the IPL – clearly not a reliable sixth-bowling option. Had they substituted Powell for one of the dismissed batters, RR would have been restricted to just five bowlers in the second innings.

The surface on display at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium today had shown signs of seam movement early on, with help through the air also available for the DC seamers. Khaleel Ahmed beat the bat several times and Mukesh Kumar shattered Jaiswal’s stumps in the powerplay.

That must have encouraged RR to make sure that they are able to use the extra seam bowler in the form of Burger o exploit the conditions on offer instead of subbing in Powell.

How did Ashwin fare?

Between Ashwin and Parag, Ashwin’s was clearly the less valuable wicket. After taking six deliveries to find his feet on the crease, Ashwin charged Kuldeep and hit him for a six over mid-wicket. Within the next four balls that he faced, he smoked Anrich Nortje for two pulled sixes over mid-wicket, making it just the second time that he hit three sixes in an IPL innings.

Axar then tied him down for a bit before he was dismissed attempting to clear the mid-wicket boundary for a fourth time, finishing with 29 (19). By the time he was done, RR had reached 90 in 13.3 overs, providing the ideal entry point for the finishers to take over the job.

As it turned out, RR ended up scoring 95 runs in 6.3 overs after Ashwin’s wicket, with Parag remaining unbeaten on 84 off 45 and both Jurel and Hetmyer chipping in with cameos.

Riyan Parag's batting show powered RR to a big total 🔥#RiyanParag #RR #RRVsDC #IPL2024 #Cricket pic.twitter.com/R1F2ALIR8I

— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) March 28, 2024

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