Unlucky Archer hits the deja vu button

The last time Jofra Archer wore Rajasthan Royals' pink, he won the MVP award of the season. This was back in IPL 2020 where despite his best efforts, the Royals ended as wooden spoon holders of the edition. Archer was exceptional with the new ball that season, picking ten wickets at 10.80 at an ER of 4.15 in the Powerplay while rest of the seam attack managed just four wickets between them at 121.25 and ER of 9.80. Five years down the line after his comeback, it evokes a sense of deja vu. Archer has picked six wickets at 25 apiece (ER 7.89) in IPL 2025 while rest of the pack have only a total of two wickets at 109.5 (ER 9.25) to show for. Archer was not given the opening over in Royals' season opener in Hyderabad where he ended up conceding a record 76 runs. In eight games since, he has taken the new ball and has figures of 3/53 in the first over, with a false shot % of 53.7 - better than one every second ball.

Coming into Thursday's contest,