New Delhi: Rajasthan Royals (RR) have got entangled in match-fixing allegations post their shocking loss against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 where they failed to score nine runs in the last over on April 19. Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) ad hoc committee convener Jaideep Bihani has alleged that the team was involved in some foul play which has raised some tough questions about their loss in the 36th match of the cash-rich league.
Chasing a total of 181, the Royals required just 9 runs to win in the last six balls with six wickets in hand but to everyone’s surprise, they ended up losing the match by just a small margin of two runs. Super Giants’ Avesh Khan was successful in defending the score for his side with remarkable bowling in the final over. In a league such as the IPL, chasing 9 runs in the last over is a gettable task but since the Royals couldn’t achieve it with lot of wickets in hand, the result of the game led to speculations.
In an exclusive interview with News18 Rajasthan, Bihani shed light on the controversial past of the Royals in the cash-rich league after their players were caught in spot-fixing back in 2013. The convener questioned the team’s loss on its home ground after needing just few runs to win. The Royals, along with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were banned from IPL 2016 and 2017 after the franchise’s owner Raj Kundra was caught in betting. Meanwhile, Bihani, who is also a BJP MLA, accused the franchise of not letting the RCA get involved in management of the ongoing IPL 2025 season.
‘The ad hoc committee has been appointed by the state government in Rajasthan. It has extended for a fifth time. We make sure all competitions take place without any issues. But then just as IPL came, the Zila Parishad (district council) took control of it. For IPL, the BCCI had first sent a letter to RCA only, not Zila Parishad. The excuse given by them and RR that we don’t have an MOU from Sawai Mansingh Stadium. If MOU is not there, so what? Aren’t you paying Zila Parishad for every match?’
Additionally, he demanded an investigation into the matter, urging the Indian cricket board and other agencies to take stock of the situation.
Chasing a total of 181, the Royals required just 9 runs to win in the last six balls with six wickets in hand but to everyone’s surprise, they ended up losing the match by just a small margin of two runs. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
