IPL 2020: RR coach exudes confidence in Jofra Archer's good form in white-ball cricket

Rajasthan Royals head coach Andrew McDonald has praised "exciting" Jofra Archer for his excellent performance with the white ball against Australia. Archer has scalped six wickets in two matches against Australia in the ongoing ODI series. The Barbadian pacer had picked up three big wickets in the previous ODI on Sunday as the visitors were bundled out for 207 chasing a modest target of 232. The speedster was adjudged Man of the Match for his brilliant performance with the ball in hand.

'He lights it up': Andrew McDonald 

"He (Jofra Archer) lights it up, doesn't he? There's moments in games where he senses it and he goes for it," ESPNcricinfo quoted McDonald as saying.

"He's exciting; you never know what you're going get with great fast bowlers and although he's got a long way to go to be in that sort of conversation, he's stepping his way towards that, isn't he?" he added.

Who will have the last laugh?

England staged a remarkable comeback by winning the previous ODI as they successfully defended a modest score of 231 to level the three-match series 1-1. At one stage, it looked as if the Aussies would cruise towards an easy win when the scorecard read 144/2. However, as soon as skipper Aaron Finch and Marnus Labushagne were dismissed in quick successions, their middle-order suffered a dramatic collapse, and even though wicket-keeper batsman  Alex Carey ignited the Australian hopes with a vital 36, he did not receive any support from the other end and once the asking rate got steeper, he had to go for big shots and was eventually stumped by his counterpart Jos Buttler off leggie Adil Rashid as the visitors were bundled out for 207.

It now remains to be seen whether the reigning ODI world champions can do the double over their arch-rivals (The hosts had won the T20I series 2-1) or will the five-time world champions have the last laugh by emerging triumphant in the 50-overs format?

Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2020

Coming back to IPL 2020, the Royals will kickstart their campaign when they lock horns against three-time winners Chennai Super Kings at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah on September 22. RR will be led by Steve Smith. However, it has been reported that ace all-rounder Ben Stokes might miss the first part of the tournament due to personal issues.

Meanwhile, the Royals would be hoping for a revival in their fortunes after having unveiled their official jersey as they have not succeeded in replicating the same performance post the inaugural edition in 2008 where the Australian spin legend Shane Warne had led them to their first and only triumph in the cash-rich event.

(Image Courtesy: AP)

(With ANI Inputs)