When James Faulkner punched Praveen Kumar through the covers off the last ball of the innings to notch another win for Rajasthan Royals, this time against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their fourth IPL outing, the Royals dug-out must have heaved a sigh of relief. Four wins in four games is a fabulous start in a tournament that has seen some exciting action on the field of play.
Once again reading the pitch correctly became a moot point, for what looked like a belter of a track at Visakhapanam turned out to be much slower. The Royals stand-in skipper Steve Smith decided to field on the premise that his batsmen were in good form for a chase. His decision almost backfired when Royals spluttered in the last over, which was cleverly bowled by the veteran Kumar.
A genuine team effort
For the Royals, the bowlers from Mumbai, Dhawal Kulkarni and Pravin Tambe, came to the party. Kulkarni stopped the Sunrisers from getting a promising start by getting rid of Shikhar Dhavan with a superb mix of seam bowling. The third Mumbaikar, Ajinkya Rahane, brilliantly ran out skipper David Warner, who was looking in ominous form.
Once again we saw Smith cleverly rotating his bowlers and putting in place a different field setting based on the batsman’s strength and weakness. The young Australian is growing in stature as a captain – he loves leading from the front and keeps motivating his team, not just on the ground but also in the dug-out.
Dhawal Kulkarni gave away the Royals mantra for success when he revealed that all members of the team were free to express themselves and chip in with their thoughts. While this strategy can cut both ways, an old cricket adage says that a successful captain listens to every member of his team before doing exactly what he wants to do.
What to improve
Though the Royals are currently heading the IPL points table with four wins in a row, they do have some serious thinking to do with regards to their batting line-up, especially in the middle order. The middle-order batsmen made heavy weather of what looked like a cakewalk for them after the openers had given them a solid start.
Batting niggles apart, the Royals will be very happy the way their bowlers performed and kept the Sunrisers on a tight leash. Tambe, who has been in and out of his state squad for the past few years, bowled a brilliant ball to remove a dangerous Naman Ojha, reminding many of his mentor, the spin legend Shane Warne. A leg-spinner needs a good captain and Tambe is fortunate to have two in Smith and Shane Watson.
While all teams playing this format of the game hope for flat, batting pitches to thrive and put many runs on the board, the teams that can change their style of play on pitches that are slower will succeed in this tournament. In just two weeks into the tournament we have seen games take place on all types of pitches – from flat and bouncy to green and slow.
Rajasthan Royals seem to have the kind of batsmen and bowlers who can excel in all conditions, going by their current performance. Watson’s return is bound to give them the extra edge in both departments of the game and the team management will be looking forward to the Aussie all-rounder’s passing the fitness test at the earliest.
They know that they cannot afford to lose the momentum they have gained after a series of consecutive victories. Royals’ next game will be a crucial one for them as they take on the Chennai Super Kings, another well-oiled machine that has tasted wins in this and the past editions of the IPL.
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Once again reading the pitch correctly became a moot point, for what looked like a belter of a track at Visakhapanam turned out to be much slower. The Royals stand-in skipper Steve Smith decided to field on the premise that his batsmen were in good form for a chase. His decision almost backfired when Royals spluttered in the last over, which was cleverly bowled by the veteran Kumar.
A genuine team effort
For the Royals, the bowlers from Mumbai, Dhawal Kulkarni and Pravin Tambe, came to the party. Kulkarni stopped the Sunrisers from getting a promising start by getting rid of Shikhar Dhavan with a superb mix of seam bowling. The third Mumbaikar, Ajinkya Rahane, brilliantly ran out skipper David Warner, who was looking in ominous form.
Once again we saw Smith cleverly rotating his bowlers and putting in place a different field setting based on the batsman’s strength and weakness. The young Australian is growing in stature as a captain – he loves leading from the front and keeps motivating his team, not just on the ground but also in the dug-out.
Dhawal Kulkarni gave away the Royals mantra for success when he revealed that all members of the team were free to express themselves and chip in with their thoughts. While this strategy can cut both ways, an old cricket adage says that a successful captain listens to every member of his team before doing exactly what he wants to do.
What to improve
Though the Royals are currently heading the IPL points table with four wins in a row, they do have some serious thinking to do with regards to their batting line-up, especially in the middle order. The middle-order batsmen made heavy weather of what looked like a cakewalk for them after the openers had given them a solid start.
Batting niggles apart, the Royals will be very happy the way their bowlers performed and kept the Sunrisers on a tight leash. Tambe, who has been in and out of his state squad for the past few years, bowled a brilliant ball to remove a dangerous Naman Ojha, reminding many of his mentor, the spin legend Shane Warne. A leg-spinner needs a good captain and Tambe is fortunate to have two in Smith and Shane Watson.
While all teams playing this format of the game hope for flat, batting pitches to thrive and put many runs on the board, the teams that can change their style of play on pitches that are slower will succeed in this tournament. In just two weeks into the tournament we have seen games take place on all types of pitches – from flat and bouncy to green and slow.
Rajasthan Royals seem to have the kind of batsmen and bowlers who can excel in all conditions, going by their current performance. Watson’s return is bound to give them the extra edge in both departments of the game and the team management will be looking forward to the Aussie all-rounder’s passing the fitness test at the earliest.
They know that they cannot afford to lose the momentum they have gained after a series of consecutive victories. Royals’ next game will be a crucial one for them as they take on the Chennai Super Kings, another well-oiled machine that has tasted wins in this and the past editions of the IPL.