Shrugging off the inertia that creeps in when the team starts losing after a brilliant start is not an easy task. Rajasthan Royals did just that when they stepped on the field after they were put in to bat by Delhi Daredevils at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
At the start, things looked perfect for the Royals as the pitch of their adopted home ground wore a sheen of green, much favoured by them. The grass-tinged pitch prompted them to go in with an all-pace attack, leaving their regular spinners on the bench.
Rahane’s reign
The sparse crowd at India’s iconic venue saw the Royals play a wait and watch game with openers Ajinkya Rahane and skipper Shane Watson biding their time and allowing the ball to lose its shine. It was a delight to see two Mumbaikars – Rahane and Zaheer Khan – lock eyeballs in their city on a ground that was, in the olden days, the original home of “Bombay” cricket.
Rahane’s sojourn so far in the IPL has been exciting, as he goes from strength to strength with each game. He became the proud recipient of the orange cap after a clinical innings of 91 runs off 54 balls. Rahane started from where he had left off, and one can see that he puts a heavy price on his wicket.
The Royals openers were wary of Zaheer, who has yet to settle down in the competition, playing him with care when the ball was moving around in the initial overs. The way the Royals’ batsmen built their innings was a lesson to those aspiring to play the shortest format of the game. Their planning was perfect and the execution was impeccable.
Rahane got after debutant Gurinder Sandhu and leg-spinner Amit Mishra at different stages during his innings, and was ably supported by young Karun Nair, with whom he shared a 113-run partnership. While there were plenty of fireworks during the stand, the copybook style employed by the duo must have also pleased the purist.
Forgettable evening for Delhi
For the Daredevils, this was an evening they would like to forget for many reasons. To start with, putting the Royals in to bat on a pitch that had carry was a move they will consider discussing in their next team meeting. Their fielding, particularly their catching (or lack of it) left much to be desired. Regular goof-ups on the field had them looking like enthusiastic schoolboys rather than a professional unit.
Unlike Delhi, the Royals fielded like a team possessed, especially in the death overs when it looked like the match going the Daredevils’ way. The adage “catches win matches” proved correct on a hot, humid night for the Royals. Two brilliant efforts – Stuart Binny’s catch which saw the back of Yuvraj Singh, and the one taken by Steve Smith to send back a dangerous Nathan Coulter-Nile, will be remembered as much as the effort of Jonty Rhodes on the same ground against the West Indies in 1993.
Keeping up the momentum
When the Royals look back at this game, they will acknowledge that their bowling effort needs to be much sharper. Too much reliance on Tim Southee and James Faulkner can be dangerous to a team that is within breathing distance of qualifying for the IPL play-offs.
The Royals have three matches left in the league phase. The next one is against a resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad who pulled a coup when they beat Chennai Super Kings comfortably at Hyderabad.
The Rajasthan outfit will need to keep their momentum going as their batting strength will be tested by the Sunrisers, who have a potent bowling attack. They will be hoping that the orange cap stays firmly on Rahane and not move to the Sunrisers skipper David Warner.
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At the start, things looked perfect for the Royals as the pitch of their adopted home ground wore a sheen of green, much favoured by them. The grass-tinged pitch prompted them to go in with an all-pace attack, leaving their regular spinners on the bench.
Rahane’s reign
The sparse crowd at India’s iconic venue saw the Royals play a wait and watch game with openers Ajinkya Rahane and skipper Shane Watson biding their time and allowing the ball to lose its shine. It was a delight to see two Mumbaikars – Rahane and Zaheer Khan – lock eyeballs in their city on a ground that was, in the olden days, the original home of “Bombay” cricket.
Rahane’s sojourn so far in the IPL has been exciting, as he goes from strength to strength with each game. He became the proud recipient of the orange cap after a clinical innings of 91 runs off 54 balls. Rahane started from where he had left off, and one can see that he puts a heavy price on his wicket.
The Royals openers were wary of Zaheer, who has yet to settle down in the competition, playing him with care when the ball was moving around in the initial overs. The way the Royals’ batsmen built their innings was a lesson to those aspiring to play the shortest format of the game. Their planning was perfect and the execution was impeccable.
Rahane got after debutant Gurinder Sandhu and leg-spinner Amit Mishra at different stages during his innings, and was ably supported by young Karun Nair, with whom he shared a 113-run partnership. While there were plenty of fireworks during the stand, the copybook style employed by the duo must have also pleased the purist.
Forgettable evening for Delhi
For the Daredevils, this was an evening they would like to forget for many reasons. To start with, putting the Royals in to bat on a pitch that had carry was a move they will consider discussing in their next team meeting. Their fielding, particularly their catching (or lack of it) left much to be desired. Regular goof-ups on the field had them looking like enthusiastic schoolboys rather than a professional unit.
Unlike Delhi, the Royals fielded like a team possessed, especially in the death overs when it looked like the match going the Daredevils’ way. The adage “catches win matches” proved correct on a hot, humid night for the Royals. Two brilliant efforts – Stuart Binny’s catch which saw the back of Yuvraj Singh, and the one taken by Steve Smith to send back a dangerous Nathan Coulter-Nile, will be remembered as much as the effort of Jonty Rhodes on the same ground against the West Indies in 1993.
Keeping up the momentum
When the Royals look back at this game, they will acknowledge that their bowling effort needs to be much sharper. Too much reliance on Tim Southee and James Faulkner can be dangerous to a team that is within breathing distance of qualifying for the IPL play-offs.
The Royals have three matches left in the league phase. The next one is against a resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad who pulled a coup when they beat Chennai Super Kings comfortably at Hyderabad.
The Rajasthan outfit will need to keep their momentum going as their batting strength will be tested by the Sunrisers, who have a potent bowling attack. They will be hoping that the orange cap stays firmly on Rahane and not move to the Sunrisers skipper David Warner.