Rajasthan look to continue home dominance (Preview)

The Warne magic is back in the limelight, his captaincy more than his bowling winning matches for giant-killers Rajasthan. They have once again proved that an inspired side can overcome any hurdle; even the best among the business can be beaten. The Warne-led side thrashed powerhouse Mumbai in what turned out to be a one-sided affair at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Friday.

The Jaipur stadium once again proved to be Rajasthan’s fortress, even a team of Mumbai’s caliber couldn’t breach it. The Shilpa Shetty owned team’s bowling attack that lacks big names save for Warne bundled out the best batting line for a paltry score of 94 runs. And, the batters joined in the party knocking off the target comfortably.

South-African international Johan Botha stole the show with his all-round performance. His form with both bat and ball has helped the home team to script some crucial victories this season. If he carries on the good work, Rajasthan would be very hard to beat.

Rajasthan’s impeccable home record would be least threatened by a side that has been on the road for some time now. Pune in all likelihood would be tired by the traveling they have had to undertake during the past week or so playing four matches in as many cities.

For the newcomers Pune the nightmare just doesn’t end. After a bright start to the tournament things have fallen apart. Five successive losses have hit them hard denting their confidence big time.

Their performance in all departments of the game has been pretty ordinary. The real disappointment has been the batting which boasts of big hitters like Yuvraj Singh and Robinb Uthapa. They have also made some bizarre decisions while batting. Manish Pandey arrival before Yuvraj in the last match cost them dearly. As they say, the best batsman in the team should bat up the orderin the T20 format in which there is so little time for batsman to make a mark.

Given the way Pune have been performed up to now and Rajasthan’s dominance in their backyard, it is an uphill task for the visitors. As for Rajasthan it is a golden chance to cement their position among the top-four in the league standings.

RAJASTHAN

Players who can make impact…

Shane Watson…Arguably the best all-rounder these days, Watson’s abilities are well known. He lends balance scoring runs at a brisk pace and taking important wickets for the team.

Johan Botha…..How well has he batted whenever pushed up the order. The good thing is that he thinks like a top-order batsman playing some genuine strokes. His frugal off-spinners aren’t bad either. All in all, a good value player for the team who gives more than 100 per cent every time.

SQUAD

Aakash Chopra, Abhishek Raut, Aditya Dole, Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Paunikar, Amit Singh, Ankeet Chavan, Ashok Menaria, Deepak Chahar, Dinesh Salunkhe, Dishant Yagnik, Faiz Fazal, Johan Botha, Nayan Doshi, Pankaj Singh, Pinal Shah, Rahul Dravid, Ross Taylor, Samad Fallah, Shane Warne (c), Shane Watson, Shaun Tait, Siddharth Trivedi, Stuart Binny, Sumit Narwal, Swapnil Asnodkar.

PUNE

Players who can make impact…

Yuvraj Singh…Yuvraj record in the T20 is nothing short of brilliant. Somehow, he has not pooled enough match-winning performances for the Pune team. It wouldn’t be a bad idea if he opens the innings with Jesse Ryder to give himself enough time to unleash the violence on the opposition bowlers.

Robin Uthapa…A player tailor-made for the slam bang version of cricket, Robin can hit the ball hard and long. He has played some cameos here and there but the dominating player he is has to hit big scores to justify the price tag and reputation. Pune’s hopes of staging a comeback rest on his broad shoulders.

SQUAD

Yuvraj Singh (c) A Jhunjhunwala,Alfonso Thomas,Angelo Mathews,Ashish Nehra,Bhuvneshwar Kumar,Callum Ferguson,Dheeraj Jadhav,Eklavya Dwivedi,Ganesh Gaikwad, Graeme Smith,Harpreet Singh,Harshad Khadiwale,Imtiyaz Ahmed,Jerome Taylor,Jesse Ryder,Kamran Khan,Manish Pandey,Mitchell Marsh,Mithun Manhas,Monish Mishra,Murali Kartik,Nathan McCullum,Rahul Sharma,Robin Uthappa,Sachin Rana,Shrikant Mundhe,Shrikant Wagh,Tim Paine (wk),Wayne Parnell.