By Suneer Chowdhary
Given all the shenanigans associated with the brand, it is hard to believe that the Indian Premier League is only three seasons old. Which also means, that there have been only three winners in the past and this second game of the tournament will see two of these three fight it out to start off the tournament with a win.
Published: Apr 08, 2011, 08:15 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 08, 2011, 08:15 PM (IST)
Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals lock horns in Hyderabad on Saturday
By Suneer Chowdhary
Hyderabad: Apr 8, 2011
Given all the shenanigans associated with the brand, it is hard to believe that the Indian Premier League is only three seasons old. Which also means, that there have been only three winners in the past and this second game of the tournament will see two of these three fight it out to start off the tournament with a win. Inaugural tournament winners, Rajasthan Royals will travel to Hyderabad to play the 2009 victors Deccan Chargers in the second game of the fourth edition of the IPL at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.
Barring Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, if there is a team which has attempted to retain their soul, it is Rajasthan Royals. For one, the side has refused to axe their captain despite the side’s failed attempts at getting to the semi-finals in the previous two editions.
Then, they have also managed to keep the likes of Shane Watson and Johan Botha and some of the other Indian domestic players like Siddharth Trivedi, Dinesh Salunkhe and Amit Singh. Shilpa Shetty and Shane Warne may add the high-profile touch to the side, but it isn’t surprising to have the rest of the squad quite low key.
Rahul Dravid will add solidity to the middle-order as should someone like Ajinkya Rahane, both of whom have been imported from other teams. Goa-opener Swapnil Asnodkar, on the other hand, will continue to open the innings, while Ross Taylor will look to continue building on his World Cup form.
In the absence of Watson, away on international duty, one of Faiz Fazal or Aakash Chopra should open the innings while allowing Warne to go for his fourth international in quick bowler Shaun Tait, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket.
The Rajasthan bowling will rely heavily on Tait to get the early breakthrough but more importantly, its Indian bowling stocks have some interesting names in Deepak Chahar and Trivedi. Chahar had an exciting debut Ranji season last year and has been elevated into the Royals squad.
The Chargers, who go into the game having lost five of the six games that the two have played, will look to their captain Kumar Sangakkara to rub his international captaincy form onto the side as well. Of course, the absence of Cameron White and Kevin Pietersen, to international commitments and injury, will hurt the chances but a part of their absence will be overcome by the middle-order batting of JP Duminy.
Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma should form the new-ball combination while both the frontline spinners, Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra should make it to the playing eleven.
Where the Chargers may feel the pinch is at the top of the order, given that both Shikhar Dhawan and Bharat Chipli – both of who should make it to the playing eleven – are relatively inexperienced.
There isn’t much evidence on a man-to-man, on-paper basis, to tilt either ways and despite the Chargers being the favourite in the eyes of the bookies, it is difficult to choose from between the two teams.
Teams:
Deccan Chargers: Shikhar Dhawan, Bharat Chipli, Kumar Sangakkara, JP Duminy, Ishank Jaggi, Ryan Christian, DR Teja, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma, Dale Steyn.
Rajasthan Royals: Swapnil Asnodkar, Faiz Fazal, Ajinkya Rahane, Ross Taylor, Rahul Dravid, Pinal Shah, Johan Botha, Shane Warne, Deepak Chahar, Siddharth Trivedi, Shaun Tait
Time: 4.00 pm local (1030 hours GMT).
(Suneer is a Mumbai-based cricket writer and can be contacted at suneerchowdhary@gmail.com and Tweets here: @suneerchowdhary)
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