Warriors look for revival at home

PUNE V PUNJAB, IPL 2013, PUNE

Match facts

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)

Robin Uthappa could play a key role at the top of the order

Big Picture

In a long tournament such as the IPL, one would be wise not to draw large conclusions from some early signs teams might display in their first few games. Pune Warriors would know that well. Last year, they began brightly, winning their first two matches, including one at the superb new stadium on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in front of a capacity home crowd. Things were looking up, but only temporarily, as Warriors’ fortunes slid rapidly. They won just two of their next 14 games.

This season, their campaign has begun with a defeat, in a game they should have won, and Warriors will be hoping for a reversal that’s as stark as the one they experienced in 2012. They were tied down in a small chase by some excellent bowling by Sunrisers Hyderabad, and their batting needs to come good against the Kings XI Punjab attack that can be a tricky opponent.

Kings XI Punjab are heavy on medium-pace and spin options that can restrict sides on slowish tracks, and the Subroto Roy Sahara Stadium appeared to produce a mixed bag last year, with several scores above 150 as well as totals as low as 121 that were successfully defended. Punjab have had their own concerns with deceptive starts. They had an impressive first season, but didn’t make it to the knockouts in the next four. Last season, they didn’t win more than two games on the trot and had a poor spell at home, just as Pune did.

 

 

Players to watch

Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey, both from Karnataka, can be an explosive duo at the top of the order, but found the going difficult against Dale Steyn in the first game. Both opened last season, but not regularly and never together. Uthappa did slightly better than his partner, amid frequent shuffling in the batting line-up, but how they – attacking batsmen who love to dominate the bowling – perform in tandem remains to be seen. They did give an indication, with a 145-run stand, albeit in a losing cause last year.

Parvinder Awana was in the limelight last IPL season with 17 wickets from 12 games, impressing many with his pace, at one point clocking 147 kmph against Mumbai Indians. He was ignored by selectors for the India A tour to the Caribbean last year, but a strong performance in the Ranji Trophy for Delhi won him a call-up to India’s Test squad during the series against England. Among the quicker bowlers in India, he’ll be closely monitored again.

 

2012 head-to-head

These two teams played back-to-back games last season, and shared honours. Warriors beat Kings XI by 22 runs in the first game. The second one was a low-scorer, with Warriors being bowled out for 115 and Kings XI chasing it down comfortably. Dimitri Mascarenhas picked up a five-for.

 

     Stats and trivia

• Pune Warriors have played 31 IPL games in all, but are yet to have a centurion.
• David Hussey stands an excellent chance of completing 5000 runs in T20 cricket. He is on 4821 now, 75 behind Chris Gayle and 453 behind leader Brad Hodge.

 

Quotes

“I have brought about some technical changes in my batting, and at the moment it is working for me. I am happy [with] the way I am batting now.”
Robin Uthappa

“In the last two seasons, we have been in the running for a semi-finals [berth] till [our] last game. We have strengthened the squad from last year.”
Adam Gilchrist, the Kings XI Punjab captain

Sunrisers could prove tricky for Royal Challengers

Sunrisers Hyderabad v Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2013, Hyderabad

Match facts

Sunday, April 7, 2013
Start time 20:00 (14:30 GMT)

 

    Can Dale Steyn keep Chris Gayle in check?

Heading into their first away match of IPL 2013, Royal Challengers Bangalore may start favourites but Sunrisers Hyderabad, with a victory as well in their opening game, showed they can be tough and determined opponents.

How formidable the Sunrisers’ challenge will be depends largely on their batting order. With the exception of Thisara Perera, nobody really managed to take charge of the innings after getting a start. Against Royal Challengers, they will be tested against a stronger bowling attack.

Chris Gayle is fit for Royal Challengers after limping through a good part of his match-winning innings in their first game. Gayle, again, had a huge influence on his team’s fortunes, but he could have done with more support during his unbeaten 92. He and Virat Kohli added 25 before Royal Challengers slipped to 80 for 5. Only KB Arun Karthik gave him company of any significance. Getting Gayle early offers Sunrisers’ bowlers a strong chance of containing Royal Challengers.

On Sunday, Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan will be up against Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma on a track that could likely play the way it did in the low-scorer between Sunrisers and Pune Warriors. Royal Challengers would have noted Steyn’s dominance in his first spell but playing Perera and Amit Mishra could prove just as challenging.

 

Players to watch

Amit Mishra, the second-highest wicket-taker in the IPL, has bowled fairly consistently through the IPLs. Against Warriors, he brought out his variations to stifle the batsmen. Royal Challengers have good players of spin in Dilshan and Virat Kohli and as the lead spinner in the side, Mishra will have to shoulder the responsibility of keeping the opposition in check. Tillakaratne Dilshan took the IPL by storm in 2009, scoring 418 runs for Delhi Daredevils. Since his shift to Royal Challengers, he’s been an important member of the line-up, scoring more than 500 runs in 20 games. He would no doubt have rued the shot that got him out against Mumbai Indians, but with two centuries and a half-century in his last five innings, Dilshan will be eager to put that start behind him and get going in IPL 2013.

 

Stats and trivia

• Royal Challengers have won just one out of their last four matches in Hyderabad. Their last victory in Hyderabad was in 2008.
• With three wickets in the last match against Mumbai Indians, R Vinay Kumar became the first Royal Challengers bowler to get to 50 wickets. He now has 52 wickets from 49 matches at an average of 26.07 for his side. His overall tally in the IPL is 64 wickets in 62 matches, which puts him among the top 10 wicket-takers of the tournament.

Quotes

“It was probably a more bowler-friendly wicket. It was not a free-flowing wicket. You could not just go there and play your shots. The ball was not quite coming onto the bat.” Dale Steyn on the track in the Sunrisers’ first game

Pollard trumps Dhoni in close clash

 

Mumbai Indians 148 for 6 (Pollard 57*) beat Chennai Super Kings 139 for 9 (Dhoni 51) by nine runs

 

Kieron Pollard rebuilt the innings with the bat, and then took a game-clinching catch in the final over

Not many sides win a Twenty20 game from 83 for 6 in the first innings. Not many sides have Kieron Pollard, who once again showed how much damage he can cause if he gets some time in the middle. On a pitch where both line-ups crumbled, barring both No. 6 batsmen, Pollard was the difference, although MS Dhoni almost stole the match from Mumbai Indians’ grasp with an ever more outrageous counter-attack. Fittingly, with Chennai Super Kings needing 12 off six, Pollard intercepted what looked set to be another Dhoni six on the deep midwicket boundary, sealing the game for his side with an acrobatic catch.

Pollard had breathed life into a stalled Mumbai Indians innings, which had gone nowhere after Sachin Tendulkar had fallen leg-before to Dirk Nannes in the opening over for a golden duck. Ricky Ponting and Rohit Sharma soon followed Tendulkar. Although Dinesh Karthik looked in fine touch, when he departed for 37, Mumbai Indians were 59 for 4 in the ninth over and the Super Kings seamers were on top.

Pollard batted quite sensibly, willing to go without scoring for several deliveries, knowing that when he wanted, he could always collect six with his power and reach. Half of the 38 deliveries he faced were dots, but he also buffed five sixes. Even when he went for the big strikes, he wasn’t taking risk. He would just lean forward to length or full deliveries and lift them over long-on.

From 83 for 6, to add 65 in eight overs, with Harbhajan Singh for company, was quite an achievement. Harbhajan’s contribution, a run a ball 21, was crucial. Carefree swiping was put away and the strike was turned over. When it wasn’t, to Pollard’s disappointment in the last over, Harbhajan himself found the boundary. Pollard cracked Dwayne Bravo‘s final ball of the innings over long-on to make sure there would at least be a contest in the game.

There almost wasn’t one, though, as the Super Kings batsmen played a series of poor shots to leave their side gasping at 66 for 5. M Vijay walked too far across to be bowled, Michael Hussey missed a slog to be bowled, Bravo drove loosely, and S Badrinath went too far back when he should have been forward.

Dhoni walked in, and the match started to turn. An upper cut appeared, a whiplash drive, a calm pull. Soon the long-on and deep midwicket boundary was being peppered with monster sixes, even as batsmen kept arriving and departing at the other end. Pollard took the most punishment, five of Dhoni’s eight boundaries coming off him.

Forty needed off 18. Dhoni lashed 17 off a Pollard over. 23 needed off 12. Dhoni found the stands at deep midwicket again, this time off Mitchell Johnson, to zoom to 50 off 24. Both Pollard and Johnson sprayed a couple of wides each, such was the effect Dhoni’s assault had.

First ball of Munaf Patel’s last over, Dhoni went for six more, targetting deep midwicket again, but this time, the towering figure of Pollard stood in the way, and made one last, decisive impact.

Cooper last-over seals victory for Royals

 

Rajasthan Royals 165 for 7 (Dravid 65, Binny 40, Yadav 4-24) beat Delhi Daredevils 160 for 6 (Warner 77, Cooper 3-30) by 5 runs

David Warner looked ominous, but a brilliant run-out from Brad Hodge helped even the odds, before Kevon Cooper pulled off the heist

An electric late rally in the field, completed by a stoic over of pinpoint yorkers from Kevon Cooper, saw Rajasthan Royals begin their IPL campaign with a thrilling five-run win over Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Daredevils were hurtling towards their target after 17 overs, with only 22 runs to get, and a flourishing David Warner at the crease. But Cooper ignited his side with a five-run over in the 18th that ended with a wicket, before a direct hit from acting captain Brad Hodge at cover dismissed Warner in the next to the last over, to give his side hope of a still-unlikely victory.

Nine runs were required off Cooper’s last over, but the bowler delivered six yorkers, two of which dismissed panicking Daredevils batsmen, and provided the IPL’s first week with its second nail-biting result. Johan Botha was out lbw, attempting a reverse paddle with seven required from four, before Andre Russell also fell trying to hit the ball fine with six needed from two, only this time Cooper cleaned him up. New man Naman Ojha had to hit a six off the last ball for Daredevils to salvage victory, but could not connect with a wide yorker, sparking ecstatic celebrations from Royals.

Daredevils’ death-over meltdown almost mirrored Royals’ returns from the same period of their innings, after the visitors had managed just six runs from their last two overs, and lost four wickets. Royals had arrived in the 18th over at 159 for 3, and were eyeing a 180-plus total that seemed par on a good batting surface. They however lost four batsmen in six balls, including Rahul Dravid, whose immaculately paced 65 off 51 held the team’s innings together.

Dravid had arrived at Kusal Perera’s demise in the third over, and aside from a controlled edge to the third man fence first ball, was largely content to collect singles to begin with, despite the fielding restrictions. When the bowlers erred, as Andre Russell did when he served up a wide delivery in the sixth over, Dravid’s placement and timing ensured the desired boundary was achieved.

He was dropped twice in the 12th over, when he began to introduce more aggression to his innings, but he was undeterred, and having made only 22 from his first 26 deliveries, he quickly achieved a more laudable strike rate through the middle overs.

For Daredevils, Warner was also relatively reluctant to begin with, allowing opening partner Unmukt Chand to give the early innings impetus, and striking at no better than a run a ball until the tenth over of the innings. When he eventually exploded in earnest, with two fours off Rahul Shukla in the 13th over, Daredevils appeared to be executing a measured chase.

Warner was dropped early in his innings, and had one more reprieve just after hitting fifty, as he continued to maul some indifferent Royals bowling through the middle overs. Just before Daredevils hit their wall, Warner launched Siddharth Trivedi in the 17th over for 13. After Warner’s demise however, none of the Daredevils batsmen seemed capable of finding the boundary, and Royals achieved revenge for the mighty close defeat they had suffered last year, in the same fixture.

Bumrah revels on big stage

 

Jasprit Bumrah had a debut to remember

Mumbai Indians‘ Jasprit Bumrah, a almost unknown teenager from Gujarat, had a memorable IPL debut on Thursday, taking 3 for 32 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He didn’t have the best of starts, though, being taken for three fours in his first four deliveries by Virat Kohli.

He then had Kohli lbw off his fifth ball, and celebrated exuberantly. “He had hit me for three boundaries in that over and so I was angry,” Bumrah told the IPL website. “I am always like this on the field.”

Bumrah was picked for the match ahead of more experienced contenders like Dhawal Kulkarni and Abu Nechim, but wasn’t fazed by the occasion. “It was the first time that I played in front of such huge crowd but I wasn’t paying any attention to the crowd. The more you focus on the inside, the better it is.”

Mumbai have a line-up including some of the biggest names in cricket, including Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting, players any youngster would dream of meeting. “I did feel a little overawed by all the big players in the team initially. But they were so welcoming and friendly, they made me feel at ease.”

He hit the headlines with a Man-of-the-Match performance in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, and he impressed Mumbai’s coach John Wright earlier in the tournament with his bowling in the league stage in Ahmedabad. “John Wright had come to watch one of our T20 matches and he watched me bowl in two games,” Bumrah said. “He didn’t talk to me or hint anything. After he went, I got a call asking if I was interested in signing a contract with the Mumbai Indians.”

One of the things that make Bumrah difficult to deal with initially is his unusual action, with stiff hands and bowling well wide of the crease. It looks ungainly but his coach Kishore Trivedi, father of Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat medium-pacer Siddharth, doesn’t want him to alter the action. “There were many who felt that we should change his action but I was reluctant,” Trivedi told Indian Express. ” He is a natural and there was no point in making drastic changes. It would’ve led him nowhere.”

Chennai brimming with in-form players

Match facts

Start time 20:00 local (14:30 GMT)

Mumbai fell short by two runs in their opening game

Big Picture

Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings flagged off IPL 2012 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Two strong sides played out a tepid match, with Mumbai trouncing the hosts. Mumbai’s opening game of this edition didn’t quite go to plan, losing narrowly to Royal Challengers Bangalore in a game that see-sawed in the last stages. With the asking rate climbing during Mumbai’s chase, Royal Challengers appeared to have the match in control, but Dinesh Karthik’s three consecutive sixes eased the equation considerably. Though Karthik failed to see the side through, Mumbai would have been better served if Karthik had more support.

Not for the first time, Kieron Pollard walked in later than he should have (he got to face only two deliveries). For the past few seasons, fans have pushed for a promotion in the batting order and never understood Mumbai’s conservative approach to Pollard. Perhaps there is a good reason for that strategy, but it is hard to fathom. Had he been set, the result could have been different. Despite the defeat, Mumbai needn’t tinker with their line-up. Lasith Malinga missed the game due to injury, but he will be forced to sit out the second match, fit or not, since the game’s in Chennai.

Super Kings haven’t always been the strongest starters. Given the form of their protagonists from the Australia Tests – MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and M Vijay – it’s hard to imagine the side stuttering. The ban on Sri Lanka players affects them the least, given they have only two such players in their line-up, who aren’t automatic picks. Chennai are without Faf du Plessis for at least the first month due to injury, while two other South Africans, Albie Morkel and Chris Morris join the team after the South African domestic T20 competition ends on April 7. .

 

Players to watch

After being smacked for three fours off his first four balls, Jasprit Bumrah’s choice was starting to look farcical for Mumbai Indians. Bumrah scripted a remarkable turnaround, picking up three wickets on IPL debut. His unusual high-arm action makes him worth watching, and his performance should guarantee at least another game. He bowls from wide of the crease and generates a sharp angle into the right-handers, which fetched him two of his three wickets.

Ravindra Jadeja has in recent times been the butt of jokes on social media networks for failing to prove his two-million-dollar price tag. While Jadeja may have underachieved as a batsman for India, respect for him should have grown after the Australia Tests where he picked up 24 wickets, second behind Ashwin (29).

 

2012 head-to-head

Mumbai won the opening game by eight wickets, chasing down a paltry 113. The second match, at Wankhede Stadium, was a nailbiter, with Dwayne Smith playing a blinder for Mumbai with 16 needed off the last over. Smith smashed three boundaries off the last three balls to steal a two-wicket win for Mumbai. Super Kings hit back in the Elimination final, winning by 38 runs in Bangalore.

 

      Stats and trivia

• Mumbai lead the head-to-head with seven wins against Super Kings, out of 13 games.
• Suresh Raina was the leading run-scorer for Super Kings last season with 441 runs in 19 games.
• Sachin Tendulkar is the top-scorer in matches between the two sides, with 353 runs at an average of 44.12 from 10 innings. 

Quotes

“The focus is on a few star players, both Indian and foreign, but there are others too who have contributed immensely. Take Badrinath for instance. He might not be a big hitter but has come up with several important performances for the team.”
MS Dhoni, the Super Kings captain

“It was the first time that I played in front of such huge crowd but I wasn’t paying any attention to the crowd. The more you focus on the inside, the better it is.”
Jasprit Bumrah on his first taste of the IPL.

Royals take on depleted Delhi

Match facts

Saturday, April 6, 2013
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)

Rahul Dravid will play his first match in almost A YEAR

 

 

 

 

 

The first couple of matches are always about getting the ball rolling in a long tournament where the teams go through cycles of form and they are important in helping team management take an uncomplicated view. Rajasthan Royals open their season with a clean slate when they take on a depleted home side, Delhi Daredevils, who had an insipid outing in Kolkata in the first match of the tournament.

Royals are without one man who is likely to be a constant in their equation this season – Shane Watson, who is not available for this match – and that opens up a vital spot for them to test one of their imports. In-form Sri Lanka batsman Kusal Perera is almost certain in the XI but the choice of other three could depend on the surface laid out in Delhi. The other interesting bit for Royals would be how their captain-cum-coach Rahul Dravid copes with his first taste of competitive cricket in almost a year. The longer he takes to find his groove, the more muddled the strategies would get.

Daredevils are still handicapped by the absence of two of their impact players – Virender Sehwag, who is out with back spasms, and Morne Morkel, who is playing domestic Twenty20 in South Africa. But this time, they are playing at home, against a not-so-daunting opponent they have beaten every time at home and the team would hope to put up a better batting performance to get a move on.

 

 

Players to watch

Kusal Perera is a rising star in Sri Lankan cricket and Royals have been lucky to fetch his services for just US$20,000. A good season here and that price, likely, is expected to multiply a few times over. Perera is a powerful player who loves to play lofted shots on either side of the wicket. He has often been compared to Sanath Jayasuriya, who, 17 years ago, ended the career of another Delhi bowler on this ground.

David Warner had a quiet start to the tournament by his standards, but in the absence of Sehwag, his form is crucial for Daredevils to do well as the middle order appeared a bit undercooked in the last game. Warner has scored a century and two fifties on his home ground.

 

Stats and trivia

• Daredevils have beaten Royals six times in the ten matches they have played against each other. They have lost just once in the last six matches
• In Brad Hodge and Owais Shah, Royals have two of the top five run-scorers in Twenty20s
• Rahul Dravid has scored 1703 IPL runs, which is the most among players from both sides

 

Quotes 

“I like Unmukt Chand a lot. He comes to my room often and asks me a lot of questions. We discuss how to deal with pressure situations and I tell him about my discussions with the Australian psychologist Mike Lloyd.”
David Warner is impressed with his opening partner

“The game against Delhi last year was disappointing as we lost by just one run. We have learnt from our past mistakes and are ready to start from scratch.”
Rajasthan Royals Ajinkya Rahane

Narine calls Sehwag his toughest opponent

 

Sunil Narine believes his success for Kolkata Knight Riders can also be attributed to Gautam Gambhir‘s captaincy

If his four-wicket haul against Delhi Daredevils is any indication, Sunil Narine may have begun IPL 2013 in the same form as last year. But his good form aside, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowler said he was relieved about not bowling to Virender Sehwag in the opening match of the IPL 2013.

“Sehwag is the batsman against whom I’ve found things most difficult while bowling,” Narine said in theTelegraph. “Irrespective of the situation, he goes on playing in his own style, which is to keep on scoring runs at a brisk pace.”

The lead bowler for Kolkata Knight Riders, Narine believes his success is also the result of playing with a captain who knows how to use his talent.

“Gautam [Gambhir] has a good idea of the game, which guides him to use me properly in different situations of the game,” he said. He also said he enjoyed bowling at the death, as it gave him a chance of picking up more wickets. “You can either go for plenty of runs or take wickets. It presents you with an opportunity to shine for your team.”

While his performances have been consistent in ODIs and T20s, Narine hasn’t really established himself as Test player. He played just five Tests since his debut against England in Birmingham last year, and was dropped for the recent Test series against Zimbabwe, as the West Indies selectors opted for Shane Shillingford. Narine believes he can make his mark in the longer format. “Now as far as I’m concerned, I am comfortable bowling with both white and red balls. The amount of success I’ve attained with the white ball, so far, may give an impression that I’m useful in the shorter format.”

Sunrisers defend 126 on IPL debut

 

Sunrisers Hyderabad 126 for 6 (Perera 30) beat Pune Warriors 104 (Steyn 3-11, Mishra 3-19) by 22 runs

Dale Steyn took three in four balls to close out the match

Sunrisers Hyderabad made a winning debut in the IPL as they defended a low score at their home ground on a slow, difficult pitch. Thisara Perera, Sunrisers’ $675,000 acquisition, did not begin too badly for his new franchise, top-scoring with a quick 30, taking the first two Pune Warriors wickets and causing a run-out. Amit Mishra wasn’t too far behind, his legbreaks leaving Warriors confounded on a helpful surface. Dale Steyn left the Warriors top order dazed with his outswingers and returned to blow away the lower order with three wickets in four balls.

Not many would have given Sunrisers a chance when they almost sleepwalked their way to 126 after being put in, barring a brief effort to break free from Perera. Deccan Chargers, the franchise Sunrisers replaced, had an atrocious record at this ground, and Sunrisers appeared set to extend that in front of a lukewarm turnout. But they came out a different unit with the ball.

Steyn, charged up as almost always, beat the Warriors openers repeatedly with quick outswingers. Ishant Sharma was correct and testing, as he can be in helpful conditions. The wickets came Perera’s way, though.

After running him fine for a boundary, Robin Uthappa tried repeating the stroke and went caught behind. Marlon Samuels gave the lone slip catching practice in Perera’s next over, Kumar Sangakkara deserving credit for sticking with the fielder and the bowler.

Warriors’ batting line-up stretched way down to No. 8 Mitchell Marsh, but it was to come unstuck as Mishra brought out his control and variations. Yuvraj Singh, on IPL comeback, walked down, and was easily beaten and stumped. Manish Pandey’s struggle to put bat to ball ended with a mishit slog off Mishra, as the asking-rate started mounting.

Almost everything clicked for Sangakkara on the field. He needed young Ashish Reddy to bowl a decent 17th over, and the bowler responded by uprooting Ross Taylor’s leg stump with a full, slower delivery.

With 33 needed off three overs, Perera was to make another important contribution. Angelo Mathews, who came in at No. 7, smashed a full toss straight back at Perera, who stuck out his right hand, and the dangerous Marsh was caught short of his crease at the non-striker’s end.

Warriors’ lower order panicked against Steyn, trying to attack the fast bowler while their captain looked on helplessly from the other end, ruing that his team left as many as seven deliveries unused.

Sunrisers used up their quota when they batted, but weren’t able to find any momentum. The top four got only starts, and it was down to Perera to breathe some life into a suffocating innings. He began with consecutive fours off Rahul Sharma and slogged Marlon Samuels’ darts for two more boundaries before mishitting an Ashok Dinda full toss in the 18th over. Perera’s fall meant Sunrisers weren’t able to finish well with the bat, but they were far more determined with the ball.

Can Royals punch above their weight again?

 

 

A lot will depend on Shane Watson again, for Rajasthan Royals

Forever the underdogs, Rajasthan Royals is one team that has always looked like a team since the first season. They have always had big impact players and there is something in the leadership that brings out the best from them. A fairytale first season aside though, they have struggled to find consistency and have been consigned with the reputation of arguably being the best of the second-tier teams. 

Unlike the men from Chandigarh, Pune and Hyderabad, they have never have had disastrous campaigns; the strong leadership may have changed hands from Shane Warne’s flamboyance to Rahul Dravid‘s more methodical, process-driven management style, but it has kept the team cohesive and focused on cricket.

The team this year again comes in with a battery of overseas players who are experienced and effective in Twenty20s. They have men like Brad Hodge, Owais Shah, Shaun Tait and Brad Hogg who have, quite profitably for themselves, carved out a career playing the short format. Throw Shane Watson, Kusal Perera, Kevon Cooper, Fidel Edwards and James Faulkner into the mix, and the team starts appearing as a strong contender. However, with only four of these trumps available at a time, the team management will have to find which card to pull out when.

Their fortunes, though, would depend on how the local group supports the imports. Rahul Dravid led with passion last year, but he hasn’t played cricket since and this season could well be his last. Then there is Sreesanth, who will be eager to make an impact after sitting out during last year’s IPL. However, it won’t be a surprise if both are inconsistent. But one guy who is expected to fire straightaway is Ajinkya Rahane and the team would look forward to the kind of starts he generated last year.

What they have lacked is the stamina to keep up their intensity through the tournament. They have always had decent starts but they tend to lose steam when the race gets tighter towards the end. Take last season for example where they were in the running to qualify for knockout stage with two games to go, but they were tripped by Deccan Chargers, the poorest team in the competition. This year, with most players available from the first match and all games being played in Jaipur, Royals are in a place to give the tournament their best shot.

 

Key players

The man of the tournament in the first edition, Shane Watson is among the few players who have stuck with one franchise and he hasn’t fared badly at all. He has scored 1242 runs from 39 games and taken 35 wickets for Rajasthan and is in the same league as someone like Chris Gayle in dismantling any bowling attack. More importantly, this season he is available for the entire duration of the tournament, although he is likely to miss the first game. It is unclear about why he is unavailable, but it is understood that he will be catching a flight over the next couple of days to join the team ahead of their second game against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 8. He had a tough time during the recent Tests in India and didn’t bowl at all, but he had indicated earlier that he might start bowling during the IPL.He may neither be a hard-hitting batsman nor a tearaway fast bowler, but allrounder Stuart Binny’s role will be an important one among the second string locals in the team. He bowls gentle medium pace with a lot of variations in speed and is coming off a decent showing in domestic cricket, with 622 runs and 27 wickets off 11 matches this season. Royals would hope Binny brings the same value to their team as Rajat Bhatia does to Kolkata Knight Riders.

 

Big name in

Kusal Perera’s recent run of scores (64, 56, 18*, 42, 336, 97, 203) is not the only exciting part about him, it is the manner where he scores the runs that can set this tournament alight. The Sri Lankans have called him the next Sanath Jayasuriya and the similarity is not just limited to the whiplash square-cut. Royals may have spent the most for James Faulkner ($400,000) but Perera, bought for a steal at $20,000, could well be provide the tournament. 

Big name out

The departure of Johan Botha from Jaipur to Delhi has left Royals poorer in the spin department, but Botha’s absence will be felt in the batting as well, as he was versatile enough to come up the order. He played 24 matches for Royals, in which he scored 335 runs and picked up 19 wickets.

Below the radar

It is not all just about his name; Kerala allrounder Sachin Baby recently flogged a 19-ball 48 against Delhi in the Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy (India’s domestic T20 tournament) to pull off a tough chase. His T20 strike rate is over 150 and he can fill as a offspinner too. Left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh, who impressed Ian Chappell during last year’s Under-19 World Cup, could also be in the spotlight. 

Availability

Royals are well-placed this year with all their players available throughout the season.