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Confident Royals take on Super Kings

G. Viswanath

Smith vs Ntini and Morkel will make for an interesting contest

— Photo: R.V. Moorthy

HAPPY TIMES: Rajasthan Royals will be banking on Dimitri Mascarenhas and Shane Watson to keep up the good work and ensure that Shane Warne’s team keeps smiling.

Jaipur: The impending face off between the hard-hitting Graeme Smith and fast bowlers Makhaya Nitini and Albie Morkel at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium on Sunday has the potential to bring in a unique dimension to the tussle between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings.

Smith has opened his DLF-IPL Twenty20 show personally with 19 boundaries against Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore and made a substantial contribution to his team’s triumphant march after the loss against Delhi Daredevils.

Hit out or get out

With everybody sporting a hit out or get out attitude, even batsmen with lesser ability have thrived and discovered their talent ever since the IPL was inaugurated three weeks ago.

Swapnil Asnodkar sizzled with a bold 60 here two days ago and on Friday S. Vidyut found his meridian with a flashy and entertaining half century at Chennai. Though struggling to come to grips with the format, Kolkata Knight Riders’ skipper Sourav Ganguly hit the nail on its head saying the shorter the game, lesser the difference between the players.

Vidyut provided a timely thrust to Super Kings, but Suresh Raina deserves a higher batting slot because of his experience, not merely because he was bought at $6,50,000 by the Chennai franchise.

The Chennai outfit, thanks to the big blows from the Australians Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey and the ensuing wins, was happily placed at the top of the league. But it tripped at home on Friday, unable to halt Virender Sehwag’s flurry of runs. It has now been displaced from the pedestal because of inferior net run-rate.

Disappointing defeat

The first defeat ought to be disappointing for Super Kings and in particular for Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Follies notwithstanding, in particular with the batting positions of Vidyut and Raina, Chennai is bound to suffer from the absence of Hayden and Hussey’s leather hunting capabilities.

Fortunately, the IPL is only approaching the half way stage, thus giving breathing time for Dhoni to contemplate and find a combination that would have the potential to take his team to the semifinals.

Morkel, who starred in Titans’ title win in the Standard Bank Pro20 in Durban recently, took time to lash a couple of sixes, but his and Ntini’s undertaking with the ball was below par. Sehwag’s natural style made the debate on whether he played the line or length better, puerile.

Oppressive heat

From Chennai’s high humidity, Ntini and Morkel will find Jaipur’s dry heat more oppressive and the pitch not offering much assistance. Without doubt, off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who has dismissed three batsmen in five matches, may be able to fool batsmen with his tricks and increase his tally.

Maybe Dhoni may even try out Vidyut’s left-arm spin and S. Badrinath’s off-breaks for an over or two and break the sequence of five bowlers he has used in each and every match.

The teams (from): Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne (captain), Graeme Smith, Shane Watson, Mohammad Kaif, Yusuf Pathan, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Mahesh Rawat, Sohail Tanvir, Siddharth Trivedi, Ravindre Jadeja, Swapnil Asnodkar, Kamran Akmal, Niraj Patel, Taurwar Kohli, Dinesh Salunkhe.

Chennai Super Kings: M.S. Dhoni (captain), Stephen Fleming, Parthiv Patel, Suresh Raina, S. Badrinath, Albie Morkel, S. Vidyut, Joginder Sharma, Muttiah Muralitharan, Makhaya Ntini, P. Amarnath, Manpreet Goni, Abhinav Mukund, S. Anirudha, K.B. Arun Karthik, Suresh Kumar.

Match begins at 8 p.m.

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