Page 95 - IPL1

the momentum of many an opposition. But there were star seam bowler Siddarth Trivedi contributed 13 wickets to the
turns from almost everyone in his team. None deserved more
accolades than the Pakistani left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir, a
beanpole of a man who bowls off the wrong foot in the manner
of a modern-day Mike Procter and who couldn’t even make the
starting XI for the first three matches. Tanvir ended up as the
tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 22 at the phenomenal
average of 12 and with an almost ridiculous strike-rate of 11. Just
as tellingly, he conceded as little as 6.46 runs an over, and his
efforts included six for 14 against Chennai Super Kings, four for
14 against Mumbai Indians and three for 10 against Bangalore
Roayl Challengers. He was the bowler of the tournament.
Warne’s fellow Australian Shane Watson emerged as an all-
rounder of world-class standing, having previously shown mere
glimpses of his potential. He regularly opened the bowling, but
responded with 17 wickets while going for a bit more than seven
an over, and hammered 472 runs at a strike-rate of 151. With his
powerful arm in the field and inspiring presence among the
younger Indians in the side, he was almost four cricketers rolled
into one. The South Africa captain Graeme Smith had a similar
impact, despite some high-profile fall-outs with Warne during
their time as opponents in the international arena. But any
differences were put to one side as Smith began his campaign
with 71 against Deccan Chargers, 49 against Bangalore Royal
Challengers and later crowned it all with an innings of 91 off just
51 deliveries against Chennai Super Kings. In all, Smith biffed
441 runs at an average of 49 and scared the living daylights out
of one opening attack after another.
The overseas players were one thing; the local picks were quite
another. Yusuf Pathan, younger brother of the better-known
Irfan, came of age with a string of spectacular performances
with the bat and chipped in with his off-breaks, even responding
to Warne’s request for him to open the bowling against Adam
Gilchrist during the game against Deccan Chargers: Pathan
responded by removing both Gilchrist and the equally dangerous
Shahid Afridi. Swapnil Asnodkar, a pint-sized opening batsman,
was not unveiled until the Royals’ fifth game, but immediately
cracked 60 in the win over Kolkata Knight Riders and messed
with plenty of bowlers’ line and length thereafter. Ravindra
Jadeja was hailed by Warne as a star of the future, while the
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team effort. The sustained success of the attack was such that
Dimitri Mascarenhas, Warne’s Hampshire colleague and the only
England player to take part in the IPL, was limited to a single
appearance, scoring nine runs and taking two for 29 in the win
over Delhi – suitable revenge for the opening-match drubbing.
More than anything, Rajasthan Royals were a team both on and
off the pitch. Warne agreed to take on the role of captain only
if he could double up as coach – he has famously said that the
coach is the thing the players get to the ground in – but he was
wily enough to take on a pair of assistants in the form of Darren
Berry, the former Victoria wicket-keeper and a long-standing
friend, and Jeremy Snape, who had played one-day cricket for
England as an off-spinning allrounder and had been used by the
England team as a part-time psychologist during the 2007 World
Cup. Berry organised practice sessions; Snape was available to
help players on a one-to-one basis, both with their training and
with their mental approach. As the wins mounted up, Warne
barely missed an opportunity to praise his two assistants. No
side gelled as well as Rajasthan Royals.
For proof, you simply needed to look at the scorecards. After
that potentially dispiriting defeat to Delhi, Rajasthan hit back
with a six-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab, inspired by Warne’s
haul of three for 14 and a brutal unbeaten 76 off 49 balls from
Shane Watson. A memorable win followed in Hyderabad as
Warne slammed 16 off three balls from Andrew Symonds to help
his side chase down Deccan Chargers’ 214 for five with a ball
to spare, before Bangalore Royal Challengers, Kolkata Knight
Riders and Chennai Super Kings were all seen off with plenty
to spare. A rare poor display with the bat led to a shock defeat
against lowly Mumbai Indians, but six straight wins confirmed a
semi-final spot, and one last defeat to Kings XI Punjab in Mohali
seemed to serve as a timely wake-up call before the knockout
stages. In the semi-final, Delhi Daredevils were treated with
contempt: bundled out for 87 in reply to Rajasthan’s 192 for nine,
and the side had to draw on all its experience and competitive
zeal to ensure victory by one run in a thrilling final against
Chennai Super Kings, with Pathan’s three for 22 proving the
difference. After the journey Rajasthan Royals had been on, any
other result just wouldn’t have seemed right.