Page 220 - IPL 2

Shane Warne: Friend, Philosopher, Captain, Coach.

crunch time. That humdinger of a game against
KKR in Cape Town. Scores were tied, nails were

chewed off, and excitement was at fever pitch. It
came down to the super over and Warnie threw

the ball to Kamran Khan instead of bowling
it himself. A move that shocked the experts.

Luck favors the brave they say, as it had for the
Royals in Season 1. The bold move worked! Yet

again Shane Warne had managed to bring the
opposition down with the element of surprise.

The Royals seemed to have Lady luck in their

corner. But it wasn’t her and Warnie alone; he
also relied on the experience of South Africa

captain Graeme Smith. Smith wasn’t having the
best tournament with the bat, but his experience

was beyond question. When asked about Warne
being centre of attention Graeme replied
politely “I’m happy to be in the background”.

He wasn’t for long. His smashing knock of 77

against Kings XI Punjab helped the Royals notch
the highest team total in the tournament. There
were also good performances by Yusuf Pathan

and Ravindra Jadeja. But in the end, it just did not
add up for the Royals. Their form was mercurial

through the season. They picked up their game
towards the latter half of the tournament

but it wasn’t enough to take them to the Semi
finals. What they did do however, is earn a lot

of admirers in South Africa. As Warnie does,
as Lions do.

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