A late charge by Daniel Christian powered Hyderabad Deccan Chargers to a modest 137 for eight against a Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royal Challengers on Saturday.
Teams:
Hyderabad: Arjun Yadav, Bharat Chipli, Cameron White, Chris Lynn, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Ishank Jaggi, Jaydev Shah, JP Duminy, Kevin Pietersen, Michael Lumb, Shikhar Dhawan, Sunny Sohal, Akash Bhandari, Amit Mishra, Anand Rajan, Dale Steyn, Harmeet Bansal, Ishan Malhotra, Ishant Sharma, Juan Theron, Manpreet Gony, Pragyan Ojha, Ammana Ashish Reddy, Ankit Sharma, Daniel Christian, Kedar Devdhar, Kumar Sangakkara
Rajasthan: Aakash Chopra, Abhishek Raut, Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Paunikar, Ashok Menaria, Faiz Fazal, Rahul Dravid, Ross Taylor, Swapnil Asnodkar, Aditya Dole, Amit Singh, Deepak Chahar, Dinesh Salunkhe, Johan Botha, Nayan Doshi, Pankaj Singh, Samad Fallah, Shane Warne, Shaun Tait, Siddharth Trivedi, Sumit Narwal, Ankeet Chavan, Jacob Oram, Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Dishant Yagnik, Pinal Shah
Match Preview
Led by Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara, the Chargers will have a lot to prove. After a sedate start to their IPL campaign three years back, the Hyderabadis charged to a sensational victory in 2009. However, things have changed for the franchisee. Inspirational skipper Adam Gilchrist has moved on to Kings’ XI Punjab, a side Sangakkara led with distinction in 2010. The Chargers are not high on star-power either but have some effective players down the line. JP Duminy, Daniel Christian and speedster, Dale Steyn can win matches on their own.
Cameron White, currently busy with Australia’s tour of Bangladesh will also add a lot of depth in the batting ranks. Shikhar Dhawan has proven his mettle in the T20 format and the southpaw, who has already played for two franchises before shifting base to Hyderabad, will be expected to a major force at the top of the order.
It will be a challenge for the erstwhile champions- new players, new captain. How they cope will shape the path for their future in the tournament.
Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, have retained most of their key players in the fourth auctions in January- the most significant being Shane Warne, the captain, who inspired a bunch of novices to glorious heights in the inaugural championship. Johan Botha, who has taken over as South Africa’s ODI skipper, will be a major trump card for Warne, who no doubt likes to vary his attack. Kolkata’s coup of Yusuf Pathan will affect the Royals’ set-up but they have enough power hitters to make up.
Swapnil Asnodkar and New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram and batsman Ross Tayor are destructive on their own day while the solidity of Rahul Dravid in the middle is a calming influence. Shane Watson, like always, will be a major cog in the Rajasthan wheels but only once he is back from Dhaka.
Shaun Tait has been a trusted lieutenant for Warne and the Aussie pacer will be again expected to cause some major damage with Watson, Siddhart Trivedi and the promising Pankaj Singh.
Warne and Sangakkara have contrasting styles of captaincy- they know each other well from their playing days- sharp, wily customers. While Warne is more hands-on, more expressive and more vibrant on the field, Sangakkara likes to keep it cool and lets his players think.
Make no mistake; both skippers have been successful with their own tactics and methods. Sri Lanka’s run to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 finals under Sangakkara was a sight to behold- he resigned soon after their defeat against India but the wicketkeeper-batsman would be eager to make his mark in the IPL and show the world he still belongs as a skipper. Warne, on the other hand, would like to keep his reputation intact- turn a group of underdogs into winners.
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