Sport

The teams will look to focus on the job at hand

— Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

NEED A QUICK-FIX: Chief Cricket Officer Martin Crowe and Rahul Dravid will hope their team finds a way to start winning, and soon.

Jaipur: Last Tuesday’s bomb blasts have thrown the DLF-IPL topper Rajasthan Royals’ preparations into disarray. Shane Warne’s team was scheduled to assemble here on Thursday for training and a net session after a long break for its sixth home match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The team’s local media officer said majority of the players would arrive only late in the evening and hence the practice session has been cancelled.

For about a month now, Jaipur has been home to the Royals, and the players — local and imports — have become household names, thanks to the team’s superb run in the competition.

A team with players and support staff from Australia, South Africa, England and Pakistan has become the toast of town.

Warne has gone out of the way to pass on valuable tips, reaching out to the others in the squad, boosting their morale, never forgetting to stress on team unity and playing smart and clever cricket.

He has, perhaps, stayed in touch with the players over the break but has lost time to mentally prepare the team for Saturday’s clash with Dravid’s struggling team.

Without doubt, the two teams would be anxious when they take the field on Friday.

After beating Delhi Daredevils last Sunday, the foreign players in the side had flown to Goa for a break, looking to return refreshed for their assignments on home turf where they have been unconquered.

But, news of the bomb blasts would surely have left them shaken.

Though there has been no official word, Darren Berry, a key member of the Royals’ coaching staff from Australia, had expressed reservations about returning to the Pink City. Bangalore, which has a clutch of foreign players in its ranks, had even offered to host the match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Fortunately, the IPL authorities, Chairman and Commissioner, Lalit Modi and the Rajasthan government have been able to bring the players around and reassure them.

Nicholls Steyn & Associates, the South African security adviser to the IPL, will oversee the security cover for the players and officials at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

Furthermore, the State Chief Minister Vasundra Raje and the Home Secretary Mr. V.S. Singh are taking personal interest in the safe and smooth conduct of the match.

Royals has one more home match against Mumbai Indians on May 26 and away matches against Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab.

It has virtually sealed a place in the semifinals though with seven victories.

Pakistan’s Younis Khan is expected to join the team on Friday as a replacement for Dimitri Mascarenhas.

On the other hand, nothing has gone right for the Challengers and the time has come for the Bangalore team to win matches.

The Bangalore team arrived here on Friday and had a net session in the evening.

The players and officials will wear black bands and all peripheral entertainment has been withdrawn for the match.

The teams (from):

Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne (captain), Graeme Smith, Yusuf Pathan, Swapnil Asnodkar, Mohammad Kaif, Shane Watson, Sohail Tanvir, Munaf Patel, Siddharth Trivedi, Ravindra Jadeja, Niraj Patel, Kamran Akmal, Younis Khan, Taurwar Kohli, Dinesh Salunkhe, Pankaj Singh.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Rahul Dravid (captain), J. Arun Kumar, Virat Kohli, Misbah-ul-Haq, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Dale Steyn, R. Vinay Kumar, Sunil Joshi, Anil Kumble, Bharat Chipli, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Cameron White, Devraj Patil.

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