Date:20/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/20/stories/2008052060692000.htm

Sport - Cricket

We have to play with freedom and flair

Royals are playing with great confidence, writes John Buchanan

— Photo: Sushanta Patronobish

IN SYNC: Rajasthan Royals has clicked as a unit under the astute leadership of Shane Warne. Here he gets some notes from Kamran Akmal.

Chennai Super Kings may have batted themselves into a strong position while chasing 150 against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday, but the final chase would have always been a question mark. However, the lights and weather intervened to force a decision by Duckworth-Lewis.

Our boys once again showed skill, enterprise and spirit, notably Salman Butt, Debabrata Das, Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Wriddhiman Saha.

Stephen Fleming and Parthiv Patel used the hardness of the new ball effectively and had the game poised in their favour, but there was no certainty of the game finishing that way.

Tough task

So where does that leave us? With a must-win situation against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday. This would seem a daunting task as the Royals come here with eight wins from 10 games. Shane Watson, with 333 runs and 12 wickets, has controlled the game at the top of their batting order and then with the ball.

On the batting front, the effective Graeme Smith has compiled over 300 runs. Add the unorthodox dash of Swapnil Asnodkar, the ferocious hitting of Yusuf Pathan and the middle-order efforts of Ravindra Jadeja, it is obvious why Royals have won so many games.

Their bowling has revolved around the likes of Munaf Patel, Watson, Siddharth Trivedi, Sohail Tanvir and Shane Warne. They have used the pace, swing and bounce of the new ball well. In the middle- and end-overs, they have used their change of pace, the slow bowling of Warne or sometimes Pathan, and very good yorkers.

Creative

As always, Warne’s captaincy has been controlled and creative. There is no doubt that he reads the game well

For Knight Riders, it is our desire to match that freedom and flair and enjoy the opportunity to play against the top side in the competition.

And to our King, Shah Rukh Khan. If there is one thing SRK has done, it is to ensure that wherever he goes he uses neither position nor privilege to gain special treatment.

And his presence at the IPL matches will continue to be a significant factor in the success of this venture.

(Gameplan)