Can Warne's boys defuse Chargers?

AHMEDABAD: Rajasthan Royals will look to maintain their winning momentum as they lock horns with Deccan Chargers at the Motera on Friday. After three consecutive defeats, it was here in Motera that Shane Warne & Co put their IPL campaign back on track with a 34-run win over the Kolkata Knight Riders last Saturday.

RR's convincing win over Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on Wednesday, their second on the trot, just reiterated what their skipper and coach Shane Warne has been stating: "We are a good team and all we need to do is to implement our plans on the field. The result will take care of itself."

After a close finish and two embarrassing losses, Warnie's boys have been just good enough to do the basics right and squeeze a win here and there. Their stars are not big names, with Faiz Fazal, Naman Ojha, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Siddharth Trivedi, Yusuf Pathan and Paras Dogra to name a few.

Add to it guys like Shaun Tait, Adam Voges and Michael Lumb and Warnie has a group of fighters which may not have deadly reputations - apart from Yusuf Pathan - but can be very effective when it matters.

The Royals have, meanwhile, offloaded Damien Martyn after they trimmed the squad to 19 members.

But it will be a real test for Warnie and Co as they are up against the defending champions and a team which too has gathered momentum after an early loss against KKR on the opening day.

"We had a slow start but we played better in the last few games. We are working hard and trying to take every game as it comes without thinking much about defending the title. Every team is playing good cricket and every team can beat every team. It will be a hard fight to get to the final four.

"The Royals will be confident after their performance in the last two games," said Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist.

DC are third on the points table, two places above the Royals, and have been bolstered by the entry of the two West Indian, Kemar Roach and Dwayne Smith, into the side. Chargers got the Barbadian quick Roach after a tug of war with

Chennai Supper Kings for a whopping $720,000. Unlike the Royals, the Chargers have always got good support from their foreign hires and Chaminda Vaas, Gibbs, Andrew Symonds have all complimented local lads VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma, T Suman, Pragyan Ojha and the others well.

Laxman, who was nursing an elbow injury, is now fit and he trained and even batted at the nets in a three-hour long practice session at the Motera on Thursday.

The only concern for Gilchrist may be RP Singh's form. He has played four matches so far, bowled 14 overs, gave away 139 runs at 9.92 and has picked up just three wickets.

"We are working very hard with RP and he is also very keen to give his best. We all are working very hard towards that," added Gilchrist.

He is, however, very pleased with Ojha's bowling. "The left-arm spinner has picked up four wickets so far from 16 overs, giving away 114 runs at 7.12. Ojha is our main bowler. He was our strike bowler in IPL 2 as well and even here he is hungry for success," the skipper added.

Source: Times of India