Team Preview - Rajasthan Royals

Performance in IPL 2008 

The Royals were considered underdogs and after their drubbing in the opening game against Delhi, not many would have given them a chance. But that loss was only a minor blip in an otherwise hugely successful campaign. The Royals won 11 out of their next 12 league games, losing only to Mumbai in the process as they notched up a streak of 6 wins on the trot. 

They crushed Delhi in the semi-finals, winning by a huge margin of 105 runs as Delhi were dismissed for an embarrassing 87 before clinching a last-ball victory in a nail-biting final against the Chennai Super Kings to lift the trophy. 

Who's in, who's out 

Like last time, Rajasthan were not very keen on the big guns. They shelled out a massive USD 600,000 for big hitting South African all-rounder Tyron Henderson and acquired Australian speedster Shaun Tait for USD 375,000. 

Other signings include Rob Quiney, Lee Carseldine and Shane Harwood - all of whom are from Australia. 

However, Rajasthan will be greatly affected by the loss of Sohail Tanvir, the leading wicket-taker in IPL 2008 and Kamran Akmal. Shane Watson, player of the series last year, will also be away on national duty and will only be available for the last two weeks of the tournament. 

Players to watch out for 

Shane Warne: Shane Warne played all his roles exceptionally well. He was the coach, took the most wickets by a spinner in the tournament and lead a side of relative unknows to the title. Ian Chappell went on to describe as the "best captain Australia never had". Warne proved that he is still a wily customer with the ball and a smart tactician on the field, not to mention capable of smacking a few lusty blows with the bat when the situation arises. 

Yusuf Pathan: The older Pathan has shown the world why he is made for the shortest format of the game. Pathan seeks to hit every ball out of the ground and usually succeeds, scoring at a frantic rate to take the game away from the opposition. A decent off-spinner as well, Pathan is capable of stemming the flow of runs when bowling. 

Swapnil Asnodkar: The 'Goa Dynamo' surprised one and all with his aggressive approach at the top of the order. Asnodkar was usually responsible for getting his team off to flying starts and his team will similar expectations of him. What remains to be seen, is how the diminutive batsman fares on the bouncy tracks in South Africa. 

Ravindra Jadeja: Jadeja is going through a purple patch. Not only did he chip in with all-round performances during the first season of the IPL, he went on to have a great domestic season in which he topped the wicket-taking list. He was eventually rewarded with a call-up to the national team and showed his mettle with a fifty on debut. One of Jadeja's strengths is that he never lets the pressure get to him. 

Trivia 

Shane Watson, who was the player of the tournament in IPL 2008, was the first to win three Man of the Match awards. 

Swapnil Asnodkar, who was nicknamed Goa Dynamo by his Rajasthan Royals teammates was the only player from Goa to feature in the IPL 2008. 

Rajasthan Royals were the only team in the IPL having same player as coach and captain - Shane Warne. 

Sohail Tanvir was the highest wicket taker in IPL 2008. He picked up 22 wickets from 11 games at an amazing average of 12.09. 

Sohail Tanvir is the only bowler in the IPL to have bagged 4 or more wickets in an innings more than once. 

Rajasthan Royals holds the record of chasing down the highest score when they made 217/7 while chasing against the Deccan Chargers. 

Only 3 teams won off the last ball while chasing in the IPL. Rajasthan did it twice, but it was done for the 1st time by the Kolkata Knight Riders. 

Rajasthan Royals happened to win 9 out of the eleven games in which they won the toss. 

Rajasthan Royals bowled the most number of dot balls in the tournament. The did not give any runs on 837 occassions. 

Current Squad 

Shane Warne (AUS), Aditya Angle, Swapnil Asnodkar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Kaif, Kamran Akmal (PAK), Sumit Khatri, Taruwar Kohli, Robert Quiney (AUS), Lee Carseldine (AUS), Graeme Smith (SA), Yusuf Pathan, Niraj Patel, Dinesh Salunkhe, Ralphi Gomez, Shaun Tait (AUS), Shane Harwood (AUS), Morne Morkel (SA), Anup Revandkar, Mahesh Rawat, Shane Watson (AUS), Tyron Henderson (SA), Dimitri Mascarenhas (ENG), Siddharth Trivedi 

Coach - Shane Warne 

Assistant head coach - Harish Joshi