IPL 6 Eliminator: SRH v/s RR - The Quick Flicks

It takes a lot of guts and immense mental fortitude to put behind all the off-field matter and focus on the game at hand. Rajasthan Royals would, at this point of time, be thankful to have Rahul Dravid at the helm. One of the finest gentlemen the game has ever seen, the former India captain is truly a gritty persona. His leadership rubbed off on his side tonight, as they delivered a magnificent bowling performance against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The end result – the Jaipur team ran out winners and will meet the Mumbai Indians for a place in the final. Here are some of the snapshots for tonight:

Sealing the peace, with a kiss

In the third over of the game, Aussie seamer James Faulkner exchanged words with southpaw Shikhar Dhawan (he of the twirly moustache). Dhawan, in no mood to aggravate things further, sealed the peace treaty by blowing him a kiss. It is a rather interesting way of defusing tension – although it did take some effort from both Shane Watson and Royals skipper Rahul Dravid to finally cool things down.

Vikramjeet’s double strike

Former Kings XI Punjab seamer Vikramjeet Malik set the ball rolling for his side by unleashing a double strike to rock Hyderabad early. He dismissed Parthiv Patel early, before luring young Hanuma Vihari into playing a false stroke. The slow Kotla track seems to be suited to his style of bowling – it is the first time I’ve seen him in Rajasthan’s colours and he looks every inch a clever bowler. Definitely a good find for the side!

Start slow, accelerate at the end

I don’t know if it is common strategy for teams from the South, but it is the second time in two days that I’ve seen this trend – starting slow and then accelerating towards the end. The Super Kings did that the night before, and the Sunrisers did it tonight. Both sides had enough firepower to last the full 20 overs – that is the key element in this gameplan of theirs. Nayi soch indeed!

Shikhar Dhawan – Faulkner’s bunny

This is one aspect that the Vikram Rathore lookalike wouldn’t like to hear about. He has faced the left-arm pace of James Faulkner 3 times this season and has fallen to him on all 3 occasions – all to catches. Makes me think of the time Ricky Ponting kept losing his wicket to Harbhajan Singh – perhaps another Indo-Aus encounter is just what the IPL needs to forget about all the mess it’s currently in.

Red carpet for the batsmen, photo shoot for the fielders

Another interesting occurrence took place before the Royals walked out for the chase. First, the Hyderabad team indulged in a photo session, and then Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane walked on a red carpet en route to the 22-yard strip at the centre. You know you’re watching the IPL when you see these things happen. Great way to splurge all that money made from the auctions, BCCI!

Hodge to the fore!

With SRH striking crucial blows at key stages, Rajasthan needed someone to wield the willow like a Kalashnikov rifle. They found that in Australian T20 veteran Brad Hodge. He doesn’t possess the brute strength of a Kieron Pollard or a Dwayne Smith, but packs enough strength to send the ball into orbit not once, but three times. Leg-spinner Karan Sharma deserved the treatment he got from the Victorian for sending down rank bad long hops at the wrong time. Age is no bar for Hodge – at 38, he’s still as fit as an ox. Two huge hits in the final over of the innings underlined his importance to the Rajasthan side.

Hyderabad should walk out of the IPL with their heads held high. A new-look side, with new ownership, did well to reach the Eliminator stage. For Rajasthan, though, it is a morale-boosting win and this will give them a lot of confidence going into the second semi-final. A battle of the Blues is on the cards next