Late arrivals the key
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Match facts
Saturday, April 26, 2008Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)
The Big Picture
Two teams that bounced back from opening-match defeats will find out just how much progress they've made. The Rajasthan Royals are arguably the IPL's most impressive team; captained by a tactically sharp Shane Warne and boosted by some late overseas arrivals, they've belied the pre-tournament fears that were based on a relatively low-profile line-up. Their humdinger of a chase against the Deccan Chargers on Thursday came down to an explosive start and an ice-veined finish from Warne that summed up their determination and would have given them supreme confidence ahead of Saturday's match.Bangalore Royal Challengers have some momentum of their own, following up their heavy defeat on the opening day with a five-wicket win over Mumbai during the weekend. Misbah-ul-Haq's arrival will inject some energy into the batting but they could do well to pick up a trick or two from Warne's shrewd captaincy and the way Rajasthan have hit back.
Watch out for ...
... a classic contest between Warne and Rahul Dravid, rival captains. Also keep an eye out for Misbah, joining the side after fulfilling his national responsibilities, and back in the format in which he made his name.
Team news
With Misbah in the fray Bangalore's batting gets a much-needed boost; it's likely he replaces Ross Taylor. Local boy B Akhil, who has so far failed to impress in the field or with the bat, could make way for statemate Bharat Chipli. The veteran Sunil Joshi has similarly done nothing of note but may hold his place given the lack of spinning options.Bangalore: (probable) 1 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 2 Rahul Dravid (capt), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Bharat Chipli, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Sunil Joshi, 11 R Vinay Kumar.
Graeme Smith marked his IPL debut with a 45-ball 71 and, with Yusuf Pathan rediscovering the form of his domestic season, the team has a solid top order. Rajasthan may want to fit in Younis Khan, however, in which case Kamran Akmal may miss out. If he does, young Mahesh Rawat would keep wicket and Pathan could partner Smith. However, Warne could also think of Sohail Tanvir to boost the bowling given how erratic Munaf Patel has been. In a toss-up between Younis and Tanvir, the latter's all-round abilities will give him the edge.
Rajasthan: (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Yusuf Pathan, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Mohammad Kaif, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Mahesh Rawat (wk), 7 Shane Warne (capt), 8 Sohail Tanvir, 9 Dinesh Salunkhe, 10 Pankaj Singh, 11 Siddharth Trivedi.
Stats and trivia
Quotes
"We will treat Warne like straight bowler. He is tremendously consistent with his line and length, all subtleties, but essentially we will treat him like a straight bowler."Martin Crowe, chief cricket officer of Bangalore Royal Challengers, outlines his side's strategy against Shane Warne
"There is something for the bowlers in this wicket and it seems an interesting battle is on the cards. Not only Shane Warne, but any bowler for that matter will be a threat since the wicket is bound to assist the bowlers."
Dravid takes stock ahead of game time
Jamie Alter is a staff writer at Cricinfo