Shane Warne and his youth brigade have lost only two matches in the IPL till date - against Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians - both away from home. But the aura of invincibility in their own backyard has been the talking point. So when Virender Sehwag’s Daredevils take on the hosts here at the Sawai Man Singh stadium on Sunday, it will surely be a battle of attrition. 

Astutely led by Shane Warne, Team Jaipur are, understandably, on a high following their convincing win over Team Hyderabad on Friday. Right now, their goal is to increase the lead at the top in this eight-team event. Particularly with their ebullient skipper’s experimental bent of mind. Sehwag will require some extra bit of effort to puncture their opponent’s confidence. “We have a game-plan to stop Sehwag”, Warne said on Saturday.

Fortunately for the Australian legend, some of his matchwinners like Shane Watson, Swapnil Asnodkar, Yusuf Pathan and Sohail Tanvir have responded well. Besides, Warne is enjoying his multi-tasking role - captain, coach, bowler, batsman and motivator.

Likewise, Sehwag is another calm character on and off the field. With the bat, he is thunderous and can scythe through any attack. Providing him support would be Gautam Gambhir who is also among runs. 

Though Delhi Daredevils haven’t won a match in their previous two outings, they are still bubbling with confidence. Their bowling attack, spearheaded by Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif, is lethal. In the middle-order too, players like Manoj Tiwary and Dinesh Karthik are proven customers. Even Shoaib Malik has the ability to finish things.

Source: The Times of India, Mumbai, 11th May 2008

Back