3 things we learnt from Rajasthan Royals' IPL campaign

The final match of RR might have ended in a disaster but they have had a lot of positives to take from their campaign. The Indian youngsters had a more-than-decent outing and that is a huge plus for both RR and India. Siddarth Trivedi, Pankaj Singh, Amit Singh and Ashok Menaria had a good outing for RR this summer. With Shane Warne not part of the squad anymore, Dravid took over the reins. They did play some good cricket especially at the start of the season and looked favorites at one point of time, but however, failed to make the playoffs on the back of some pretty ordinary games towards the end. Here are 3 points that come to the mind at first glance:

Ajinkya Rahane was their best performer this season

Scoring 500 odd runs this season, Ajinkya Rahane definitely announced to the world his forthcoming. If he showed a glimpse of his brilliance while playing for India, he definitely mesmerized the world with his IPL batting. Great temperament and some exquisite strokes best describe his batting. Opening the batting for RR, he along with Dravid, provided some solid starts on which RR built their innings. His two innings, one in which he scored a century and the other 90 odd were amongst the best this IPL. What makes his batting worthwhile to watch is that he doesn’t rely on power or slog, but relies purely on placement and timing and plays the textbook shots to perfection. This is great news for India as well, as he is most likely to replace Sehwag or Gambhir when they are unavailable. With the T-20 World Cup coming up in September, keep an eye on this little man from Mumbai.

Shaun Tait should have played more games

Initially RR looked a strong bowling unit with Trivedi, Amit Singh and Cooper picking wickets at will. But with Cooper getting injured, RR lost the balance in the team. Botha was just a pale shadow of himself, never really delivering what was expected from him. With Shane Warne out of the equation as well, a lot of pressure was on the Indian youngsters. Shaun Tait however was busy warming the benches, thanks to the restriction on foreign player count in a team. Owais Shah was in terrific form and Hodge provided the stability in the middle order. Hence they couldn’t be dropped. Botha filled the all-rounder’s slot with Cooper. However with Cooper’s injury, Tait got a chance to play. In his very first game he was impressive picking 3 wickets. Suddenly RR’s bowling seemed to have found the firepower it was lacking. Barring a couple of games, Tait was destructive. Had he played a couple of crucial games, RR might have still been competing for the title.

Rahul Dravid‘s adaptability is second to none

He is definitely the greatest ambassador of cricket, a legend in every right and a class act in any form of the game. Having retired from international cricket, he came into the tournament with less burden, but he had to step into the shoes of Warne. Given Warne’s status in the IPL or RR, it was no easy task. However, Dravid being the man he is, was quick to adapt and was successful in leading RR to a decent tournament. It was their batting that let them down when needed, otherwise they would have been in the playoffs. Known all over the world for his stupendous Test record, Dravid was always stereotyped as a Test player who can’t play T-20. But this season, he produced some scintillating batting to prove that class is all you need to succeed in any format. He was his usual self, playing exquisite cover drives and half-volleys, but yet he scored at a rate of 120. He might be rethinking about his future with RR, but if he does take the field, expect some fireworks from the gentleman of cricket.

All in all, RR had a decent outing and their best win was against DC in Jaipur. They played clean, they played fair and the fairplay award is proof for that. They never failed to entertain and expectations will be higher next time they take field.

Halla Bol!