Millions of eyes saw Brad Hodge take Rajasthan Royals into the IPl 6 Qualifier 2, many of them suspicious, owing to the present times. Taking nothing away from Hodge, because people who have seen him know that he’s done what he did on Wednesday night over and over again, this time though things are a lot different.
Hodge has put Rajasthan facing Mumbai Indians. All the skeletons that came out from the IPl closet via the alleged spot-fixing route happened after this same fixture in the league stage nine days back. It all began there. And, from then on there is that inclination to question everything that is being played in front of us. Have we been robbed againIJ The thought that what we love shouldn’t have existed might be a natural one. The fix has put us in a fix.
There may not be an easily visible light at the end of this dreary, dark tunnel but if we just strain our eyes a little there’s something. As it was there all those years back. In the late 90s, when the match-fixing scandal broke there was a similar feeling, of being cheated, never wanting to see this game again. But there were some men who made us believe once more, who almost made us think that the ugly saga never was.
Two of those men will be giving us just that something to cheer about come Friday. They did it during the tough times with their conduct in the early 2000s, both off and on the field, and once again we know we can rely on them. So we can do the difficult thing of watching the IPl Qualifier 2 here at the Eden Gardens on Friday for Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, two big reasons.
Sachin, who is nursing wrist injury, is expected to once again open for Mumbai as teammate Dwayne Smith said. “He has been recovering. Hopefully he’ll be in tomorrow”, were the fellow opener’s words on Thursday. Sachin did not bat till late evening on Thursday, the customary football session being the engagement. But, if he does indeed make it, things in the City of Joy would look up.
What came as a surprise in the first place was that the three players caught for alleged spot-fixing were a part of the team which is headed by Mr Credibility, Dravid, himself. What would then be going through his mindIJ It seems he’s relaxed. He was scheduled to fly for Kolkata from Delhi in the morning and while waiting for the flight, he was busy obliging with autographs and getting himself clicked at the Delhi airport. One could see him smile while talking to a member of the Royals staff before boarding his flight along with wife and children. The usually tensed captain on the field seems calm off it even if the circumstances are trying.
While cricket has taken a backseat in the past few days, fair amount is in the offering. There is the prospect of Royals’ Shane Watson up against fellow Australian, Mumbai’s Mitchell Johnson, and Sri lankan lasith Malinga (expect a lot of bouncers, yorkers, pulls and drives). Harbhajan Singh adds a third dimension to MI while Pragyan Ojha the fourth with his left-arm spin. Watson has smothered spinners in the tournament. And, in this big match he is the ace.
Then, there is Hodge the finisher, who shone when he was most required. He adds the never-say-never attitude to the Rajasthan game. Throughout his career he has waited for his opportunity to shine bright at the big stage, and he did on Wednesday. Perhaps his time has come. And, in between would be Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson to play their part.
On the other side, it is the blitzkrieg of Mumbai in Smith and Keiron Pollard with the mix of a now cool-headed captain Rohit Sharma and the attacking Dinesh Karthik up against the newest sensation, Rajasthan’s James Faulkner, who until recently had the purple cap for the highest wickets. He would be joined by Kevon Cooper, who has changed the course of games for Royals with his death bowling in a volatile situation. Being Eden Gardens, a spinner invariably plays a role so it would be interesting to see who the Royals pick in their side. Do they go for the 41-year-old leg-spinner Pravin Tambe and sacrifice Vikramjit Malik, who had a good outing in the EliminatorIJ
Finally, adding to the cricketing gloom were the dark clouds hovering over Kolkata, resulting in a brief spell of rain on the eve. Weather may play its part on Friday as well as the forecast says chances of rain around match time. The rules say that if no match is possible, then a Super Over would decide the fate of both teams. And, even if that cannot happen, Mumbai would go through without a ball being bowled as they were above Rajasthan in the points table at the end of the league stage.
For once, in the current scenario, would it be bad if we do not get a game on FridayIJ