CLT20: Sunil Gavaskar lauds Rahul Dravid, Pravin Tambe as Rajasthan Royals' heroes

Rajasthan Royals have been under the pump after the spot-fixing allegations on three of their players in the Indian Premier League. However, with a leader like Dravid at the helm, the team has managed to rise from the ashes.

With Rajasthan Royals all set to play Mumbai Indians in the Champions League T20 final, it could be the perfect fairytale ending for Rahul Dravid's boys.

While the 40-year-old former Indian skipper has been the perfect leader for his team in the tournament despite not having flourished with the bat, he has also been ably supported by another player in his 40s - Pravin Tambe.

The Maharashtra leg-spinner, who has not even played domestic cricket, has been instrumental in Rajasthan's success with 10 wickets in 4 matches at a staggering average of 5.90 and an even astonishing economy rate of 3.93.

Even India cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar, has been unequivocal in his praise for both the players. in his column in the TOI, Gavaskar credits Tambe to be the 'man-of-the-moment' for Royals. He especially mentions the way Tambe got Suresh Raina out in the Rajasthan vs Chennai Super Kings' semifinal.

"The man of the moment is Pravin Tambe. The 40-plus 'youngster' has shown that even in this version of the game there is a place for leg-spin bowling."

"He was not trying to deceive the batsmen in the air but was bowling wicket-to-wicket, knowing that the pitch was not helping him to get too much turn. He was reading the batsman's intentions quite well and that is how he got rid of the dangerous Suresh Raina," says Gavaskar.

Rajasthan Royals have been under the pump after the spot-fixing allegations on three of their players in the Indian Premier League. Having a leader like Dravid at the helm though, the team has managed to rise from the ashes. If they win at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi today, it would be apt for the 'Wall' since he is not expected to continue playing competitive cricket next season.

"Their entry into the final is heartwarming after all they had to suffer and bear during the IPL. If they win the Champions League, it will be a fairy tale like finish, not just for the team, but especially for skipper Rahul Dravid, who will not play serious cricket after this."

"It is not a team of superstars but most of them are performing better than some of the superstars, and that is why they are in the happy position of being in the final," says Gavaskar, lauding Dravid and his team's efforts in times of adversities."

CLT20: I have been inspired by Sachin Tendulkar's exploits, says Rahul Dravid

Tendulkar's final T20 act and Dravid's last hurrah in competitive cricket were the talking points at the Feroz Shah Kotla as the two legends got together though in the colours of Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals.

New Delhi:  Playing for one last time together in a cricket match, albeit for different teams in the Champions League Twenty20 summit clash here, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid on Sunday heaped encomiums on each other with the latter saying that his long time former India team-mate had inspired him to strive for excellence in the game.

Tendulkar's final T20 act and Dravid's last hurrah in competitive cricket were the talking points at the Feroz Shah Kotla here as the two legends got together though in the colours of Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals. The two legendary batsmen had announced that this would be their final Twenty20 season.

"Even though Tendulkar is of my age or two months younger to me, he is seven years senior to me as an international cricketer. When I came into the Indian team, in my third Test, Tendulkar was India captain. He was someone you would look up to as a young cricketer growing up. You saw this young kid do amazing things across the world. It was sort of inspiration for all of us playing first-class cricket," Dravid said before the start of the CLT20 finale.

"It was like, look if this guy can do it, we can also try to do it. The opportunity to try and share a dressing room with him, that was a huge motivation. For me to be on that England trip for the first time and share a dressing with him was a huge trip," said Dravid.

The 40-year-old Dravid had retired from international cricket at the beginning of 2012 while Tendulkar, who retired from One-Day Internationals last December, is in the twilight of his Test career. Together they have scored close to 92,000 runs in all formats of the game.

Tendulkar, who is also 40, returned the compliments, by describing Dravid as the 'master technician'.

"Absolutely, he is a master technician. Any day in my team, he will be number three, because there were so many innings in which he batted brilliantly. When the rest of the guys found it difficult, he was comfortable. He loved challenges and I knew we could bank on Rahul at the times of difficulty."

Tendulkar, who has already retired from One-day cricket but still playing the longest format, holds the record for most Test and ODI runs -- 15,837 and 18,426 runs respectively -- while Dravid has scored 13,288 Test runs and 10,889 in ODIs.

Tendulkar has also scored 100 international centuries (51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs).

The two cricket legends played together for the country for 16 years but rarely they have played against each other.

Asked about this, Dravid, who is leading the Rajasthan Royals side, said, "I can't remember playing against Sachin in Ranji Trophy for Karnataka versus Mumbai. Only played against him in West Zone versus South Zone. All our contests have been in coloured clothing, surprisingly, in spite of the fact that we played for so many years together. So one final time it is always great to play against Sachin."

Tendulkar also said that he would cherish this moment.

"I remember Rahul being part of Wills Trophy team when I was his captain but we played in whites. That was the first time I saw Rahul. I think it was way back in 1993-94 and since then we have been in whites and colours but playing in same team," he said.

"This is rare moment where we two actually get to play against each other in colour clothing, obviously in IPL. But on any other platform we have not been able to play against each other in whites and that would have been something special," said the senior batsman who is standing on the cusp of playing his 200th Test.

Tendulkar has not been in top form in this tournament, having scored only 20 runs in four matches with a highest of 15, but the Mumbaikar opened up in the semifinals against Trinidad and Tobago last night, hitting a 31-ball 35.

In the process, he completed 50,000 runs in all formats of cricket, becoming the first Indian to do so and 16th in the world. Before today's CLT20 final match, he has 50,009 runs in 956 competitive matches, which includes 551 List A matches, 307 First-class matches and 95 Twenty20 games.

Today's venue -- Kotla -- has been lucky for Tendulkar and it was here he struck his 35th Test century to surpass legendary Sunil Gavaskar.

Tendulkar did not have a great run as captain of the Mumbai Indians but played some memorable innings for the IPL franchise. In the T20 format, prior to today's outing, he had accumulated 2782 runs from 95 matches at an average of 33.11.

After playing in the last edition of IPL, which was won by his team, Tendulkar announced retirement from the format, but was somehow was convinced to play in CLT20.

Dravid, on the other hand, had a successful stint both as captain as well as a batsman in the Twenty20 format. He has scored 2528 runs from 108 matches at an average of 27.79.

He felt that IPL and CLT20 have helped India in doing better in the limited over formats.

"It (CLT20) is a great tournament. The crowd, the atmosphere. Some of the boys who are on our side, they never get to experience such things anywhere they go. And for them just to get the experience of playing against the likes of Tendulkar and others is great.

"And it's great for Indian cricket because a lot of these kids would go on to play for India and when they come in this sort of environment they are comfortable they know what to do. That is India has been doing exceptionally well in limited over cricket," Dravid said.

Tendulkar agreed and said the experience of playing with some of the best in the international circuit has helped Indian youngsters.

"It's a great tournament. You talk about players from West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England, all the players love this tournament and look forward to it, such is the importance of IPL and now CLT20. We have thoroughly enjoyed being in the dressing room where we have got to know so many players we thought were just okay as a person but once you got to know them you find this is different and perceptions change about the players.

"It's about sharing knowledge with the players. It's not about senior players giving lectures to juniors, it is also about absorbing things and that has happened in the last six years. The bottomline is what Rahul said that Indian cricket is benefiting. You see so young players sharing dressing room with players from across the world. It's about understanding the game and that is what has happened to the Indian cricket."

For Dravid, it was also about shouldering additional responsibility as he had to weather the storm during IPL-6 spot-fixing and betting scandal.

For a man who has always relied on his instincts to look ahead rather than ponder over what had happened before, Dravid faced questions on the team's integrity and ethics stoicly and weathered one controversy after another when the Royals were rocked by the arrest and subsequent life ban on S Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan. A decision is still awaited on Ajit Chandila.

After taking over the mantle of captaincy from Shane Warne during the fifth season of the IPL last year, Dravid made for a perfect leader.

"It's been a huge roller coaster. We had some great momentum going towards the end of IPL. Then some unfortunate incidents happened that brought us down a little bit as a team. Just the way the boys have responded even towards the end of the IPL and the way they have got together in this tournament I couldn't have asked for anything more," he said.

"It's been a privilege to me to captain this side and work with the support staff. It's been a fabulous journey and great ride."

CLT20: Winning and succeeding is not important if you play foul, says Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid's former Rajasthan Royals and India team-mate S Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan were recently handed life bans by the BCCI for involvement in spot-fixing, a few months after spending time in jail. Dravid also praised Pravin Tambe for his hardwork in the 'free' time after IPL which is reaping him rewards.

Jaipur:  Former captain Rahul Dravid says the spirit of the game has become more "relevant and important" in the wake of the IPL spot-fixing scandal that plunged Indian cricket into a credibility crisis.

One of the most disciplined statesmen of modern-day cricket, Dravid said, "In times like these when the game is facing big challenges and some of the players get involved (corruption) the spirit of the game becomes more relevant and important.

"It is important that you play within rules and in spirit of the game. Selections should be consequence of what you are doing but not the goal. Winning and succeeding is not important if you play foul."

Dravid's former Rajasthan Royals and India team-mate S Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan were recently handed life bans by the BCCI for involvement in spot-fixing, a few months after spending time in jail. A verdict on another accused cricketer Ajit Chandila, who was also a part of Rajasthan Royals, is awaited.

Dravid spoke highly of the initiative undertaken by two former England captains.

"In the late 1990s, two distinguished MCC members (and ex-England captains), Ted Dexter and Lord (Colin) Cowdrey, sought to enshrine the 'Spirit of Cricket' in the game's Laws. Their initiative proved successful when the current Code of Laws was introduced in 2000," he said.

As far as their semifinal match in the upcoming Champions League Twenty20 was concerned, Dravid said there would be no special preparations.

"It has been a good going. We are in semifinal and have one more chance. We were beaten in the semifinals of IPL-6 but now have another chance. We know things would become more difficult in knockout stage because all teams would be good since they were able to reach this far. There would be no special preparations and we would stick to our normal routine."

Asked how young players such as Rahul Shukla, Vikramjeet Malik and Pravin Tambe were able to deliver whenever needed, Dravid gave all the credit to his team-mates and support staff.

"It is up to the boys to deliver it on the field. No matter how many strategies you plan if a bowler balls on the leg when field is on off they won't work. It is for the boys to perform on the field. We have given the confidence to the players and it has worked so far.

"Look at Pravin Tambe... we talked to him and wanted him to work on certain areas. He went back after IPL, worked hard on those things and is doing so well now.

He said they were fortunate to have a good support staff.

"We have to be smart enough to plan and we are fortunate that we have the likes of Paddy Upton, Monty Desai and Bharucha and a good support staff. It is not that the wicket here gives us some extraordinary support but it is a good wicket and we have the players who can excel on such kind of lively surface."

CLT20 Live Cricket Score: Otago Volts fight back after Rahul Shukla's triple strike

Rahul Shukla bags three wickets in his first over. Shane Watson joins him to get another breakthrough. Rajasthan Royals would look to maintain their 11-match unbeaten run in Jaipur when they take on Otago Volts in their final group match of the Champions League Twenty20. Catch all the live updates of the match.
 
Table toppers Rajasthan Royals take on Kiwi side Otago Volts in a Group A match of the Champions League Twenty20. Catch all the live updates here: (Scorecard | Commentary)

20:55 (IST): Otago fight back through Ryan ten Doeschate and Jimmy Neesham, who have added 53 runs from 46 balls. Otago Volts 74/4 (12 overs) vs Rajasthan Royals.

20:45 (IST): Rajasthan Royals bowlers are keeping things very tight. Ryan ten Doeschate and Jimmy Neesham are fighting back slowly and have added 29 runs from 33 balls. Otago Volts 50/4 (10 overs) vs Rajasthan Royals.

20:23 (IST): WICKET! Shane Watson joins the party to remove Neil Broom. Broom tries to pull but gets a top edge to backward sqaure leg and Sanju Samson, the wicketkeeper, runs to complete the catch. Otago Volts 21/4 (4.3 overs) vs Rajasthan Royals.

20:18 (IST): WICKET, WICKET and WICKET! Yes that's right. Rahul Shukla removes opener Hamish Rutherford, Brendon McCullum and Derek de Boorder in his first over. On his first ball he got bowled Rutherford, then trapped skipper McCullum leg before wicket and bounced out keeper de Boorder on his fifth ball. His first over - W 4B W 0 W 0. Otago Volts 20/3 (4 overs) vs Rajasthan Royals.

20:00 (IST): Two Otago Volts openers Neil Broom and Hamish Rutherford are out in the middle. Rahul Dravid gives the new ball to Ashok Menaria.

19:46 (IST): TEAMS-

Otago Volts: Neil Broom, Hamish Rutherford, Brendon McCullum (captain), Derek de Boorder(wicketkeeper), Ryan ten Doeschate, Jimmy Neesham, Nathan McCullum, Ian Butler, Neil Wagner, Nick Beard, James McMillan

Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Brad Hodge, Ashok Menaria, James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper, Pravin Tambe, Rahul Shukla

19:35 (IST): TOSS! Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid opts to field after winning the toss against Otago Volts in Jaipur.

PREVIEW

Having sealed their place in the semifinals, Rajasthan Royals would look to grab the top spot in the table when they square off against Otago Volts in their final Group match of the Champions League Twenty20 today.

The winner will not only top the group, but also face the second-placed team from Group B in the first semifinal at the same venue. The match will also witness one streak being broken. Otago Volts have won their last 15 Twenty20 matches, while Rajasthan Royals have won 11 straight games in Jaipur from the start of IPL VI.

Stakes are much higher for the Kiwi side as a win would ensure their passage in the last-four stage. They are currently placed second in the group with 10 points from three matches and could knock out IPL champions Mumbai Indians if they win.

The match between the Otago and Mumbai was washed away putting the reigning IPL champions in quandary.

Mumbai, who have six points from three matches will play their last match against Perth Scorchers in Delhi tomorrow. If Otago lose against Rajasthan Royals and Mumabi win, the two sides' fate would depend on Net run-rate.

SQUADS

Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ashok Menaria, Dishant Yagnik (wicketkeeper), Vikramjeet Malik, Harmeet Singh, Rahul Shukla, Pravin Tambe, Shane Watson, Brad Hodge, James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper, Shaun Tait.

Otago Volts: Brendon McCullum (captain), Nick Beard, Michael Bracewell, Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Mark Craig, Derek de Boorder (wicketkeeper), Jacob Duffy, Nathan McCullum, James McMillan, James Neesham, Aaron Redmond, Hamish Rutherford, Ryan ten Doeschate, Neil Wagner, Sam Wells.