That Rajasthan Royals would join IPL heavyweights Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians as this season's first play-off entrants with two matches still to play is an achievement not entirely expected at the start of IPL 6. Lacking superstar power - their No. 1 player is Australian allrounder Shane Watson - and led by a retired 40-year-old expert technician in Rahul Dravid, the Jaipur-based franchise have defied the odds to make it to the final four on the basis of grit, determination and some smart cricket.
Now that they have progressed to the play-offs, we take a look at how the young and old players in Rajasthan's set-up have combined and thrived to make for a winning unit.
A rundown on the key performers:
Rahul Dravid...
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08:04 AM, May 16, 2013
Mumbai: Mumbai Indians went top of IPL 6 table following a convincing 14-run win over Rajasthan Royals in a dead rubber at the Wankhede Stadium here on Wednesday night. Both teams went into the match with the knowledge that they had already made it to the play-offs, and that took plenty of significance off the match. In pursuit of Mumbai's 166 for 8, the visitors could only go as far...
11:15 PM, May 15, 2013
After pulling his team out of the abyss, Rajasthan Royals' batsman Shane Watson produced a gem of an innings to allow Rajasthan maintain their winning streak at home. The Aussie allrounder's 34-ball 70 took the game away from Chennai Super Kings, especially after Rajasthan managed 23 runs off the 11th over bowled by Ravichandran Ashwin. Watson said it was one of those innings where everything you dream of, comes out...
12:50 PM, May 13, 2013
Jaipur: Shane Watson once again stamped his authority with 70 off 34 balls to propel Rajasthan Royals to an impressive five-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings that took them to number two in the IPL 6 points table. The victory helped Rajasthan touch the magical figure of 20 points after 14 matches. Chennai's openers - Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay - were subdued in their approach as the pitch was...
11:11 PM, May 12, 2013
Jaipur: He might have been the star of Rajasthan Royals' win over Pune Warriors in a high-scoring IPL thriller but Ajinkya Rahane was modest about his role, opting to praise his team's bowlers for keeping it tight in the death overs. Chasing 179, Rajasthan romped home with five wickets and a ball to spare on Sunday. Rahane was the star for them bagging the man of the match honour for...
01:16 PM, May 06, 2013
Jaipur: Rajasthan Royals are in a habit of achieving difficult tasks with relative ease. They did the same against Pune Warriors on Sunday, chasing an imposing total of 179 with one ball to spare and moving to the fourth spot in the points table. Considering the amount of runs to be scored, it was expected that Shane Watson would open the batting for Rajasthan with Ajinkya Rahane (67 off 48),...
11:26 PM, May 05, 2013
Bangalore: Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Stuart Binny said his team is not the underdogs ahead of Saturday's match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here. "We are a very relaxed team. We don't have big names in our side, we don't have guys who can demolish teams in T20 cricket, but we are a unit that is very balanced. We've got a good set of bowlers and a lot...
12:24 AM, Apr 20, 2013
Jaipur: Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid is extremely pleased with the team effort in their six- wicket win over Kings XI Punjab, here. Chasing a modest 125 on a difficult wicket, Rajasthan won by six wickets. "It was Sreesanth who got us early wickets and Chandila too did a fairly good job opening the attack. Our rest of the bowling and the fielding was also good and we could restrict...
11:08 AM, Apr 15, 2013
Live updates from Game 8 of the IPL 6 season between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. After notching up victories in their tournament openers, both Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals will be keen to extend their winning streak. Shane Watson is fit and will be part of the playing XI in all likelihood. While defending champions KKR beat Delhi Daredevils comprehensively by...
07:20 PM, Apr 08, 2013
Jaipur: After notching up victories in their tournament openers, both Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals will be keen to extend their winning streak when the two teams lock horns in their IPL 6 match here on Monday. While defending champions KKR beat Delhi Daredevils comprehensively by six wickets in a low-scoring match in the tournament opener, Rajasthan prevailed in a five-run win over the same opponents in their first...
12:26 AM, Apr 08, 2013
Unmukt scored 82, while Mohit and Manhas made half centuries as Delhi finished the first day's play against Vidarbha at 254 for 4. ...
09:20 PM, Dec 29, 2012
Baroda thrashed Odisha by 10 wickets with a day to spare, as they bagged seven points. ...
07:40 PM, Dec 10, 2012
Umesh Yadav lifted Vidharba's hopes of victory, but there was no play on day two between Odisha and Tamil Nadu in Cuttack. ...
06:42 PM, Nov 03, 2012
Having opted to field, Rest of India were boosted by two wickets from allrouner Stuart Binny. ...
12:14 PM, Sep 21, 2012
