Shane Warne does everything better.
Couch Talk 196 with Simon Taufel
5 years ago
Showing posts with label shane warne. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shane warne. Show all posts
5 Great Shane Warne Gifs
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17/7/12: For some reason, some of these seem to become non-animated at random times. If one or more of these isn't moving, please let me know and I'll re-upload it!
17/7/12: For some reason, some of these seem to become non-animated at random times. If one or more of these isn't moving, please let me know and I'll re-upload it!
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| Ball of the century |
When Warne met Tendulkar
During the last league game featuring the Rajasthan Royals in this year’s IPL, it was not just the last sighting of Shane Warne the player; it was also the last time that he squared off against the greatest opponent of his era – Sachin Tendulkar. While the contest itself was nothing to write home about, for those who had witnessed some of the most memorable duels between these two over the last couple of decades, it was hard not to feel nostalgic about the times gone by.
The first meeting between these two legends was all one way traffic. In Warne’s first match for Australia, he took one wicket conceding 150 runs. In the same innings, Tendulkar, all of 19 years, scored an unbeaten century to draw first blood in the personal rivalry which would capture the imagination of a generation of cricket watchers.
IPL Preview # 2 - Rajastan Royals
RR never have had the stars, apart from cricket's favourite blond guy, Shane Warne. Graeme Smith and Shane Watson were the only other big players they had, but tactical skill, Yusuf Pathan and good performances by Swapnil Asnodkar and other Indian players saw them through to the title in the first season. Last year, the Indian players did not have the home advantage in South Africa and struggled to cope. Ravindra Jadeja, Pathan, Naman Ojha and Kamran Khan put in some decent performances as RR weren't completely out of it, but they tapered off towards the end.
This is the squad this year -
Shane Warne (capt), Damien Martyn, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Abhishek Raut, Faiz Fazal, Amit Paunikar, Amit Singh, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Shaun Tait, Yusuf Pathan, Swapnil Asnodkar, Naman Ojha, Johan Botha, Michael Lumb, Shrikant Wagh, Sumit Narwal, Syed Quadri, Kamran Khan, Graeme Smith, Morne Morkel, Siddharth Trivedi, Mahesh Rawat, Munaf Patel.
Graeme Smith and Asnodkar form a decent partnership at the top, but the middle and lower order had no big players last year. This year looks more positive with the purchase of the reliable Damien Martyn, and the acquiral of Abhishek Jhunjhunwala (back from the ICL), as well as Michael Lumb and, oh, Shaun Tait. Explosive keeper Naman Ojha is in great form of late, so is Yusuf Pathan.
They have lost Jadeja, unfortunately, as he decided he liked money too much and went hunting for some more. I don't know the latest on RR's best quicks of last year, Amit Singh and Kamran Khan, both of whom were reported for suspect actions. No Shane Watson again.
The four foreign players policy poses problems for RR - the obvious choices among those four should be skipper Warne, Graeme Smith and Shaun Tait. That leaves Martyn, all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, Johan Botha, Morne Morkel and Michael Lumb fighting for one spot. I'll predict my line-up, and see how wrong I am in 11 days when they lose to Mumbai.
Graeme Smith
Swapnil Asnodkar
Naman Ojha (wk)
Abhishek Jhunjhunwala
Yusuf Pathan
Faiz Fazal
Dimitri Mascarenhas
Shane Warne (c)
Siddharth Trivedi
Shaun Tait
Munaf Patel
Of course, if Kamran Khan and Amit Singh are cleared to play, expect Munaf Patel to make way for either of them. They really are light on batting either way.
My Official-sounding prediction for RR this season: No good. Getting clever batsmen like Warne's Aussie buddy Martyn and Warne's Hampshire buddy Lumb doesn't always help. They've got the worst contingent of Indian players in the IPL, especially without Jadeja now. With glee, I must say they will be last this season. That is, 8th Position.
Deccan Chargers up next. Until then, do something else.
