Royals not the same team as last year

Rajasthan Royals don't look the same team as they were in Indian conditions last year since a lot of their young players are playing in South Africa for the first time

Royals not the same team as last year

Rajasthan Royals don't look the same team as they were in Indian conditions last year since a lot of their young players are playing in South Africa for the first time

We have just landed in Cape Town and play the Rajasthan Royals today a pretty hectic schedule till May 3 where we play every alternate day. Hence, it is important for us to stay fresh and fit for every game.u00a0

Rajasthan Royals' Shane Warne walks along the wet Kingsmead ground in Durban on Tuesday when his IPL game against Mumbai Indians was abandoned

Rajasthan Royals too had a poor start against the Royal Challengers. I am sure they are going to come hard on us but they don't look the same team as they were in Indian conditions since a lot of their young players are playing in South Africa for the first time.

Graeme Smith will be their key player and the rest will have to step up to deliver in these conditions. Facing the pacers will be the key to their success just like other teams.

We went with an extra batsman in our last game in Durban and we think with the bowling strength we have, it is a fair call. Since we will be playing a day/nighter in Newlands, we will have to take call as the ball here seams quite a bit in the night.u00a0

We have got a bit of momentum by winning in Durban and hope to carry it to Cape Town and win here today.

The rain seems to following the Kolkata Knight Riders wherever we go but this time it felt like blessings from above and were happy to get two points on the board.u00a0 We were in a good position in the game at the end of the ninth over from where we could have got through the target of 158.

The Kings XI might have a different thing to say, but I think we were in a much better position than what they were when the rains came in.u00a0 It was a good toss to win. Since there has been quite a lot of rain in Durban for the past two days and with the wickets under cover for a long time, both sides expected seam movement early on.u00a0

In spite of all the rain it was still a good wicket to bat on as it didn't seam much. We bowled well in patches but we felt that we gave around 15 to 20 runs more than what it should have been. However, 158 was a gettable total on the shot boundaries in Durban.

u00a0I was also happy with the way I bowled on Tuesday as I did get some assistance from the wicket. I have enjoyed bowling in Twenty20.u00a0 During the last IPL season, I had a very good economy rate and hope to carry the same this season as well.

u00a0We are always worried about the rain coming in and the D/L method coming into force and had it on our minds when we went into bat.u00a0 We have two explosive openers in Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle and for somebody like Gayle in these small grounds it is important that he bats right through since he has the ability to clear the ground at any time of the innings, especially when the side boundaries were just 50 yards.u00a0

He took his time with the new ball and once the initial hardness went away, he hit some massive shots.u00a0

Chris uses one of the heaviest bats in cricket and he is a strong lad. When he hits them, they stay hit.u00a0

He is a great guy to have in the dressing room and one who takes the pressure away from everyone and that's probably the way people from the Caribbean play their cricket.u00a0

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