Early in the Rajasthan Royals innings, one couldn’t help but smile when Swapnil Asnodkar ran across from the non-striker’s end to have a chat with fellow-opener Smith, who was struggling with his dodgy hamstring and dicey timing. The pint-sized Asnodkar, whose normal gaze would reached the burly 6-foot-plus Smith’s navel, tilted his head more than 45 degrees to utter quick words of encouragement to his troubled mate.The obvious physical disparity of the odd couple did provide the humour but what was more funny about this reverse idea-exchange was the contrasting international stature of the two cricketers. Smith has been in charge of one of the best ODI outfits in the world and a long-standing skipper of a very successful Test side but today he was getting words of advice from a rank junior with no international experience. But things were different today. At the time the conversation was taking place, Asnodkar had hit four fours while Smith just had one.About three hours later, when Shane Warne was once again swarmed by his committed worker-bees to signal Rajasthan Royals’ Shane Watson-inspired semi-final victory, one understood the seriousness of that light-hearted moment at the start of the innings. There are no commoners in the Royals squad.Asnodkar didn’t worry about Smith’s pedigree and treated him like just another team mate. And it didn’t come as a surprise when Aussie great Glenn McGrath was treated as merely another bowler by the little opener with a big heart. It is this attitude that has been the stand-out feature of this team. And today was no different. They showed that for them the semi-final, too, was just another walk in the park. With their most convincing win of the tournament — a 105-run mauling of the Delhi Daredevils — coming at the most crucial moment of the last 40 days, it was clear that this unit is peaking for the big game on Sunday.All-rounder Watson, who has been having a dream run in this IPL, can’t match the credentials of some of his high-profile rivals. But, like so many times in the tournament, he was the man of the moment for Rajasthan. His 52 and 3-10 were more than enough to get his team through.Sehwag and Gambhir might have been regulars on the big stage and big run-scorers in the tournament but they failed to rise to the occasion. Once they were out by the fourth over, the game was as good as over.There were two more Royal performers today who retained their focus despite contrasting mental states. All-rounder Yusuf Pathan didn’t get the high of being picked for the national team come in his way of scoring a vital 45. But more creditable was pacer Munaf Patel’s show. Dropped from the Indian team this afternoon, he was on field in the evening with a clear mind. His figures of 3-17 gave enough evidence that though he might have lost the India blue but being in royal blue was reason enough to give his best.
