No end to Dravid’s cup of woes

Spread evenly over the field, Bangalore’s cup of woes brimmed as they spilled catches, and gave a miserable account of themselves...

Spread evenly over the field, Bangalore’s cup of woes brimmed as they spilled catches, and gave a miserable account of themselves to grant Rajasthan Royals a comfortable warm-up after their six-day break from the IPL. Praveen Kumar would have left Zaheer Khan’s blood boiling — the 45 degree-plus temperature having little to do with it — when he stood watching even as Smith’s lofted high-ball came floating his way, while the slack fielder offered no effort towards catching it. Smith, then on 53, continued to ride his luck and Bangalore’s lax body language on way to 75.

Rajasthan’s 197-1 looked distinctly ungettable. And with Bangalore as rivals, it was an utter mismatch between the two Royals as Rajasthan won by a massive 65 run-margin. It’s the irony of the man who hit a heroic six on the last ball of the match. And yet lost. Of a man who has the word ‘Test’ so splashed on the wall, that his 36-ball 75 was never going to be quite enough to bail his team out.

Rahul Dravid had been suitably upset at Praveen Kumar’s indifference — and his frustration at having to himself pitch in for half a dozen other men, since only fellow India players Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan seemed to believe that they needed to contribute. The theme followed way into the second half, when the Bangalore captain played the only innings of note from his side. Dravid let the steam out thrashing a perfect-dozen big shots — six sixers to go with as many boundaries.

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Earlier, Bangalore saw to it that their fielding made them look worse. Substitute D Vinay Kumar popped a Watson-flick out of his hands in the final over. Bangalore seemed to have erred in their basics too with keeper Devraj Patil appearing clueless behind the stumps. Swapnil Asnodkar even bought himself time and space to try and emulate his idol Sachin Tendulkar. Both Kallis and Praveen Kumar watched dazed as Asnodkar audaciously and repeatedly hit over the slips during his 44-ball half century.

Otherwise, it was business as usual for the Rajasthan Royals. Early on, Smith and Asnodkar’s 109-run partnership was followed by the usual Watson blitz. Later on, Sohail Tanvir bagged three, while Munaf Patel and Siddharth Trivedi proved able back-ups. Shane Warne bowled another dizzy spell with figures of 3-23, grabbing the purple cap for the most wickets on his way.

Rahul Dravid finished with the most sixes in the match — a rarity. But for the rapidly-plunging Bangalore Royal Challengers, even their leader’s most defining statement can offer no consolation.