IPL 2018| Hard work and luck helped Rajasthan Royals clinch playoffs berth, opines Viv Richards
Praising Rajasthan's hard-fought qualification to the playoffs, Vivian Richards has opined that both hard work and luck helped the franchise to reach the knockout stages. The West-Indian great also praised Dinesh Karthik’s captaincy and finishing abilities for KKR’s stellar performance.
Today's Eliminator between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals at Eden Gardens has forced West Indian legend Sir Viv Richards to think over the two teams’ qualification to the IPL 2018 playoffs, and he has plucked out Rajasthan’s determination and luck factor, as the standout features.
Returning on the Indian Premier League after a two-year suspension, Rajasthan suffered early trouble when their skipper Steve Smith was ruled out of the IPL following the ball-tampering controversy, which pushed up Ajinkya Rahane to the leadership role. Despite Rahane’s struggles as a batsman, and below-par performances of Jaydev Unadkat, Ben Stokes, D’Arcy Short, the Jaipur franchise stayed in contention for the playoffs largely due to Job Buttler’s five consecutive half-centuries and some superb supporting acts from Shreyas Gopal, K Gowtham, Rahul Tripathi and Ish Sodhi.
The absence of Buttler and Stokes is going to be a big loss for Rahane’s team as they face KKR in today’s Eliminator game, but Richards believes that the RR boys are ready for this fight against KKR.
“Rajasthan Royals definitely thanked their luck that allowed them to qualify for the eliminator. Rajasthan had only retained Steve Smith during the auction and after unforeseen circumstances, he was unable to play, making Rajasthan think on their feet. Being mentored by the legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne, along with Ajinkya Rahane who stepped up to take on the captain’s responsibility, the boys in blue were ready for a fight ahead and their hard work paid off in the end,” wrote Richards in his column for TOI.
“Both teams have had major hurdles to overcome over the course of the season, but the young RR players who stepped up and put their best foot forward gave the team and the fans that extra spark and the motivation they needed. Both K Gowtham and Shreyas Gopal were fabulous. They have been the Royals' magic along with Jos Buttler's top-notch knocks and not to forget Sanju Samson’s contribution in the early stages,” the legendary cricketer observed.
Meanwhile, KKR’s performance has been hot and cold in this season. Despite injuries to two key bowlers - Mitchell Starc and Kamlesh Nagarkoti - they finished the league stage at third place on the IPL 2018 points table. Richards singled out Karthik’s leadership and terrific finishing abilities, as well as the impact that Sunil Narine (327 runs) and Chris Lynn (425 runs) in KKR’s stellar performance so far.
“This season has not been flawless for the Kolkata Knight Riders as well, but more about scrapping and getting the job done until they found their mojo again. Although Dinesh Karthik’s leadership was not very fluid to start off, he has slowly become more definitive and the man himself has grown as a thinking captain,” noted Richards.
“His moves on the field are affirmative and one that has the stamp of practicality at all times. The openers, Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn have been their elixir this season. They are very consistent with their starts, allowing Karthik to come lower down the order and apply the finishing touches to the innings,” he concluded.