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Jaipur: Desperate to exorcise the ghosts of the spot-fixing scandal once and for all, Rajasthan Royals will look to start afresh as they face the daunting prospect of running into IPL 6 winners Mumbai Indians in the inaugural group stage match of the Champions League T20 on Saturday.
The fact that the tournament will be the last one for veteran Sachin Tendulkar, who will be pitted against another great and contemporary Rahul Dravid at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, makes the contest even more special.
The spot-fixing scandal, which broke out during the IPL 6 earlier this year, saw the BCCI imposing life bans on Test pacer S Sreesanth and spinner Ankeet Chavan, and one-year suspension on Sidharth Trivedi, while another player Ajit Chandila's fate is yet to be decided.
Rajasthan's bowling, though, has taken a beating with Sreesanth, Chavan, Chandila and Trivedi out.
One of the most successful batsmen at the domestic level in recent years, Rahane, with his orthodox slogging, is the backbone of the Royals batting, while Australian all-rounder Watson and Dravid give them the solidity.
Watson top scored for the team with 543 runs at a strike rate of 142.89, besides picking up 13 wickets in IPL 6. He is always a threat and his recent century against England in the Ashes will be a big boost to the team.
Hodge and Binny have been successful in providing the required thrust to the innings.
Local lad Ashok Menaria, too, had struck form just at the right time. Fine performances with both bat and ball during the recent Emerging Trophy and India 'A' series against New Zealand should give him confidence and the team could certainly rely on him.
On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have a formidable team with the right balance and options in all departments.
Sachin Tendulkar would be eager to bow out with flying colours while the likes of Kieron Pollard, skipper Rohit Sharma, Dwayne Smith, Dinesh Kartik and Ambati Rayudu provide an invincible look to their batting.
Mumbai, however, will miss the services of match-winning bowler Lasith Malinga and in his absence, Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will lead the slow brigade, which also has left-arm orthodox bowler Pragyan Ojha.
Teams from:
Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid (Capt.), Stuart Binny, Kevon Cooper, James Faulkner, Brad Hodge, Vikramjeet Malik, Ashok Menaria, Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson (wk), Rahul Shukla, Shaun Tait, Pravin Tambe, Siddharth Trivedi, Shane Watson, Dishant Yagnik (wk).
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (Capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Abu Nechim, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rishi Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Johnson, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Pragyan Ojha, Akshar Patel, Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Smith, Aditya Tare (wk)
Pitch & conditions
The pitch could be a bit sluggish after a lengthy rainy spell during monsoons.
Match facts
Satruday September 21, 2013 (day/night)
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)
