Focus on Dravid in Rajasthan' Game Against Kings XI

Jaipur: All eyes, naturally, will be on Dravid when Rajasthan take on Punjab in their first game at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Friday.

Inconsistency has plagued Rajasthan since they emerged surprise champions in the inaugural edition. This time around, Dravid has to ensure a new beginning. "We have been working hard for the past few days and I'm looking forward to an exciting season," Dravid said after Thursday's practice session.

The team doesn't have big names but one can expect a good showing from the likes of Brad Hodge, Johan Botha and Dinesh Chandimal, after he joins the team. Old guns Shane Watson and Shaun Tait are quite capable of pulling off quite a few surprises.

Dravid will draw from his huge international experience to tackle the situation. "We have local talents. You can't depend on three/four players," he said. He is confident the pace trio of Tait, Amit Singh and Siddharth Trivedi will fire. Trivedi has been Rajasthan's most consistent bowler over last four seasons. Botha too has proved useful in Indian conditions.

Punjab suffered a setback as England pacer Stuart Broad was ruled out following a calf strain while playing against Sri Lanka. He will not be in action at least in the early part of the IPL. Despite boasting much individual brilliance, Punjab have flattered to deceive in the past four seasons.

Even skipper Adam Gilchrist, who is also doubling up as the coach, is a little cautious since his former Australia teammate Michael Bevan's contract was not renewed by the franchise.

Given the batting paradise at the SMS, there is absolutely no margin for error for the Punjab side against a focused Rajasthan batting lineup. Gilchrist will certainly leave no stone unturned to grab the honours on Friday. The team is also dependant on David Hussey, who has the ability to finish the match single handedly.

In bowling, Praveen Kumar could be very effective. His UP teammate Piyush Chawla is the leading spinner in the side.

But all said and done, if there is someone who can turn things around, it is Shaun Marsh. He is one of the best IPL batsmen and his record speaks for itself.

Teams from

Rajasthan Royals R Dravid (capt), STR Binny, J Botha, DL Chahar, LD Chandimal, AA Chavan, A Chopra, PD Collingwood, K Cooper, AP Dole, SM Fallah, FY Fazal, SP Goswami (wk), BJ Hodge, GB Hogg, AL Menaria, S Narwal, Pankaj Singh, AG Paunikar, AM Rahane, AS Raut, OA Shah, PR Shah, A Singh, S Sreesanth, SW Tait, SK Trivedi, SR Watson, DH Yagnik

Kings XI Punjab AC Gilchrist (capt & wk), P Awana, L Ablish, Amit Yadav, Azhar Mahmood, BA Bhatt, Bipul Sharma, PP Chawla, SD Chitnis, P Dogra, JP Faulkner, Gurkeerat Singh, Harmeet Singh, RJ Harris, DJ Hussey, P Kumar, VS Malik, Mandeep Singh, SE Marsh, AD Mascarenhas, DA Miller, AM Nayar, RR Powar, NJ Rimmington, N Saini, R Sathish, SJ Srivastava, Sunny Singh, PC Valthaty

Stats and trivia

• Brad Hodge, who is now part of the Royals, is the second-highest run-getter in Twenty20 cricket, only 44 behind David Hussey's 4270.
• Azhar Mahmood is one of four players* to have more than 100 wickets and 2000 runs in the Twenty20 format.
• Royals and Kings XI have played seven games against each other and the head-to-head record is 4-3 in Royals' favour.

Match facts
Friday April 6, 2012 (day/night)
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)