The summit clash of the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) will see Rajasthan Royals (RR) take on Gujarat Titans (GT) at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. The Sanju Samson led RR will take part in the final of the world’s richest T20 league for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2008.
Under the captaincy of Shane Warne, RR had upset the odds to lift the trophy in the first-ever season of the world’s richest T20 league. The Jaipur-based franchise had beaten Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the grand finale at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium in a thrilling last-ball finish.
RR’s victory in 2008 is still regarded as one of the most inspiring stories ever to emerge from the IPL. Recalling RR’s triumph in 2008, Irfan Pathan has revealed an interesting tactic used by Shane Warne during their historic campaign. The ex-Indian all-rounder revealed how the Royal’ used to arrive at the ground just five minutes before the toss.
“Rajasthan Royals were the only team that came to the stadium at around 7:25 PM. The matches were supposed to start at 8 PM! He was way ahead of his time. He knew that for the first time, there’s this tournament where a side is playing 14 matches. He thought, ‘players will get tired because it’s summer season and I won’t let that happen. I will conserve their energy’,” said Pathan on Star Sports.
Pathan, who played for Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) in 2008, also claimed that his team used to reach the ground two hours before play was scheduled to start.
“Our team (Punjab) used to arrive at the ground at 6 PM! We used to do extra practice! We still reached the semi-finals, so it wasn’t that bad, but Shane Warne had a different approach. He led them to a win and that will always be remembered. Whenever we talk about the IPL, we will remember him,” added the 2007 T20 World Cup winner.
