Yellow brigade seek greener pastures at Pink City

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Two teams on the cusp of the play-off stages of IPL-V, and the stakes could not have been higher.

It is cricket’s equivalent of the Last Chance Saloon, and fittingly, the sun — as it did in all those spaghetti Westerns of once-upon-a-time — is beating down on this history-laden city in its full May might as a splendidly harsh backdrop.

With the tournament at its business end, both the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings go into Thursday’s game at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here well aware that a slip-up at this juncture could exact a heavy price two weeks from now.

This match then, is as much about cricket skills, planning and preparation, as it is about character.

And in that context, the rival captains here could have walked straight off the sets of a Sergio Leone film — narrow-eyed, flinty men both, and very unwilling to take a backward step.

In Rahul Dravid of the Royals and Mahendra Singh Dhoni of the Super Kings, their teams have two of the truly hard men of the IPL’s fifth season facing off.

Their fortunes thus far may have followed somewhat different trajectories but this second crossing of paths will almost certainly have a bearing on how much further either side will be able to extend their campaigns.

The defending champions have not been having a particularly happy time of it with just 11 points from their 12 games.

They would also have been badly shaken by Sunday's last-ball defeat at the hands of the Mumbai Indians.

Teams take time - no matter the quality and character they possess - to recover from such setbacks.

The Royals went into something of a tailspin with a similar result in Delhi 10 days ago, but managed to recover to climb back to fourth place in the league with 12 points.

They had time, which the Super Kings are rapidly running out of. Dhoni’s leadership has been under the spotlight and his contribution with the bat too could have been more meaty.

But then it is under such circumstances that he really digs deep and manages to find that something extra every champion has, and can be at his most dangerous.

The World Cup final where he ‘helicoptered’ India to the trophy under very similar circumstances was after all not very long ago.

Man for man, the Super Kings are probably the stronger team on paper, but the arrival of brawny all-rounder Shane Watson — and the decision to finally unleash fellow-Aussie Shaun Tait — has given the Royals an edge they were missing in the early days of their campaign.

The two combined superbly against the Warriors on Tuesday, and all of a sudden, the Royals are looking like more than just the Dravid, Rahane and Shah show, which will no doubt have put the Super Kings on red alert.

Dhoni has the firepower to contain this talented line-up, but it now remains to be seen if the men from Chennai have recovered sufficiently from Sunday’s traumatic defeat at the Wankhede to get their campaign back on the rails. The Last Chance Saloon, or the O.K. Corral. Take your pick.

Key player: Rajasthan Shane Watson

The powerful Shane Watson took a couple of matches to fine-tune his sights and on Tuesday, destroyed the Pune Warriors. With the Sawai Man Singh Stadium his home from the very first IPL edition, Shane Watson will be keen to repay the faith the Royals have reposed in him.

Key player: Chennai MS Dhoni

With a proud record to defend, the Super Kings captain will be well aware that his team are in need of more in terms of runs from his bat, as much as leadership in what is something of a crisis situation. But these are conditions Dhoni revels in, so watch out.