The packed crowd at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium deserved nothing less on the final day of IPL action in Jaipur: A last-ball finish, which went in favour of the Rajasthan Royals. But not before a match particularly severe on asthmatic respiratorial-systems, and weak hearts, snapped a few nerves.How Mumbai’s non-Indians Dwayne Smith, Sanath Jayasuriya and Dilhara Fernando botched up the simple task of preventing the Royals’ young guns Niraj Patel and Ravindra Jadeja from taking two runs required off the last delivery will rankle the visitors for time immemorial. Dilhara Fernando had spilled Swapnil Asnodkar early during Royals’ pursuit of 146, but seemed to have made amends when he picked up the wickets of the pint-sized opener and Yusuf Pathan to earn himself the captain’s confidence to bowl the final over. Central to the act was Fernando, who betrayed nerves unworthy of an international bowler bowling to Niraj Patel and Ravindra Jadeja. Patel coolly lifted the third ball of the decisive over for a six to bring the equation down to five runs off three balls. The Sri Lankan bowled a brazen wide off what would have been the last delivery after twice pulling out of his run-up and then letting his sweaty hands drop the ball clumsily while Jadeja scrambled safely to the danger end to complete a couple that clinched the Royals a stunning win in their final game at home.Needing two to win, the last-ball drama saw Patel swish the ball to mid-on, from where Dwayne Smith’s ill-directed throw was collected even more clumsily by Jayasuriya, letting Jadeja complete the winning run.Jadeja, for long dubbed a future superstar by captain Warne might have sprinted to the run of his life, but it was the unheralded Patel (40) who displayed an ice-cool temperament to set up the chase for the Royals. Sachin’s stunnerBut what brought things this close for Rajasthan was a Tendulkar gem — not with bat or ball, but on the field. There are nightmares and then there are nightmares. If Shane Warne had thought there would be no recurrences of the bad dreams which had famously tormented him when Sachin Tendulkar batted in the late 90’s, he’d guessed it right. Tendulkar left without rubbing too much salt in the Aussie’s old wounds when the Mumbai Indians captain batted for a sedate 34-ball 30. But what Rajasthan Royals’ strutting leader had not accounted for was Tendulkar prancing on the field like a winged-horse and holding on to a blinder from Watson — a catch that defied the Mumbaikar’s age, any 35-year-old’s fitness and sprint speed, length of the short man’s arms, and finally Warne’s gritted wish that his opposite number miss that one. The sight of Tendulkar plucking a stunner out of Sawai Mansingh Stadium’s thinning air, would have been stuff that future Warne nightmares could be made of, if this result had upturned. Watson — who stands like a one-man booming cannon between rivals wishing they win a game and them winning it —was gone for a mere 18, and a royal chase, yet unwitnessed at the Royals’ home turf, was on.Kamran Akmal had looked good at the top, till he failed to ground his bat after four boundaries and an 18, while Asnodkar and Yusuf Pathan were claimed by Dilhara Fernando who seemed bent on pitching in extra effort after he had spilled an Asnodkar skier. Md Kaif’s nervous running could take him only one way — back to the dugout — to bring youngsters Niraj Patel and Ravindra Jadeja to the crease.
