Now for an all-Australian scuffle?

The game at Sawai Man Singh Stadium is important to Kolkata, looking to regain momentum after their fine start and couple of reverses; important for Jaipur too, to consolidate on their own chugging, which has catapulted the unfancied unit to the top half of the points table.

The visitors have lost Aussie Ricky Ponting and Kiwi Brendon McCullum to international assignments, while Rajasthan find themselves smartly holding onto signings who have no other commitments to honour.

Warne, though, will look to play the snooty host on a ground that has taken to him. 8220;I don8217;t look at the odds of us going from rank outsiders to frontrunners. As a leader, I have been asking the players to be aggressive and attack, attack, attack,8221; he says.

The whirlwind nature of T20 8212; a quarter of the game can get over before you8217;ve fixed your laptop 8212; can hardly allow for a coach to sit with one and fix up a drinksman messenger. A decision-maker on the field is a definite asset. 8220;Most sides have come up with different plans, like a spinner bowling round the wicket or changing tactics at the end. But I think we8217;re a little ahead, with some of the field placements and the way we bowl,8221; Warne says. 8220;There are sides who have already started to copy our plans, but we8217;re always coming up with new stuff with Darren Berry, Jeremy Snape and the senior players.8221;

Assigning tasks, after the initial star-struck gaping is done with, seems to be working well for Warne. A pat here, a hand around a drooping shoulder there, some jokes about the cheer girls, and Warne has his flock eating out of his pudgy palms.

Buchanan, who has tasted unrivalled success with the Australians, was also a soothing dressing-room presence in a squad of stars. His IPL assignment puts him in charge of youngsters capable of, some in breaking voices, asking doubts that could be a little too basic.