Rajasthan Royals has the best bonding among players: Ashok Menaria

Jaipur: Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ashok Menaria believes his team has the advantage of having a strong batting line-up which excels on seaming wickets and they have enough firepower in their bowling to compete with Chennai Super Kings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here tomorrow. Talking to reporters on the eve of the semifinal clash, Menaria said Rajasthan Royals have won 12 consecutive matches here and they have drawn up certain plans to keep their impeccable record intact tomorrow. [caption id=“attachment_1152655” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rajasthan Royals are a close team, says Ashok Menaria. BCCI[/caption] “We have a impeccable record here. Undoubtedly, CSK have some big names and few match winners in their ranks. Much should not be read in their defeat against T&T previous night,” he said. “Any team can have an off day in T20 cricket. We are busy in our own preparation and have worked out certain plans. Skipper Rahul Dravid and Coach Paddy Upton prepare strategy and plans for all twenty overs and every batsmen. We have kept everything simple and routine,” he said. Chennai has a strong bowling attack but Menaria was not too worried as he feels the Royals bowlers can match the visitors with their prowess. “They have a good attack but our bowlers are equally good. Perhaps RCA is the only association who has such a green and lively wicket and we play here almost whole of the season and the practice wickets are also of same nature. “We have batsmen like Rahul Dravid, Ajinkya Rahane and Shane Watson who have strong basics and they excel on seaming wickets. This a big advantage and we have notched four consecutive victories here in this tournament,” he said. “Perhaps we have the best bonding among our players. We have right from 18 to 42 years players and sharing dressing room with the likes of Dravid is great,” he said. “I personally did not get many chances and have played only 8 balls. Rahul had asked me to ball with new ball in nets and I was prepared to open the bowling as I had done before with Shane Warne,” he said. PTI