He will be 42 in a couple of weeks, but look at Pravin Tambe and his enthusiasm for the game, you would think Rajasthan Royals’ match-winner here on Wednesday against the Highveld Lions with four quick wickets, is still in his novice years. And in a sense, that is exactly right for the Mumbai-born leg-spinner. Plucked out of the obscurity of club cricket last year and thrown into the deep end in the aftermath of the spot-fixing scandal that enveloped his team, the portly Tambe was something of a joke figure on his IPL debut, finishing with one wicket from three matches. Yet, on Wednesday, he took centre-stage with the assured air of a seasoned performer. While the Royals always seemed in control of the game, there was a threatening partnership in the making, but in the space of 18 balls, the leggie all but finished things off for Rahul Dravid. Asked what had triggered the wicket spree, the soft-spoken Tambe hesitated. “The key was to bowl on the stump always and vary the pace,” was the rather short answer. Obviously not used to being the focus of so much attention, Tambe preferred to deflect attention from his feat. “I always feel good when the team win and getting four wickets feels good. In Twenty20 cricket, you have to vary your length because if you keep bowling the same length, you will get hit. The plan was to keep the ball on the stumps, keep it tight and the wickets will come.” Justly, the Royals have gained the reputation of being a team who are constantly throwing the opposition off balance. On a seaming pitch, Tambe knew he would be called on by Dravid, but was not sure when. “Playing in this format, you will get to bowl any time, so you have to be ready for that. And as this squad is small, we are always ready to play in any match.”
