Rajasthan Royals have perfected the art of winning at home. They are the only team in the IPL to have won more than twice the number of matches they have lost at home. Even this year, Rahul Dravid's Royals have won all their three matches in Jaipur. However, Dravid is not satisfied with just securing home wins, he wants to extend that dominating form to away matches too. On the eve of their game against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk, Dravid said: "We have played well at home, winning all our three games but we won one game away and lost two. We are going to have to improve our record there and try and win a few more games on the road, while trying to maintain our strength - playing in Jaipur." This season, in away matches, Royals started with a victory in Delhi, but lost badly in Pune and, most recently, in Bangalore.

Badrinath happy to man No. 4
Not one to bludgeon the ball, nor a swashbuckler. But if you want a man who can play the role of the stabiliser, who can maneouvre the situation smartly, S Badrinath would carry out those responsibilities without any fuss. No doubt, he would break into quite a sweat in the process, while using his supple wrists and the open face of bat to play the ball into gaps quietly to steal singles and doubles, or going for innovative scoops and paddles when the field is up. His reliability is one reason he has remained one of key middle-order cogs in Chennai Super Kings line-up. While he has been shuffled between Nos. 4 and 6 (most times), Badrinath feels No. 4 is the ideal for his kind of batting. "It's the slot where I feel most comfortable," he told the Times of India. "My job is to lend stability to the batting order and go for the shots once the platform is laid. I think I have done that well in this tournament so far."

Viv's mantra: get them before they get you
After losing six games in a row, Delhi Daredevils dramatic turnaround against Mumbai Indians coincided with the arrival of a certain Viv Richards in their camp. Virender Sehwag and Mahela Jayawardene, two of Daredevils key performers in their win against Mumbai, admitted to being inspired by Richards' presence. While Sehwag said he "bluffed" in his show of confidence, like Richards had suggested the flagging Daredevils do, Jayawardene said he was "star struck". Richards, who's the team's new ambassador, said on television he had told the team just one thing before the game: "Get them before they get you ... All I want the Daredevils batsmen to do is to bat straight. They should feel free to do that. It's important to keep faith and be solid in mind. The talent that's there in the dressing room." Richards also had input on another icon's bat. After trying out Sachin Tendulkar's bat prior to the match, he said: "It was a magnificent piece of willow. I just picked it up myself and I thought, 'Well… I am ready.'"