Magican Warne sparkles

Ross Taylor played a thrilling hand in the end to clinch the victory for Rajasthan but it was Shane Warne's dismissal of the aggressive Robin Uthappa that was instrumental in them chasing a gettable 143.

It was also the contest of the afternoon. It had an overload of skill, adrenalin, ego, canniness and a dash of foolhardiness. It lasted eight deliveries but it encapsulated everything that is best about Twenty20. It had an aggressive batsman intent on attack and an ambitious bowler focused on hunting down his prey. Throw in an umpire ready to brave ferocious appeals and rule on the side of conservatism, and you had a thoroughly entertaining package.

Uthappa unfurled the reverse sweep and conventional sweep to collect two fours off the first deliveries. Warne ripped a big leg break next, starting from just about leg stump - part of the ball was outside leg - and it beat the bat to strike the pad. It was the start of Warne's increasingly vocal tussle with the umpire Shavir Tarapore. He yelped out a huge appeal but Tarapore perhaps thought it pitched just outside leg and turned it down. Warne looped the next delivery on a length but Uthappa stretched forward to slog sweep it over midwicket.

Three boundaries in four balls and the heat was well and truly on Warne, who responded by a front-of-hand skidder that landed on leg stump line and just about straightened to hit the pad. Warne screamed, Tarapore stayed frozen and Uthappa survived. Warne got the final delivery to skid on towards the leg stump and Uthappa was caught in a tangle and yet again, got stuck on the pad. Replays suggested it would have clipped leg stump but you could understand why the umpire didn't give it.

Warne removed himself from Tarapore's end and appeared at Simon Taufel's in the ninth over. Uthappa again reverse swept the first ball to the boundary but Warne shortened the length off the next and got it skid and bounce towards middle. Uthappa ended up top-edging the swat to the keeper. Uthappa's exit was sandwiched between the dismissals of Jesse Ryder, stumped off Johan Botha, and Yuvraj'Singh, run out after he backed up too far at the non-striker's end, and it derailed the innings.