The Great Game Called Cricket...

Just in case Ross Taylor had any doubts about his role with Rajasthan Royals, Shane Warne made it very clear. Taylor was picked to be the team's finisher, to provide that final, devastating kick that sets a winning total or ensures a successful run-chase. Anyone who watched Taylor's assault on Pakistan in the World Cup league game knows he has the power to play that role. But while Taylor is enjoying the job, he said he is still learning to cope with its demands.

"It is probably something that has been put upon me over the last three or four years," Taylor told ESPNcricinfo. "It is different. It is not a role I do for my team back home in New Zealand, or for New Zealand at international level but it is something I do enjoy."

The position's biggest challenge, according to Taylor, is the need to adapt rapidly to different situations, depending on the state of the game, and ensuring one preserves his wicket. This doesn't mean simply smashing the ball from the word go. One still has to play himself in. The key, he says, is figuring out how much time one has before pulling out the big shots.

"There are not many batsmen who can come out and smack the ball from ball one and do it consistently. So you still have to give yourself a chance. It depends on many runs you have to get and how many balls you have to go. Then you can decide how many balls you have to get in."

Taylor has been at the crease when Rajasthan went past the finish line in each of their three wins this season, all of which have come chasing, but he hasn't had to really flex his hitting muscles yet; his top score in those games is 18. His highest score so far this season was an unbeaten 35 in the first game against Kolkata Knight Riders, a game Rajasthan lost by nine wickets. Should he crack into form soon, he may be able to give Rajasthan the final 'kick' going in the business end of the tournament.

The franchise is currently fifth in the table with seven points from seven games, and Taylor reckons the one point gained from the rained-out game against Royal Challengers Bangalore might be crucial in the race to the semi-finals. "We have Mumbai and Chennai, home and away, over our next seven games and they are first and second in the table so it is going to be a tough road ... but we have four games at home and we know how to play at home so hopefully we can show that." He goes into the match against Mumbai Indians in Jaipur in the hope that it will do for his IPL presence what the match against Pakistan had done for his reputation on the world stage.

Taylor said he had a smooth transition shifting franchises from Bangalore to Rajasthan. The opportunity to share a dressing room with some of the best players in the world, both Indian and international, as well as India's younger bunch, is what he likes the most about the IPL. "You never get to do that, and seeing the way they prepare and the way they go about the business, I think I not only learn a lot for myself but it is good for world cricket as well."

On the flip side, Taylor says players having to choose between club and country is the biggest downside to the league. As more international players choose to play in the IPL, the problem is only going to get bigger, as will the clamour for creating a window in the international schedule for the tournament.

"I think if you ask any international player, they will tell you there should be a window."