Another emphatic win for the Royals today. Bangalore’s performances have been bad enough as it is, but almost everything good that the team has done to date has been done by Mark Boucher, and with him sidelined by an injury no one was expecting the Royal Challengers to put up a fight. Rajasthan batted first, with Asnodkar and Smith getting them off to a superb start, and Watson helping pile on the agony when Asnodkar got one thick edge too many. The wicket looked quite difficult to score on, and yet the Royals registered 197-1 in their 20 overs, thanks in large part to some abject fielding by the Challengers. The Bangalore resistance didn’t last long. They were 5-3 in no time, at which point I switched over to oggle at Nadal. Apparently Dravid played a swashbuckling 75* to further embarrass his teammates.

The win cements the Royals’ position on top of the table. Indeed, if Punjab fail to win in Delhi later today, and it should be a close game, then they will be a whole two games clear of the nearest opposition. And this, I remind you, is the least expensive team in the tournament. They cost only $67m, as compared to the $107m paid for the Deccan Chargers and $112m for the Royal Challengers – the two teams languishing at the bottom of the table. How did this come about? Well obviously picking the right players helps, but the Chargers have a star-studded batting line-up and still keep failing.

During the game, Rameez Raja spent some time interviewing the Royals team psychologist, Jeremy Snape. The Royals may well be the only side in the tournament who have a team psychologist. Snape talked a lot about keeping things simple, concentrating on your own performance rather than worrying about the opposition, and keeping the players calm under the huge pressure of the big crowds, intense media scrutiny and big money. And indeed the team looked calm and confident, in marked contrast to Bangalore who looked like a team that had taken one too many tongue lashings from its billionaire owner.

A recent Telegraph article reveals that Warne and Snape had not worked together before, and that the Royals captain had been unconvinced of the need to employ a psychologist, but the two appear to have warmed to each other. In his comments during the game Snape was full of praise for Warne’s leadership skills and the way he has made the Royals’ youngsters feel a part of the team. I had been a bit dubious before when Justine had described Warne as the best captain Australia never had, but now I’m convinced, and I shudder to think how successful they could have been under his leadership.

One final point: I was delighted to see the ground full despite the recent terrorist bombings in Jaipur. As ever with terrorists, the most important thing (apart from catching them) is to refuse to be terrorized.