Rajasthan Royals to celebrate Shane Warne 

In 2008, the Australian spin wizard captained the Royals to their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title at the same venue. Rajasthan Royals had beaten the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by three wickets to be crowned the inaugural champions. 

"It is befitting that the same stadium where Warne lifted the IPL trophy will see the cricketing world come together to pay their respects and celebrate his life," the franchise said in a release.

"The franchise would like to iterate that it will not be an occasion to mourn, but to commemorate the great man, and salute him for his never-ending contribution to the game of cricket as well as impacting thousands of lives around the world through his words, energy, and actions both on and off the field."

Warne's brother, Jason, would participate in the celebrations after accepting an invite from the IPL franchise. As a mark of respect, among other dedicated tributes, a particular area at the DY Patil Stadium has also been turned into a Shane Warne Tribute Gallery. In this, all the ticket-holding fans and the students of the DY Patil University will be able to visit and experience it. Based on the alignment with this momentous event, the franchise decided that there could not have been a better day and venue to celebrate the life and contribution of 'Warnie' and present to his fans around the globe the opportunity to celebrate and remember the genius that was Shane Warne.

In March this year, Warne breathed his last at 52 after reportedly suffering a heart attack while on holiday with his friends in Thailand. 

Warnie: The first Royal!

Warne led the Royals to their one and only IPL crown to date as he performed superbly both as captain and coach of the franchise. The genial Australia leg-spinner Warne was the second-highest wicket-taker for the Royals behind Pakistan's Sohail Tanvir – picking up 19 wickets in 15 matches, winning a record 13 games en route to the title. In his 55 games from 2008 to 2011 for RR, Warne has clinched 57 wickets with an average of 25.3. 

Throughout the season, Warne unleashed the true potential of the likes of Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja and some unknown names like Kamran Khan and Swapnil Asnodkar and put them on the cricketing map. Warne also served as the mentor of the Royals after he decided to hang his boots as a player. 

Rajasthan: hoping for a perfect tribute to Warne this season!

Rajasthan has won six of the first eight games in this year's IPL as they search for their first title since the Warne-inspired triumph in 2008. A win would give a perfect tribute to the legendary Australian spinner under whose inspirational leadership the Royals had won the 2008 title. While Rajasthan, placed second in the standings, has lost only two games and won six, Mumbai is already out of contention for a playoff berth, having lost all their eight matches so far.

After mustering just 144 runs in their last game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Royals would hope for an improvement from their batters. Their openers, Jos Buttler and Devdutt Padikkal have been among the runs. Jos Buttler has already slammed three centuries, and the challenge for the MI bowlers would be to find ways to stop the destructive Englishman. Jos Buttler has been in sparkling form, hitting 499 runs, including three hundred and two half-centuries, across eight innings at an average of 71.28. Also, skipper Sanju seems in great form this season. He has scored 228 runs in 8 matches with an appreciable average of 32.5, which is an excellent aspect of the team's batting line-up. Along with him, Yuzvendra Chahal has been doing his job exceptionally well for the franchise. The team's overall contribution is seen in their results this season!

The team is looking in a great flow this season, and we can expect the team in the playoffs and hopefully win the trophy as a tribute to their first Royal.