That's the way it's mostly been throughout Dravid's career, and as Tendulkar was chaired off by teammates after MI completed the double of IPL and CLT20 titles, the script seemed almost pre-ordained.
After all, RR have always punched above their weight while MI were always the heavyweights: the most star-studded, the most formidable, even the most expensive.
Crucially, though, MI also came off as more desperate to win while RR seemed just that bit more tentative out of their Sawai Mansingh comfort zone.
MI coach John Wright had for the past few days harped endlessly on how badly MI wanted to get their hands on the trophy. The night before the final, he was asked if playing back-to-back T20 games wasn't too hard on the players.
"We can play tomorrow morning, the recovery process has already begun," he had said. Rohit Sharma, whose captaincy has come in for a lot of praise, talked about team spirit triumphing over nerves. "It wasn't easy.
There was a lot of pressure when we started the IPL and again when we started the CL. I think we held our nerve well. We were together."
When the dust settles and the celebrations have died down, MI will be proud they could pull this off for the man to whom they dedicated their CLT20 campaign.
It's hard to believe there will be no more 'Tendulkar in Blue', but the batsman himself said he was satisfied. "I am 40 now," he told the CLT20 website, "I don't have much time left so I want to enjoy every moment of the time I have left in cricket. The dream was to be part of the No. 1 Test team, then win the World Cup, the IPL and then CL T20."
Next season will be a fresh start for MI. There's talk of Sachin mentoring the team in future and that might soften the blow of his absence. "I'm actually looking forward to the next season because I've been a part of MI for six years now and it's been an experience I've really enjoyed," Tendulkar said.
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