Relieved after snapping their losing streak, Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne said his team responded well to the pressure and showed intensity in its eight-wicket victory over Kochi Tuskers Kerala here.
Talking to reporters after the match on Sunday night, the Australian spin legend said the past week was very tough and the losses really hurt the team.
“We had to play four matches in seven days and that too in far corners. We also played pretty disappointing cricket but I am happy with the way the boys have come and responded,” Warne told reporters at the post-match press conference.
“After three dismal losses we sat together and had honest chats among us. The sessions with trainer Jeremy Snape too helped us a lot. We were back at the drawing board and came up good. The losses had hurt us and I am happy we have responded well with intensity,” He said.
Asked if today’s opening line-up with Rahul Dravid and Shane Watson at the top would be maintained, Warne said the playing eleven is chosen keeping in view the opposition.
“(Shaun) Tait took three for 23 but could not find a place today because pitch seemed to be low. I feel we need more pace in our attack. Watson and Siddharta (Trivedi) are doing well but still we need more pace in our attack,” he said.
“We are happy to be back home and if we win remaining four here we can be among top four. But anything can happen in Twenty20. See we beat Kochi easily but they had beaten top teams like Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata in their previous three matches,” he added.
Warne also felt the toss didn’t play a role today.
“The toss was not really that important. See how easily we chased,” he added.
We didn’t bat well: Jayawardene
Kochi Tuskers Kerala skipper Mahela Jayawardene criticised his batsmen for putting up a sloppy show and said his team failed to adapt to the conditions.
The Tuskers saw their three-game winning streak snapped and Jayawardene hoped his team will bounce back in the days to come.
“It was going to be a tough task with the dew, we needed another 20-30 runs more, we didn’t bat well and they bowled well up front,” the Sri Lankan said after the match.
“We needed to take wickets and not give them momentum.
Rahul and Watson showed their experience and played really well. We tried our best. We didn’t have a good day in the office. Hopefully we will come back.
“After the start we had, I thought 120-130 was a good score, but we couldn’t execute, but plenty to learn from this.
We have to adapt to conditions. It is a close table this time around, everything is beating each other, we need to keep focus and we can be top of the table again,” he added.
The Royals jumped to the second spot in the points table after their win over the Tuskers and skipper Shane Warne said it would be important to keep the momentum in the business end of the tournament to enter the knock-out stage.
“We don’t look too much at the table, we are still at the halfway stage. It’s important to get some victories and momentum going in the final stages. We have four-five days off now, looking forward to that,” said Warne, who was adjudged as the Man of the Match for his three-wicket haul.
Rajasthan batsman Shane Watson said the track was two-paced and it helped the bowlers.
“I was scratchy to start with, it was nice to hit a few big boundaries towards the end. It is normally a good wicket here, but it was a bit two-paced today, and good for the bowling side. I love opening, but will bat wherever Warnie wants me to,” he said.
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