Nagpur: Shane Warne was a very happy captain as he faced the media after a dramatic last over win over Deccan Chargers in which his contribution was immense. Here's more from the interaction.
Excerpts
On the victory against Deccan: Yeah, I suppose it was one of those games which is going to be talked about a fair bit by the crowd. If you look back at the IPL, [teams] generally [score around] 200 like [in the] last game. 240 and 230 [aren’t impossible scores] and it’s about sixes and fours - this wicket had a bit in [it] for everything. There was a bit more of a contest between bat and ball rather than [it being] just a flat wicket and tiny boundaries. Michael Lumb’s dismissal - if that was in Chennai in the last game, it’d be in a taxi going to the hotel, today he gets caught. I think the bigger boundaries [made the difference]. [It was a] good wicket [providing] more than an even contest and made for a great game of cricket. 250 doesn’t mean it’s a great game, it’s a contest between bat and the ball. So all credit to the people of Nagpur for a creating a wicket that was [this competitive]. [There were] good players - good batsmen, good bowlers, you look around, [Shane] Watson got runs - he showed his class, [Rohit] Sharma showed his class. Gilly [Adam Gilchrist] at the top, so the good players got runs. Then I suppose the good bowlers got some wickets too and [it turned out to be] an even contest. So I thought it was a great game of cricket, I am sure it’s going to go down in the IPL’s short history as one of the all-time great games. For us, we go to Jaipur -we have been on the road [for a while] now. We have played three games in six days on the road away and Jaipur - we haven’t lost a game there. We have got three of the last four there, three at Jaipur at home and one at Kolkata. So I think what it does for our group here is give us a lot of momentum, a lot of belief. We said at the halfway stage we had never lost a game - we made a 160 batting first, but we had never lost. And I said to the guys we might be 10 or 15 short but we can make that up in the field and in our catching and I thought we fielded brilliantly today. I thought our standards had slipped in the fielding and catching, but today I thought it was fantastic.
On his leg spin proving to be effective: I get asked this every game - you keep asking me after every game. Now have I got the most wickets yet or not? You nailed me last time and said I was okay. I think I am going for the most sixes - was your last question. In the Twenty20 format of the game, […] you have got 24 balls to bowl, it’s all about the right ball at the right time – [sometimes] it’s not your best ball. There’s no point bowling big, ripping leg-breaks sometimes and the guy nicks it and it goes down for four. So it’s all about setting him up. Slow them up […] try and tempt them […] The bigger boundaries tonight made such a difference. A couple of top edges, like Dwayne Smith’s. [In] Chennai [they would have gone] twenty rows back. [You] top edge [a ball] here and it’s out. So my only suggestion is, I know we want to see runs, but I think one of the biggest things to come out of this is that a bigger ground [makes for] more of a contest between bat and ball. It makes for a great game of cricket rather than those where [there are] tiny boundaries and the bowler has got no chance. So as far as my bowling goes, as I said to you the last time, I feel I am actually bowling really well. But there are going to be times in this game - in Twenty20 - no matter how well you bowl. I bowled one of my best leg-breaks I have bowled to [Murali] Vijay the other day and [it landed somewhere] in Row 25. [Vijay] threw it back for a six. That’s just the nature of this game - when you are playing on these tiny grounds, when you get on a bit bigger [ground] it’s a bit different. But I feel like I am bowling well. Like tomorrow I will probably bowl okay and I might get none for 40. That’s just the nature of Twenty20.
On the Nagpur stadium: Like I said before - all credit to Nagpur. The facilities here, the change rooms were fantastic. The wicket [provided] an even contest between the bat and ball, the outfield was big - I thought it was fantastic. Anyone who came today and watched the game had a fantastic time.
On his role in Rajasthan’s big wins: Look I try and instill [confidence] into the guys and I have to lead from the front I suppose but it just can’t be one person. If I believe then I’ve still got to get the other guys to believe. If you look back at our history in India, in close matches, I think we have only lost one, maybe two. I think we had six last over finishes in IPL 1 and we won every one. We lost by four runs against Mumbai Indians in the first game and I think that’s the only one we have lost in India that’s been close. So our belief in our group is we can do it and I suppose we believe tactically we are good as anyone in the IPL, when we are in a contest. It’s nice as a captain. I think [when] every franchise gets into a contest [it’s good] to show off [one’s] captaincy skills - I suppose to show that you can mix and match it and try different things. You’ve got to be thinking ahead and I think the captaincy is very, very important in Twenty20 cricket.
On Gautam Gambhir calling Rajasthan an ordinary side: Look all I have said [in reaction is that] he can worry about his own game, but I hope those comments come back to haunt him. That’s all I will say.
On Faiz Fazal: He is a very good fielder and he is a good all-round cricketer. [We’re] very happy to put him at number three. We have got a role for him [there].We think he has a good technique, he is good in the field, he is a calm sort of player. I was disappointed [when] he had just got 12 off the over and we had lost a few wickets. Had he just knocked that down to get 13 off the over with Yusuf [Pathan] in the shed [things would’ve been different] So I was a little bit disappointed. Look, we are an inexperienced side - we are going to make a few mistakes in things like that. When we debrief the game, talk about the game, it’s all about learning. I think back to the last year, some of the young kids that have come on and have learnt - they are just a lot better cricketers than they were two years ago in our environment. So, if I think, [if] we can make a better cricketer for India, then that’s great.
On his advice to Morne Morkel as he bowled to Rohit Sharma: I said knock his head off. I called everyone up this way and then everyone backed [me] so the plan was obviously to bowl short and he bowled a half volley. I just said to Morne in this game - what has happened has happened you can’t change [that]. The most important thing is the next ball so I just went up to him and said, ‘What’s the most important thing mate?’ He said, ‘This ball’. I said, ‘Great’ and he bowled a pretty good one so [it all worked out in the end].
On the match being set up in the very first over: Yeah, I just think it was an all round, really gutsy performance from the Royals. I thought it showed our character in the group - showed what team spirit we have got and if we actually get into a game, get into a contest [we’re good to win]. I will back us more times against any team. If we are in a game and the game’s in a balance, I will back us. If we put a half decent score on the board and we’re in any sort of contest, I will back us most times. And the proof’s in the facts. IPL - the two years in India - just look at the facts, about how well Rajasthan Royals have done in tight games. We have come out pretty well. And hopefully, hopefully touchwood it continues.
On not getting the run out decision against Rohit Sharma (Harmeet Singh was the batsman dismissed): Look, I had the ball, and I didn’t think he was going to make it. I thought he was going to stop Rohit Sharma because in the end he tried to get across and I thought it was really close. I thought it was really touch and go. I asked Simon [Taufel] ‘Did they cross?’ and he said, ‘I don’t think they crossed’ [He thought it was] too close to tell and I think they went to the third umpire. So it was obviously really close because it took a long time. But, it doesn’t matter we won, didn’t we?
On whether batsmen freeze against him: As cricketers, we want [to put] that pressure. It’s about wanting the ball in your hand. All our guys want the ball in their hand. [Each one] wants to be the man that changed the game. I will back all those guys. I thought we had a really good performance today - everyone at [different] times picked up. [Journalist steps in saying, ‘Everyone is scared of you’]. Hopefully everyone is - but I don’t think they are.
On being able to stick to the over-rate guidelines: I think when you get a wicket, it’s important not to celebrate too long. {it’s enough to say] ‘Well done, stick to the plan, boys. Let’s get back’. (Smiles) Otherwise you can get a drink and dawdle. We have been tight a few times. It’s going to be tight, especially in pressure games like [the last one], it’s going to be tight. So occasionally you are not going to get there. But you should get there most times with the time you have got. Touch wood we have been able to.
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