Warne - A fantastic journey

Jaipur skipper reveals pride after IPL triumph

Last updated: 1st June 2008

warne shane

Warne: Royals pride

The team gelled together very quickly and the results have shown that. It has been one hell of a ride and one that everyone has enjoyed.

Shane Warne
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Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne described his side's last ball victory in the inaugural Indian Premier League final as the culmination of a "fantastic journey".

The legendary Australian leg-spinner was at the non-striker's end when Sohail Tanvir, with scores level, forced a back-foot cover drive through the infield to claim a memorable victory over the Chennai Super Kings by three wickets.

Warne has taken on a mentor's role with the youthful Jaipur-based franchise, who were largely overlooked as a contender in the lead-up to the tournament.

The multi-million dollar Royals were the cheapest side in the tournament and were disregarded as a threat after failing to sign an icon player, while foreign purchases Justin Langer and Morne Morkel opted to play county cricket instead of joining up with Warne and company.

Even the foreign players who did make the trek to Jaipur had voiced concerns about their safety following a bomb blast in the city last month.

Wonderful time

But after putting their faith in youth, and Warne's guiding hand as player-coach, the team topped the table after the protracted 56-match round-robin series before finally lifting the trophy in Mumbai in the most dramatic of finishes.

"It has been a fantastic journey for us. Over the seven weeks I think the whole squad had a wonderful time," Warne said.

"The team gelled together very quickly and the results have shown that. It has been one hell of a ride and one that everyone has enjoyed.

"I have been proud to see the young guys learning the game of cricket and executing their skills so well."

The 23-year-old pacemen Tanvir was one of the Royal players to blossom under the IPL spotlight as he took 22 wickets during the tournament to claim the 'Purple Cap' as the competition's leading wicket taker.

Crucial

But it was his batting that proved crucial in the final reckoning as he and Warne combined to score the 18 runs required from the final two overs to reach Chennai's target of 163-5 from the last ball.

"I was hoping that Tanvir was going to be on strike for the final ball and thankfully he was," Warne said.

"Getting down to the final ball in the final I don't think a script writer could have written it any better than that.

"As soon as I saw Tanvir hit it through the off side I thought I was about to rip both hamstrings off I was running that hard.

"I am getting a bit older now so I don't know if I can handle these close finishes any more."