Shane Warne
Shane Warne was piqued by Sachin Tendulkar’s remark over the pitch prepared at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here, which hosted the IPL match between the Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals on Friday.
Rajasthan secured a dominant seven wicket win over the Mumbai Indians on Friday. Tendulkar had said after the game that it was a two-paced pitch and the ball kept low on a no. of occasions. But Warne thought otherwise.
Shane Warne said he couldn’t understand the why the Indians Mumbai weren’t able to accept their defeat and may be that’s why they aren’t relishing the fact that they were outplayed. He also explained how Mumbai being restricted to 94 for 8 doesn’t mean that the pitch was ordinary and how Rajasthan secured a seven wicket win batting second only on the same track. He said Kolkata scored 160 odd losing one wicket only on the same track.
He praised the Rajasthan Cricket Association and curator Taposh chatterjee who have been doing a decent job and preparing fine wickets. He added that how the pitch makes a 20-20 even for both bowlers and batsmen and ensures a fair contest between the bat and the ball.
It is learnt that chairman of the Pitch Committee of BCCI, Venkat Sundaram flew to the city to have a chat with RCA officials and the curator following Tendulkar’s remarks. Tendulkar had earlier said that it was a tough pitch and the conditions were difficult. He had explained how the track was different from the one in Mumbai where there was pace and bounce while the one here offered neither.
Meanwhile Warne expressed his happiness over the fact that his boys were able to leave the three consecutive losses behind them. He said that they were looking to restrict Pune to 130-135. He lauded the way Taylor and the young Rahane responded to pressure.
Geoff Marsh, the Pune Warriors coach expressed his disappointment over his team’s fielding and catching. When talking about skipper Yuvraj Singh who bowled only one over, he said it wasn’t because any fitness issues and added that sometimes captains under bowl.
Tags: MI, Mumbai Indians, Pitch, Rajasthan Royals, RR, Sachin Tendulkar, Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Shane Warne
