This one's for Jaipur: Warne

The Rajasthan Royals have emerged victors of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) in what was one of the most spectacular finals ever played on Indian soil. Shane Warne transformed a team, who were termed as underdogs, to championship winners and he had every reason to be a proud coach, captain and player at his team's final post-match press conference.

"The strength of our squad is that we all have played our part. It never got down to one individual, that's why we won the IPL. We had a strategy and plan. We believed that bowlers could win us the IPL and hence we always stuck to our plan of playing with 5 bowlers," said the victorious captain.

He then said that this win rates among his biggest ever and it means that much more to him because he was the captain and the coach. He thanked Emerging Media (the team owners) for going into the auction with a set plan and sticking to that plan.

Warne then showered accolades on his support staff consisting of Darren Berry and Jeremy Snape for playing the perfect anchor role in setting up the team practices, making sure every player was in the right condition and match-fit on the given day.

Asked about the memories he would take back, Warne seemed to have a whole lot of them saying, "I've always enjoyed coming to Mumbai. I think the highlight is the spirit in our squad. I'm so proud of the guys. It has been a wonderful journey. We wanted to win for the people of Jaipur after the tragedy that struck there and fans that were always there to support us wherever we went."

He said that the concept of the IPL is here to stay and that now everyone is going to remember them as the "first ever winners of the IPL".

With a bit of a smirk, Warne then went on to admit, "I'm getting a bit old. I'm too old for these sort of finishes but it has been wonderful imparting 20 years of knowledge to these guys. They make me feel young."

The ecstatic skipper signed off by saying that playing with a confluence of players from different nationalities was an experience he is always going to cherish.

"We've had players from South Africa, England, Pakistan, India and Australia. To have 5 different personalities to come together and gel, I don't there are many other sports that can do it. I think that Lalit Modi and the owners of the teams deserve credit for the IPL."

Warne also remarked that the closing ceremony was "unbelievable" and concluded saying that if it wasn't for the high level of cricket witnessed throughout the tournament, the IPL wouldn't be the raving success it is today.

The Aussie great has assured us of a comeback next year and has said that he will play in the IPL as long as his body allows him to do so. Seeing his performances this year, we have no doubt that Warne will be here for a long time to come.

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abhishek kaushik
Posts: 10

accolade fr warnie
Reply #1 on : Mon June 02, 2008, 13:16:20

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well d legendari leggie had showed dat he waz d best captain aussiez neva had..i mean keepin hiz team toppin d table fr 44 deyz iz remarkable achievement..jaipur iz hiz second hme now..he haz lead frm d front & assigned role tu each player based on der abilitiez..waz well behaved in d field wid royalz 3rd in d fair play award listz...bcci should seriouzli think of makin him indian coach...we got tu learn frm d aussie systemz leavin our egoz aside...well done warnie

Yasha Kumawat
Posts: 10

raj royals
Reply #2 on : Mon June 02, 2008, 13:58:54

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well d legendari leggie had showed dat he waz d best captain aussiez neva had..i mean keepin hiz team toppin d table fr 44 deyz iz remarkable achievement..jaipur iz hiz second hme now..he haz lead frm d front & assigned role tu each player based on der abilitiez..waz well behaved in d field wid royalz 3rd in d fair play award listz...bcci should seriouzli think of makin him indian coach...we got tu learn frm d aussie systemz leavin our egoz aside...well done warnie

abhijeet
Posts: 10

spin warne!!
Reply #3 on : Tue June 03, 2008, 17:18:18

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he shud be called spin warne ..not shane warne..
we all vitnessed the most spectacular event ever in the history of cricket being played on indian soil.
all thanks to the players who made it so xciting ..
i am just proud of the fact that it happened here in india..that ipl it the produce of india.
nothing else pleases me more.
bonne chance ipl for ur 2nd season.!!

Troy
Posts: 10

Well done Royals
Reply #4 on : Wed June 04, 2008, 03:14:07

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Well done to the Royals for winning 1st IPL. Warnie showed what a captain can do with any team, showed faith and confidence in the squad he had. Australia......should of made him captain when you had the chance.

bob keating
Posts: 10

ipc final
Reply #5 on : Wed June 04, 2008, 03:16:35

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watched start,dozed off,kept waking, dozing . last 30-40 minutes was enormous. Warnie is a Victorian. We dont get a go here. perhaps we should have a team in the IPC next year. The finish at 4.30am aussie time is telling on me.
Go blue boys ( Vics are blue ) Indian cricket will be the winner with new players coming thru.

kashi
Posts: 10

Excellent captain.
Reply #6 on : Wed June 04, 2008, 05:43:40

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Excellent leadership qualities executed by warne in moulding young players to give thier best.This has been proved in serveral matches in the league stage. Many of the Indian players were not known earlier. He has shown us that if strengths of each player is tapped this could do wonders like in the final. Other good quality is to reamin calm & composed even in tense situation, This has resulted in Rajastan wiining the first IPL. We better make him the coach of Indian team.

Sudeep Kumar
Posts: 10

There r no words for Warne!!!
Reply #7 on : Wed June 04, 2008, 07:53:07

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Shane Warne...well an outstanding captain, Coach & a team player...d most important thing is dt he proved dt its not only d quality who makes u to win but its spirit & passion...its great 2 see dt underdogs won the tournament and Warne made them 2 win...hope if someone will understand it and will invite him for d coach of Indian Cricket Team for the same spirit.

Jack McNamara
Posts: 10

Well done
Reply #8 on : Wed June 04, 2008, 20:40:49

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Congratulations IPL, congratulations Warnie, well done on the first season of a most exciting series. Indian cricket is surely a winner with this format on home soil but cricket is the winner over all. This is a fantastic initiative and I think it is awesome for all involved, including fans.
Deccan Chargers will do better next year I hope...
jack

M.Saad Bafik
Posts: 10

IPL King
Reply #9 on : Thu June 05, 2008, 06:22:38

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No doubt that you have proved as the best IPL captain..................We hope you will play back to australian team..

shabi
Posts: 10

shane warne gets all the credit
Reply #10 on : Thu June 05, 2008, 19:13:33

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well shane warne is the best captain in ipl but if one cant mention the name of shane watson and sohail tanveer then it is not done. i suppose shan watson and sohail taveer do all the hard work for rajastan.