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Absence of Warne and Tanvir cost us dear: Watson
Shane Watson blamed the absence of Shane Warne and Sohail Tanvir for defeat against King XI Punjab but oozed confidence of good performance in the semis.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: June 01, 2008 02:10 PM IST
Read Time:2 min
Mohali:
Watson led the team in the absence of Warne, who was rested for the inconsequential tie, and his team lost by 41-runs against Punjab, thanks to brilliance of Shaun Marsh.
"Sohail and Shane have bowled beautifully in the tournament. Their absence did make the difference," he told reporters at the post match press conference .
However, the Australian all-rounder, did not agree when asked if the defeat would dent the confidence of the team.
"Not quietly. We have massive amount of confidence ahead of semis. We know exactly our roles in the team. We are going to be 100 per cent focussed for our game on Friday," he said.
Watson though agreed that chasing a big total like 222 was not a mean task.
"Around 200 was gettable and the fact that we gave away too many runs in the last five overs. We needed one of the top-four batsman to fire like Shaun Marsh played for them. He batted absolutely beautifully. It was just not our day today."
Punjab skipper Yuvraj Singh was all smiles after the victory and after striking form ahead of semifinals. He hit a 16-ball 49-run knock, which helped his team get past the 200-run mark.
"It was nice to beat Rajasthan Royals team, who are at top of the table. I was in good form in the last Twenty20 World Cup but here I was not getting my timing earlier," Yuvraj said.
Intervening in between Punjab coach Tom Moody said, "I don't think Yuvi has been out of form. I would say he has not had the opportunities because Marsh and (Kumar) Sangakkara are in good form. It is really difficult to assess form in such situations".
Yuvraj also praised Shaun Marsh, who came up with a match-winning 115 run-knock.
"It was great to watch him bat. He did not slog at all and played cricketing shots."
On being asked about his team's chances in the semifinal against Chennai Super Kings, Yuvraj said, "They have beaten us twice and we will be looking to settle the score with them. We need to assess our plans before we take them on".
Shane Watson blamed the absence of quality bowlers like regular captain Shane Warne and Sohail Tanvir for Wednesday's defeat against King XI Punjab but oozed confidence of good performance in the semifinal.Watson led the team in the absence of Warne, who was rested for the inconsequential tie, and his team lost by 41-runs against Punjab, thanks to brilliance of Shaun Marsh.
"Sohail and Shane have bowled beautifully in the tournament. Their absence did make the difference," he told reporters at the post match press conference .
However, the Australian all-rounder, did not agree when asked if the defeat would dent the confidence of the team.
"Not quietly. We have massive amount of confidence ahead of semis. We know exactly our roles in the team. We are going to be 100 per cent focussed for our game on Friday," he said.
Watson though agreed that chasing a big total like 222 was not a mean task.
"Around 200 was gettable and the fact that we gave away too many runs in the last five overs. We needed one of the top-four batsman to fire like Shaun Marsh played for them. He batted absolutely beautifully. It was just not our day today."
Punjab skipper Yuvraj Singh was all smiles after the victory and after striking form ahead of semifinals. He hit a 16-ball 49-run knock, which helped his team get past the 200-run mark.
"It was nice to beat Rajasthan Royals team, who are at top of the table. I was in good form in the last Twenty20 World Cup but here I was not getting my timing earlier," Yuvraj said.
Intervening in between Punjab coach Tom Moody said, "I don't think Yuvi has been out of form. I would say he has not had the opportunities because Marsh and (Kumar) Sangakkara are in good form. It is really difficult to assess form in such situations".
Yuvraj also praised Shaun Marsh, who came up with a match-winning 115 run-knock.
"It was great to watch him bat. He did not slog at all and played cricketing shots."
On being asked about his team's chances in the semifinal against Chennai Super Kings, Yuvraj said, "They have beaten us twice and we will be looking to settle the score with them. We need to assess our plans before we take them on".
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