Warne praises Menaria for foxing Tendulkar
Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne was delighted that they could get rid of Mumbai Indian's captain Sachin Tendulkar early and able to notch an upset seven-wicket win on Friday.
- mid-day.com
- Updated: July 20, 2011 02:45 PM IST
Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne was delighted that they could get rid of Mumbai Indian's captain Sachin Tendulkar early and able to notch an upset seven-wicket win on Friday. Praising Ashok Menaria for the ball with which he deceived the batting maestro, Warne said it also showed that Tendulkar is human too. (Related:Match in pictures | Statistical highlights)
"He is a great player and doesn't miss too many but he missed out on that ball. It was a pretty good ball. He might be a great player but he is human too," Warne said in the post-match conference. With the win, Rajasthan Royals also snapped Mumbai Indians' three-match winning streak and now have nine points from eight matches, while the visitors remained at the top of the league despite suffering their second loss from seven matches.
Warne was spot on with his decision to bowl first as the spinners did extremely well, on a dry and cracked pitch, to restrict the Mumbai Indians to just 94 for eight, their lowest score in IPL history. Off-spinner Johan Botha picked up three wickets for six runs while left-arm spinner Menaria got two for 20. Rajasthan Royals achieved the target by losing three wickets and with 11 balls to spare. Botha starred with the bat again, top scoring with 45 off 39 balls (4x2, 6x1) and was also adjudged the Man of the Match.
Warne said plan to deploy Menaria against Tendulkar worked. "I had watched Menaria in the nets and in the earlier matches as well. I thought he might help us get rid of Sachin or Jacobs. The plan worked," said the legendary spinner. "Menaria's role is similar to Ravindra Jadeja, but I feel Menaria is clever than him at this stage," he added.
The Australian was happy with the intensity his team showed on Friday. "We had started well, but lost a few games in the middle. I am happy with the intensity with which our boys played. We showed character," he said. "The plans were executed to perfection. I am happy with the way the boys responded," Warne added.