You’re only as good as your next game: Shane Warne

11th May 2008

After their brief setback against the Mumbai Indians, the Rajasthan Royals look to have regained their footing in the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) by beating the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers by a comprehensive 8 wickets.

On the brink of qualifying to the knockout stage of the competition, Warne talks of the need to maintain the momentum and his plans for the next stage of the competition.

Talking about his teams win against the Deccan Chargers, Warne said he was impressed with the pitch, which offered both batsmen and bowlers value for money.

Speaking to reporters at the post match press conference, the Australian spin wizard he had a few harsh words for his boys after his team lost to the Mumbai Indians. But he gave due credit to his boys today, after staging a grand come back against Hyderabad.

He also said that he was enjoying the challenges of captaining a side. When queried on how much of an impact his captaincy had on Rajasthan Royals climbing to the foremost position in the points table, the world's most successful leg spinner said, "You trust your instinct, make fielding and bowling changes, go with your gut instinct and at the moment that's going ok. We want to be the smartest and cleverest side in the competition. So far we're a smart team and we sum up the situation well."

He also sounded confident yet not complacent about the job ahead saying "We're in good shape and in a good position, but you're only as good as your next game, not as good as your last time."

The Rajasthan Royals next take on the Delhi Daredevils at home tomorrow. The defeat handed by Sehwag and his boys in red is still fresh in Warne's mind, and he is hopeful of pulling one off against the Daredevils when the return match happens tomorrow.

Sounding a caution to the Daredevils, Warne said, "In our first game of the tournament, Delhi beat us quite badly and gave it to us straight away, so we're looking for a little bit of revenge on Delhi."

"At this stage the Delhi game is very crucial for both sides. If we could win that, we'll win 7 games, I'd like to think (with that win) we're in the semis," concluded the brimming-with-confidence skipper.