In Shane146;s world, impossible is nothing

Rajasthan Royals complete the fairytale with last-ball victory over Chennai Super Kings in Indian Premier League final

As Shane Warne was walking back towards the dressing room after a brief pitch inspection, he glanced at the trampoline that was put up on the ground for the pre-match entertainment show. He took off his shoes, climbed on the frame and bounced on the net. After a couple of ups and downs, he lay on his back with a smile on his face. Little did he know that he would be going through several highs and lows all through the game.

Warne was jumping around in the dug-out when Yusuf Pathan was trying to test the glass windows of the new stadium. And he almost wanted to sink in the ground when a mix-up with Pathan saw the latter getting run out. But eventually when the 55,000 crowd at the stadium had bleeding fingers because of constant nail-bites, Warne helped his team claw out of the hole they found themselves in.

It was a fitting end to an exciting tournament and the man who has caught the imagination of the cricket-crazy nation was at the centre of the action till the last ball. Chennai Super Kings can endlessly debate about the ifs and buts and waste time about the catches they dropped, the runs outs they missed or what if L Balaji hadn8217;t bowled the wide in the final over when Rajasthan Royals needed six runs off three balls. But eventually the team that has come up with the most dominating show in the tournament won.

Though Pathan scored 56 from 39 balls with three fours and four sixes to win the man of the match award, it was Warne8217;s boundary on the final ball of the 19th over that changed that the equation for the Rajasthan Royals. Watching the happy faces in royal blue celebrate, one got an idea about the collective effort of the team. Despite the fact that South African Graeme Smith was out due to injury, they shared the burden and chased the tricky total of 164.

And even when Pathan got out at the crucial stage, the batsmen to follow chipped in. And Warne didn8217;t let shoulders drop. This despite the fact there was a T20 World Cup-winning captain in the rival camp. After the high of winning the World Cup on the final ball, he lost today from an almost identical situation.

8220;To win on the last ball in the final, I don8217;t think it could have been any better,8221; Warne said. 8220;It8217;s just been great to be with a young group of guys, who are eager to learn the game, and then watch them executing their skills on the field.8221;