Rajasthan Express will keep on rolling: Warne

Warne sent a stern warning to his opponents that they were looking to win the rest of the matches in the tournament.

Exuding loads of confidence after Rajasthan Royals8217; fifth consecutive victory in the Indian Premier League in kolkata on Tuesday, captain Shane Warne sent a stern warning to his opponents that they were looking to win the rest of the matches in the tournament.

8220;We wanted to send a message to the rest of our competitors that we are not taking our foot off the pedal. We hope the Rajasthan Express keeps rolling,8221; the legendary leg spinner told a media conference soon after his team cantered to a six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Describing the win over the Kolkata Knight Riders as 8220;fantastic,8221; Warne said, 8220;It8217;s always nice to come up winning. We had a charged up team. It was really fantastic to pull off a win at the Eden.

8220;The strength of our team is that every member is good enough to contribute and pull off a win,8221; said Warne, who has led the Rajasthan Royals to the top of the group with nine wins in eleven matches.

Warne said a score of 160-165 would have been a good total on the track.

Asked to spell out his team8217;s strategy, Warne said 8220;Umar Gul has been one of the best bowlers in the competition, so we had to plan our batting order accordingly.

We knew that Sourav Ganguly and David Hussey would have to bowl some overs in the middle. That8217;s why we sent Yusuf Pathan down the order,8221; he said.

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Warne also described as crucial the first six overs in the Knight Riders8217; innings when the hosts managed to score only 32 runs.

Praising pacer Munaf Patel, the Royals8217; skipper said the bowler did an excellent job.

8220;Initially, I had found that Munaf was quite shy. Now he appears to have improved very well. And the way he is bowling, he can walk into the Indian team.8221;

Warne said the Royals might play some of the reserves in the remaining three matches of the league.

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Knight Riders8217; coach John Buchanan said Pathan made the difference with his swashbuckling knock of 48 not out off 18 balls.

8220;He has strong arms, and hit the ball really well,8221; he said.

Buchanan also blamed the home fielders, saying 8220;We could have some more wickets, but unfortunately missed run outs.8221;

Praising the opponents, the former Aussie coach said 8220;The Rajasthan Royals once again confirmed tonight they are the favourites. We didn8217;t get the start we looked for, and another 20 runs would have been useful.8221;

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Asked whether speedster Shoaib Akhtar, who missed the match owing to a knee problem, was available for Thursday8217;s tie against Delhi Daredevils, he said 8220;We are taking Shoaib day by day. We have got the pool session tomorrow. Andrew Leipus will have a look at him, and see how he is doing. Hope he is selected for the Delhi match.8221;

On Ishant Sharma8217;s performance, he said that the lanky pacer lacked experience.

8220;He is slowly finding the right length to bowl.8221;

The Knight Riders, who are yet to zero in on a stable opening combination, would reassess the slots after reaching Delhi tomorrow, Buchanan said.