Mumbai humbled by the other Shane

Rajasthan Royals 134 for 0 (Watson 89, Dravid 43) beat Mumbai Indians 133 for 5 (Rohit 58, Watson 3-19) by ten wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	Shane Watson was all over Mumbai Indians © AFP Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Shane Warne | Shane Watson Matches: Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals at Mumbai Series/Tournaments: Indian Premier League Teams: India | Mumbai Indians | Rajasthan Royals

The prospect of a final face-off between Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne had dominated the build-up to this clash, but on the field it was overshadowed by an imposing performance from Shane Watson. Not only did he deliver a fitting farewell for his captain from competitive cricket, he also left Mumbai Indians under serious pressure to keep their qualification chances alive following a third straight defeat. For someone who had struggled to capitalise on starts through this tournament, Watson compensated with a splendid all-round effort, with each of his crushing blows serving Mumbai a painful reminder of what they should have achieved on a good pitch.

The Tendulkar-Warne contest should have been a non-event as left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan trapped Tendulkar twice in front, only for umpire Paul Reiffel to think otherwise. Backed up by his disciplined bowling at one end, Watson dismissed T Suman and Ambati Rayudu in successive overs from the other, depriving the hosts of the attacking start they would have hoped for after choosing to bat. And just as Kieron Pollard had warmed up at the death after muscling a couple of boundaries, Watson cleaned him up to restrict Mumbai to a below-par total, one that was given some respectability by a classy half-century from Rohit Sharma.

It didn't take long for Watson to set about punishing Mumbai, as he smote Harbhajan Singh for two massive sixes over midwicket in the second over of the chase. He followed that up by drilling Lasith Malinga past mid-off in an over that perhaps produced his only moment of discomfort. Malinga responded venomously, knocking back Watson's chin with a bouncer - it escaped the grill, there would have been some pain but Watson didn't flinch. His own response? A memorable counterattack, pulling Malinga each time he dropped short, his next seven balls producing three fours, a flat six and a stunned crowd not used to seeing their star-studded home team being overwhelmed in that manner.

A sense of resignation was felt in the crowd, if not among the players, when Watson smacked Harbhajan for three consecutive fours in his comeback over, while Rahul Dravid, happy to play the supporting role, showed his own class with some delightful boundaries off Pollard and Munaf Patel. The pair remained unbeaten, Rajasthan cantered home, marking a satisfactory end after their turmoil-filled build-up to the tournament.

Rohit had won praise from Warne as one of the most exciting talents in Indian cricket, and he undoubtedly would have impressed his opposing captain with his performance today. He quickly took the lead in the stand with Tendulkar, his stand-out shot being an imposing drive against Warne through extra cover, matched by a delightful punch in the same region off Johan Botha who couldn't restrain Rohit despite chasing him as he made room.

Rohit used his feet well to spin, and stepped up in the late overs after Tendulkar perished to an upper cut off Amit Singh. Warne though, wasn't finishing his spell without a cheer. His final victory with the ball was the stumping of Rohit, stunned by the turn and losing his bat to square leg with a wild swing gone bad. At the end of the game, Warne was still smiling while Mumbai stayed baffled. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Shane Warne announces IPL retirement

Shane Warne has been the face of the Rajasthan Royals franchise © Associated Press

The ongoing season of the IPL will be Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne's last one as a player. He will most likely continue to be associated with Rajasthan as a coach or advisor in the future.

"Yes this is my last year playing IPL - please come down and support RR last 2 home games v Chennai & Bangalore ! We need your help !!!!", Warne wrote on Twitter. He confirmed that this meant he would not play any more professional cricket matches after this IPL. "A big thank you to everyone that has helped me - supported me through all the ups and downs - hope you have enjoyed watching me play," he added.

Warne captained Rajasthan to victory in the inaugural season of the IPL but the franchise's fortunes slumped in the next two seasons. He has played 52 games for Rajasthan so far picking up 56 wickets at an average of 24.66. Rajasthan are currently fourth in the points table in this edition and Warne called on Rajasthan's fans to support them in their last two home games.

"We have a spirit in the squad similar to IPL 1 - it would be great to leave on a high - I'm proud of the way we have developed young players," Warne wrote.

Australia allrounder Shane Watson, who plays under Warne in the IPL, told ESPNcricinfo in an interview that Warne was keen to leave the game on a winning note, whenever that happened. "I think he's very motivated," Watson said. "After last year the way things panned out for Rajasthan, I think he's very motivated to make sure that whenever he leaves the game he leaves in a really good place. Warney's bowling unbelievably well and has been since the start of the tournament. There's only really one person who's ever been consistently able to do it as a legspinner and he's bowling absolutely beautifully."

The team released a statement praising Warne for his contribution while making clear his retirement as a player was not the end of his association with the franchise. "Shane Warne has been an integral part of Rajasthan Royals for the last four years," Raghu Iyer, the chief marketing officer, said. "He has been instrumental in nurturing young talent in the team and making Rajasthan Royals a formidable force in IPL. He will continue his association with the Royals in coming years and will offer his invaluable guidance to young players.

"We are looking forward to him assuming a larger role in the team and continuing adding value to the team's success." © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Warne leads Rajasthan to emphatic win

Rajasthan Royals 111 for 2 (Watson 49, Dravid 44) beat Kochi Tuskers Kerala 109 (Parthiv 32, Warne 3-16, Trivedi 3-19) by eight wickets

	After 4-0-50-1 came 4-0-16-3 © Associated Press

Match Meter RR Botha and Warne take out the big twoJohan Botha and Shane Warne take the wickets of Mahela Jayawardene and Brad Hodge to reduce Kochi to 42 for 3 RRKTK Parthiv and Jadeja bat sensibly Parthiv Patel and Ravindra Jadeja keep wickets intact and take Kochi to 88 for 3 with five overs to go RR Warne takes two in two Warne comes back to dismiss both the settled batsmen in two deliveries to convert 88 for 3 to 90 for 5 RR The collapse continues The new batsmen find it incredibly hard to time the ball, and keep losing wickets looking to force the pace. Kochi are bowled out for 109 RR Dravid, Watson ensure smooth chaseRahul Dravid and Shane Watson add 71 for the first wicket, and by the time Dravid gets out, the game is all but over Advantage Honours even

Cosmetic surgery? Moisturiser? Who cares? Shane Warne is still ripping them legbreaks. He is still getting vicious dip and drift. He is still producing key wickets - tonight those of Brad Hodge and the top-scorers Parthiv Patel and Ravindra Jadeja - to keep Rajasthan Royals alive in the tournament. On a pitch where the bounce varied from shoulder to shin-high off similar lengths, Kochi Tuskers Kerala threatened to convert their ordinary start into a decent total, but Warne came back to remove both Parthiv and Jadeja off successive deliveries to end the 48-run fourth-wicket partnership. The resultant target was sub-par even on the slightly two-paced pitch, and Rahul Dravid and Shane Watson ensured there were no hiccups in the chase, with a 71-run opening stand.

Rajasthan were right at home in conditions that their two spinners and predominantly slower-ball bowlers enjoy. They also had the injured Johan Botha back, who removed Mahela Jayawardene with the first ball he bowled. It all started inauspiciously for Kochi, with Brendon McCullum missing out because of a bad shoulder. His replacement, VVS Laxman, ran himself out. Botha came on and turned one across Jayawardene, and with some help from the protruding thigh pad, the ball found a way into the stumps. Warne did Brad Hodge in with one that kept low. As a consequence of those big wickets, once Kochi's run-rate fell below six in the fifth over, it never crossed that mark.

Rajasthan's international bowlers - Warne, Botha and Watson - went for 58 in 12 overs between them. Warne even found time to settle a personal score. He welcomed Ravindra Jadeja, who had tried to move away from his franchise last year and was banned in the process, with a bouncer at 110kph. Jadeja and Parthiv, though, kept their heads and put Kochi on their way to what could have been a defendable target. They picked their battles wisely, taking risks against the domestic bowlers, running hard, not looking for ambitious shots.

At 88 for 3 after 15 overs, though, they decided they needed to push for more runs, especially considering it was the expected dew that had made Rajasthan field first on this pitch. Jadeja came down to Warne, who bowled the straighter one and got a thick edge along the ground. Two balls later Jadeja tried the slog sweep, but this one bounced at him, taking the top edge. Back-pedalling, Warne completed the catch around mid-on. Parthiv lost his head next ball, trying the reverse-sweep, and was stumped off a slider.

After that Kochi lost their way with new batsman struggling to time the ball on the slow track. In all, seven wickets fell for 21 runs. The momentum continued into the second innings as Watson smashed the first ball to the cover boundary. Dravid took over from there, playing proper cricketing shots to counter the tricky pitch. He also hit the first six of the match shortly before running himself out, going for an ambitious second run. At 71 for 1, only formalities remained, but Watson pushed the rate up, ensuring the target was achieved with 5.5 overs to spare, giving Rajasthan's net run-rate a boost. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.