As unfortunate it was to see the Rajasthan Royals crash out of the tournament, Shane Warne's last game of the IPL, and indeed of competitive cricket, provided him with a fitting farewell. The Royals won and it was as convincing a win as one could get from a T20 game and Warne managed to pick up a wicket off the last over he bowled.
The script had gone down the path as Warne would have expected it to, with the other Shane in the side nailing down the last few in the Mumbai Indians coffin. Warne has been a point of discussion in many of my columns as well, thanks to the colour he brings to the game and it would be an understatement to say that he will be missed by me and the other aficionados of the game.
Young captains, grand comebacks and superstar parties
For a man with a personal life as colourful as his on-field cricket, it is nice to see that he is in a good space and is happy to move on from the game and, in his own words, concentrate on his businesses off cricket.
His last couple of weeks in the IPL have mirrored his international career, especially off the field! The controversy around the pitch that began in Rajasthan's previous game against the Mumbai Indians, culminated into a full-blown issue that resulted in Warne being fined $50,000 just prior to the second game between the same two sides.
There had been talk of Warne being banned for the last game as well but that would have been a travesty of sorts for all those fans of Warne, who would have booked their prime-time slot in front of the telly to watch the legend bid adieu. Thankfully, it did not come to that and better sense prevailed.
IPL is the perfect mix of cricket and cinema
Speaking of fines, the members of Rajasthan Royals seemed to be facing the wrong end of the barrel. Ross Taylor has also had to shell out $3500 to his airline for his extra baggage and rest assured it hasn't amused the Kiwi one bit!
While the battle on the field of play was obviously heating up with the clamour for not only the top four slots but also the top two, the battle off the field seemed to be not too behind. RCA chief Sanjay Dixit was involved in a war of words with Warne, going on to the extent of calling Warne a flawed genius and likening him to a Van Gogh-like figure or "Guru Dutt of Kagaz ke Phool!" Wonder whether Warne had a private conversation with someone to understand the second bit of that comparison!
The result against the Mumbai Indians aside, it was interesting to hear Warne on the field, speaking to the commentators during the game. I don't recall Warne having been miked-up before this and it is a pity that we did not have it earlier. The way he went about describing his on-field relations with Sachin Tendulkar was worth going miles to hear!
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