Mohali, Mar 25 (IANS): Having made a comeback of sorts with their second straight victory, Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne said his team can still be a force to reckon with in this year's Indian Premier League.
Rajasthan Royals outplayed Kings XI by 31 runs for their second straight victory Wednesday after three defeats.
Warne said that the players will have to maintain the intensity and put up a combined front something they showed against Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab.
The surprise champions of the inaugural season are fighting with indifferent form and injuries to key players like Graeme Smith and Dmitri Mascarenhas.
But the players showed the same verve and team spirit Wednesday that had made them crush every opponent in 2008. More importantly, the wily Warne, who had shaped up the team to a fighting bunch two years back, was back to getting his strategies right. He was also lot better with his bowling, a key ingredient of Royals' winning formula.
With Australian Shane Watson still to join them, the Royals have every reason to believe that they are no pushovers in the league.
"We are very happy with this victory. The boys played very well. We have come back well after that start. We got a good platform today with the batsmen putting the runs on the board. Lumb's innings was special. It gave me the opportunity to play with freedom," Warne said.
"It was one of those days where everybody contributed when they had to. Siddhrath bowled fantastically. Bisla was smashing us all over the place, it was handy to get him out at that stage.
"At times we were sloppy in the field but we managed to hold our nerves till the end. We have learnt a lot from our last few matches and we showed a lot of character. We have to keep this intensity going."
Losing captain Kumar Sangakkara said the players will have to play with responsibility.
"It was just a case of batting sensibly for another four-five overs which we didn't. Again we put ourselves in a good position, but failed to convert. We have a lot of thinking to do. We have the players who can perform."