Warne deliberately let Cobras off the hook

Unfazed by the shocking defeat in a practice match against Nashua Cape Cobras, defending Indian Premier League champions Rajasthan Royals' skipper Shane Warne said he deliberately let the rival team off the hook to see how the youngsters in his side react to a tight situation.

Chasing 142 runs in a warm-up Twenty20 match ahead of the IPL starting April 18, Royals crumbled to 114 all out against the local outfit, which is the reigning domestic Twenty20 champion here.

The defending IPL champions had the Cobras on the mat at 65 for five but Warne said he consciously handed the ball to untried bowlers to make sure his batsmen were chasing a target of over 100.

"I did not want it to be a 100-run innings because I wanted my batsmen to have a bigger total to chase. I wanted to see how the batsmen would react to chasing down a big total and what they could offer in a tight match situation," Warne was quoted as saying by the 'South African Press Association' u2014 a news agency here.

"One or two of the bowlers were quite surprised when I withdrew them from the attack but I explained that I wanted to see how some of the new and younger players perform in a match situation," Warne stated. Warne said although he was disappointed with the defeat, he was pleased to get an idea of the younger players' potential during the match.

"Obviously I was disappointed that we lost but this was a great chance to take stock of what the players have to offer," he said.

The Royals have two more warm-up games lined up here ahead of the IPL opening next weekend at Newlands.