We played great cricket: Warne

Durban:

Rajasthan Royals failed to qualify for the semifinals after their four-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday, but captain Shane Warne felt his side played "fantastic cricket" and would bow out of the Indian Premier League with their heads held high.

"We played fantastic cricket throughout the tournament. We were one of the best sides of the IPL though we lost the last two matches and failed to make it to semifinals," Warne said after the match.

"Our fans must be disappointed. Munaf Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Singh and other youngsters played well in the tournament and today also we showed a lot of character hanging around till the end," he added.

Asked what went wrong today, Warne admitted his side did not have enough score on board to defend with the top order failing to deliver.

"We did not have the runs to defend, there was too many failures among the top order batsmen. But we hung on and kept Kolkata under pressure in their run chase. We showed lots of character but Kolkata played really well under pressure to win the match," he said.

Kolkata captain was a relieved man that his side ended the tournament on a winning note.

"Lots of our matches was decided on the last over. I am happy that we won today in the last over. We bowled and fielded well today," he said.

"We chased a small total but early wickets put us under pressure and the match came down to the wire. Laxmi (Ratan Shukla) played a great knock under pressure for us.

"Charl Langeveldt did a great job by taking early Rajasthan wickets and restricted them to a low score. Our batting though has not been good throughout the tournament and we were under pressure while chasing," McCullum said.

Man-of-the match Shukla said he was happy to have played a big role in his side's win though it came late in the tournament.

"I am happy to have contributed to the win for my side. It is a bit late though," said Shukla who remained unbeaten on 46-ball 48 to take his side to victory.