We were told which pitch to play on - Warne

Shane Warne has said that he and Rajasthan Royals were shocked to be told which pitch to play on and how to prepare it for their home game against Chennai Super Kings. He said Rajasthan were told to play on a pitch on the edge of the square, which shortened one boundary, and it was quicker than the ones Jaipur had produced for Rajasthan's five previous home games. Chennai scored 196, 37 more than the previous-highest score at the ground this season, and won by 63 runs.

"In four years, we've never been told which pitch to play on or how to prepare it," a visibly upset Warne said after the defeat. "We have no idea who instructed it but it wasn't coming from us. Every other team has that opportunity [to prepare and choose their home pitches]; we don't."

The pitch at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium first came under the scanner when Mumbai Indians were restricted to 94 for 8 and Sachin Tendulkar called the surface two-paced after his team's defeat. The IPL's pitch inspector was present at Rajasthan's next home game, against Pune Warriors, which drew an angry reaction from Warne, who was under the impression Mumbai had made an official complaint about the track. Warne accused Mumbai of making excuses, but Mumbai later denied they had made any complaint.

When asked why Rajasthan had been instructed to play on a particular pitch against Chennai, Warne insisted he didn't know and asked the reporters to find out and decide for themselves. Warne, however, made it clear he wasn't making excuses for the loss, saying Chennai were the better team on the day, but emphasised it was strange why, after four years, they suddenly had the right to choose the pitch at their home ground taken away from them.

"I don't want to make too much of a point about the pitch because Chennai outplayed us; both teams had to play on the same pitch and we weren't good enough today. But it is a shame that we are the only home team to not get what we want."

The tracks at Jaipur have generally been slow and offered some turn, and Rajasthan with their spin-heavy attack had notched up four home victories before Monday's game, restricting their opponents to less than 150 in three of those wins. Against Chennai, Warne said he thought 170 would have been about a par score, considering they were playing with "kiddies" boundaries.

"They got 20 runs too many thanks to Dhoni's superb knock. We thought if we kept them down to 170-175 with the kiddies boundary, on a fast track that didn't turn like normal, we would have a chance. We never like playing with such a short boundary. I think' it's ridiculous."

After the pitch inspector had attended the Pune match, Warne had defended the Jaipur pitch and did so again after the Chennai game. "For four years we've played on whichever pitch we've wanted to; the average score here is 154 and every time we've produced an excellent pitch."

Rajasthan will play one more match in Jaipur, on May 11.