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Sachin Warne, a true icon of Australian cricket, passed away in 2022, but his legacy has lived on as one of the best spinners to have ever played cricket.
Sachin Tendulkar was one of the biggest rivals of Shane Warne (Picture credit: AFP)
Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who celebrates his 52nd birthday on Thursday, has explained how he got the better of Australian spin maestro Shane Warne, one of the toughest bowlers ever for any opposition batter, who finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in Test history.
Warne, a true icon of Australian cricket, passed away in 2022, but his legacy has lived on as one of the best spinners to have ever played cricket.
While the Tendulkar vs Warne battle was one to savour, the way that the former handled Warne and was fluent against the master spinner is owed to his great batsmanship.
“There were very few spinners in world cricket against whom hitting the ball on the rise consistently was not a wise option – Warnie was one of them. Hence, my approach against him was to wait for the ball to spin and play as late as possible,” Tendulkar said while speaking to The Telegraph.
“I would also mostly go inside-out and play with the spin,” the batting great added.
When Warne bowled around the wicket, into the rough, Tendulkar says that he adapted the aforementioned approach, taking ‘calculated risks’ and playing more into the leg side, smacking against the spin.
Tendulkar averaged a whopping 107.33 against Warne in Tests. The latter faced Tendulkar in 29 international matches.
In all these 29 matches, the star Indian batter was dismissed by Warne on just four occasions. The rivalry between the famed duo was one of the major reasons why fans were heavily drawn towards India vs Australia games.
With 1001 wickets in international cricket and 708 wickets in Tests with 293 wickets in ODIs, Warne has left behind a massive legacy.
Not just Tendulkar, but several other cricketers have also spoken on how he tackled Warne.
“Sachin had a specific plan in mind, and he told all the players to attack Warne. On the Indian wickets, Warne was the only Aussie bowler who could trouble our batters. So, instead of being defensive against him, Sachin advised the boys to be positive and to ensure that they were not done in by Warne’s reputation,” former India pacer Balwinder Singh Sandhu once told Mid-Day.
