There Was A Lot Of Report Of Sachin Tendulkar Doing Extra Work To Face Shane Warne - Mark Taylor On Australia Tour Of India In 1998

Former Australian skipper Mark Taylor shared an anecdote from his playing days along with legendary spin bowler Shane Warne during Australia’s tour of India in 1998. On March 4, Warne passed away at the age of 52 and shocked the entire cricket fraternity, the autopsy report revealed his death was caused by natural reasons.

Warne was considered one of the greatest spin bowlers of all time, someone who would deceive the opposition batters with his magical deliveries. Warne’s guile with the ball was as such that he served four Australian skippers during his storied career and was a go-to bowler for any captain.

Shane Warne vs India in Tests

However, Warne didn’t have enough success against the Indians as he could pick only 43 of his 708 Test scalps against the Asian side in 14 Test matches. The Australian spin wizard had his battles with Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar during the India-Australia rivalry.

Sachin Tendulkar smashed Shane Warne all around the park: Mark Taylor on the 1998 Chennai Test

Warne’s memorial service was conducted on Wednesday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and was attended by many former Australian cricketers including Glenn McGrath and Michael Clarke. Taylor, who also attended the event, recalled how he would pit Warne against Tendulkar in the subcontinent conditions.

“There was a lot of report of Sachin doing extra work to face Shane Warne. So I told Warne that as soon as Sachin walks out to bat, I’m putting you up straight away because he is obviously thinking about you. The first match we played was against Mumbai, and Sachin was playing for Mumbai which surprised us,” Taylor said during Warne’s memorial service on Wednesday. 

“I brought Warnie on. Sachin made around 180 and he smashed Warne all around the park. But to be fair, I don’t think Warnie was giving his absolute best. Then we got to the first Test in Chennai. We got India 2 for 60-something and Sachin came out. I told Warnie you are on next over.

“First ball, Sachin gets down the track, hits Warnie over his head for a four. Two balls later, Warnie tossed it up, bit higher, Sachin went down the deck to hit over cover, edged it, straightaway to me at first slip. And eh was out on 4. We thought we have got his number,” he added. 

Warne picked 1001 international wickets- 708 in Tests and 293 in ODIs- from 339 international matches in 15 years of his international career.

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