Tendulkar came face to face with Warne several times but the 1998 series in India holds an important place in cricket legends.
New Delhi, Sachin Tendulkar paid tribute to the late Shane Warne, describing him as a “tough competitor” who always had to prepare differently to face the Australian spin legend playing the ‘mind game’. I was very nice and didn’t let my gestures make me feel anything. Warne, one of the game’s all-time greats, died of a heart attack in Thailand on March 4 at the age of 52.
Tendulkar said, “My first proper series against Shane Warne in a true sense was in India in 1998. Everyone had termed that series as Tendulkar vs Shane Warne. And to remind people that this is not Tendulkar vs Shane but India vs Australia.” “Such things will put you under pressure. You can’t take things for granted when you are facing a world class bowler like him.
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Tendulkar said, “So I had to prepare well, not only in the nets but also when you are sitting in the room you have to be one step ahead of him. You have to know what he must be thinking because he was very good at creating pressure and used to play mind games and keep strategizing to get you out.
Tendulkar came face to face with Warne several times but the 1998 series in India holds an important place in cricket legends. Tendulkar said, “You look at his expressions, it didn’t matter. No one knew about his body language whether Warne had taken four wickets, had taken five wickets or had not taken a single wicket. He was a tough competitor and it was evident in every ball he played. “So even if you were facing him in the last overs of the day, you had to be careful,” he said.
Tendulkar said, “There were many good spinners, but Shane was the most different. He was one of the few bowlers against whom you could not hit the ball on the bounce.
Champion. Genius. Legend. Forever – Shane Warne.
Get inside the mind of a genius with:#ShaneMindOfAGenius I Today I 1 PM I Star Sports Network pic.twitter.com/U6kKEIOYgl
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) March 29, 2022
West Indies legend Brian Lara also praised Warne and termed him as Australia’s most capable player. Lara said, “I grew up in a country where spin bowling is dominant. We played spin very well in the lower parts of the Caribbean region like Trinidad, Guyana. And Warne caused a lot of trouble to many other players. I won many battles against him but he never gave up.”
He said, “He always used to bowl such amazing balls which you did not even realize. So I had to be careful while facing Warne throughout my career. He was a great bowler to have carved a niche for himself in a bowling attack that had tremendous pacers.” Tendulkar said, “He had a different approach towards life. He was always positive and warmly welcomed. It’s really difficult to accept that she is no longer with us.” (agency)