That battle against Shane Warne!

Australia’s Shane Warne appeals unsuccessfully for a leg before verdict against Mumbai skipper Sachin Tendulkar during a warm-up tie at Brabourne in 1998. Pic/AFP

As the cricketing world continues to mourn the passing of legendary leg-spinner Shane Warne, a unique batch of Mumbai cricketers recalled their special encounter with the Aussie in the build-up to India's 1997-98 home Test series.

Though India outclassed Mark Taylor's visiting Australians, winning the Test series 2-1 in March, it was actually the Mumbai team that put the visitors on the back foot a few weeks earlier. A Sachin Tendulkar-led Mumbai thrashed the Australians by 10 wickets just after lunch on Day Three of the three-day warm-up game at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai in February 1998.

The Mumbai team which beat Australia in a warm-up tie at Brabourne Stadium in February 1998. Pic/mid-day archives

‘Specific plan'

Then Mumbai head coach Balvinder Singh Sandhu recalled how Tendulkar initiated the game plan against the illustrious 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 batsmen. 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. I believe the manner in which Mumbai's first-class players defeated Australia in two-and-half days gave a lot of confidence to the Indian batsmen thereafter," Sandhu told mid-day on Tuesday.

Blitz at Brabourne

Batting first, thanks to Michael Slater's 98 and Ricky Ponting's 53, the Aussies declared their first innings at 305-8. Left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar claimed 3-59, while another left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni and off-spinner Rajesh Sutar picked up two scalps each. Thereafter, everyone knows how Tendulkar smashed Warne across the length and breadth of the park, scoring an unbeaten 204 off 192 balls (25x4, 2x6). However, it was young opener Amit Pagnis (50 off 60 balls, 9x4), then just 20, who was the first to execute Tendulkar's plan. "During our meeting on the eve of the match, Sachin and Sanjay [Manjrekar] told us not to give Warne any unnecessary respect. I dispatched his first ball, a flighted leg-spinner, over covers for four. I think I scored 21 or 22 runs off his first two overs. Their captain Taylor took Warne off the attack after those two overs and brought him back only after I got out. But I must admit that some of his deliveries were unplayable. And when I reached my 50 with a late-cut boundary, Warne looked at me, smile and said, ‘well played'," recalled left-hander Pagnis, 43.
Sutar, the slayer

Sutar, 54, who took three wickets in the game and scored 43-ball 45 (6x4, 1x6) revealed how Tendulkar helped him counter Warne's sledging. "Warne was a very aggressive cricketer and sledged a lot while bowling. I remember when I square cut one of his flippers to the boundary, he immediately adjusted his sleeves and bowled a beamer next ball and looked straight into my eyes. I just tapped the ball away and avoided looking at him. That's something Sachin had told me after the previous delivery, not to look into his eyes," said Sutar.

Warne went wicketless conceding 111 runs off his 16 overs as Mumbai amassed 410-6 declared. The Aussies were then bundled out for just 135 in the second essay as Kulkarni had five for 23 in just 13.5 overs. Mumbai openers Pagnis (8 not out) and Sulakshan Kulkarni (21 not out) completed the formalities of chasing the target of 31 in 5.3 overs.

India benefitted too

"The plan to attack Warne worked well as it not only benefited the Mumbai team but also the Indian team. The message for Team India's senior batsmen was clear that if you attack Warne, you can prevent him from dominating you. It's definitely one of the reasons Team India dominated the Test series," Sandhu remarked.

Warne managed just 10 wickets from the three Tests while Tendulkar piled on 446 runs and got the Man of the Series award.