Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne's on-field battles not only entertain cricket fans but also their fellow cricketers for many years. VVS Laxman, who played alongside Tendulkar for many years, revealed the best battle he witnessed between the Master Blaster and Warne.
Laxman said that the 1998 Test match between India and Australia in Chennai, brought out the best Sachin Tendulkar vs Shane Warne battle.
In the first innings of the Test, Warne got the edge over Tendulkar as he dismissed him for just 4. Laxman revealed how Tendulkar reacted to that as he locked himself in the physio's room.
“Sachin was really well prepared for the Test match in Chennai. In the first innings, he was dismissed for 4 runs. He hit a boundary and then tried to play a big shot over mid-on, hitting against the turn and was caught by Mark Taylor. I remember Sachin locked himself in the physio’s room and only came out after almost an hour. When he came out, we could see his eyes were red. I felt he was very emotional because he was unhappy in the manner he was dismissed," Laxman said on Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected.
However, the Master Blaster showed his class in the second innings as he slammed unbeaten 155 runs in which he hit 14 fours and 4 sixes. The innings remained intact in every cricket fanatic memory because of Tendulkar's domination over Warne.
Laxman said that the Master Blaster was able to read Warne's bowling in second innings and blasted him all over the park.
"Then, in the second innings, the way he blasted and hammered Shane Warne, who was bowling into the rough outside the leg stump. Warne was using the depth of the crease and when he used to pitch it up, Sachin used to hit it through the mid-off, mid-on region. He went on to get a hundred. That battle with Shane Warne is the best I have seen,” he said.
Team India went onto win the match by 179 runs and Tendulkar was adjourned as the Man of Match for his charismatic century.
