Warne was fierce competitor, good at mind games: Sachin

NEW DELHI: Calling Shane Warne a “fierce competitor” against whom he always had to prepare differently, Sachin Tendulkar says the Australian spin legend was good at playing mind games and gave nothing away with his body language.

One of the all-time greats of the game, Warne died at the age of 52 due to a suspected heart attack in Thailand on March 4.

A state memorial service has been scheduled at the MCG on Wednesday. “My first proper series against Shane Warne was in 1998 in India and everyone tagged that series as Tendulkar versus Shane Warne clash. That kind of following is going to put you under pressure,” said Tendulkar.

“When you are playing a world class bowler like him, you just can’t turn up and hope that things are going to be okay.

“So I had to prepare properly, not just out being there at the nets but when you’re sitting in the room, you have to be a step ahead of him, what he would be thinking because he was extremely good in putting pressure and playing mind games and trying to plan your dismissal.”

Tendulkar had many fierce battles with Warne and the 1998 series in India will remain a part of cricketing folklore.

“It didn’t matter, you looked at his body language. One didn’t know whether Warne had picked up four wickets, five wickets or he was bowling wicketless. Every delivery that he bowled, he was a fierce competitor.”

“So even if you’re facing the second last over of the day, one had to keep their eyes open, because he was always up to something and trying to figure out how could he dismissed.”

Remembering his last meeting with Warne in 2021, Tendulkar said: “After the last IPL, I went to spend some time in London where we got in touch. There was never a dull moment. He was full of entertainment, full of jokes and you know those battles those mini competitions.”

He never gave up: Lara West Indies batting great Brian Lara also hailed Warne as the “most potent player”, who sealed his place “in the upper echelons of world cricket” with his performances in the Ashes series, which included the ball of the century that he bowled to England’s Mike Gatting in 1993.

“I grew up in a country where spin bowling dominated. The lower part of the Caribbean, Trinidad, Guyana, we played spin very well. And Warne posed a lot of trouble for a lot of other players. I found myself winning a lot of those battles, but he never gave up,” he said.

“He always produced that miracle delivery the one that you didn’t know was coming.”