“I was never going to be replica of Warne” - Sivaramakrishnan recalls how he helped Sachin Tendulkar prepare for battle against Aussie legend
The Australian cricket team’s decision to practice against a Ravichandran Ashwin ‘duplicate’ ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy evokes memories of Sachin Tendulkar facing Laxman Sivaramakrishnan ahead of the 1998 India-Australia series.
The Test series in India was widely billed as a battle between Tendulkar and late Aussie spin wizard Shane Warne as both the cricketing icons were at the peak of their powers. A week before the mega-series in March 1998, Tendulkar practiced his hitting skills against Sivaramakrishnan at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai.
As India and Australia prepare for their latest battle, Sivaramakrishnan went down memory lane and recalled his role in Tendulkar’s amazing success against Warne during the 1998 series. The former India leg-spinner told The Times of India:
“Most people think about the exact purpose of those training sessions. I was never going to be replica of Shane Warne. But what worked for me was that I also had big leg-breaks. One can never replicate the other bowler."
Praising Tendulkar, he added that the Indian legend provided him with accurate feedback about Warne’s variations and pace off the pitch, which aided him in preparing the batter for the big challenge. Sivaramakrishnan continued:
“Those were the days when you didn’t have video analysts and exposure to the wide range of videos like you have now. We spoke a lot. He gave me feedback from his experience of facing Warne. Sachin very vividly described the pace off the pitch that Warne could generate.
“Also, he gave me a clear picture of the variation of pace, trajectory and angles Warne used. That’s how observant Sachin was. I just tried to implement that.”
Sivaramakrishnan represented India in nine Tests and 16 ODIs from 1983 to 1987.
“Sachin had bought new shoes with sharp spikes” - Sivaramakrishnan on how Tendulkar ‘created’ rough
One of the standout aspects of Tendulkar’s success against Warne during the 1998 series was the manner in which he dominated the leggie even when the ball was pitched in the rough.
Sivaramakrishnan revealed how the Master Blaster replicated hitting balls spinning from the rough during the training session. He recalled:
“Sachin had bought new shoes with sharp spikes. He scratched the surface very hard and created the rough. The groundsman was not happy with what we were planning. So, we decided we will use just one pitch for the week-long session. By the third or fourth day, the pitch became very tough to bat on."
Preps in full swing 👌 👌
#TeamIndia hit the ground running for the #INDvAUS Test series opener in Nagpur 👍 👍 https://t.co/LwJUGZ5hPp
Warne dismissed Tendulkar for four in the first Test of the 1998 series in Chennai. However, the Indian legend’s labor bore fruit in the second innings as she smashed a masterful 155*, unleashing an array of strokes against Warne.