OTD| Australia’s spin bowling legend Shane Warne was born in 1969

Shane Warne is one of the greatest wrist-spinners to have played for Australia. The man from Melbourne. When it comes to Test cricket, Shane Warne is the absolute GOAT in Australian history. Warne took 708 wickets in Test cricket in 145 matches at a miserly economy rate of 2.65. He had a bowling strike-rate of 57.4 in the longest format of the game.

Warne was a passionate player who gave the Kangaroos his all. His biggest moment came in an Ashes Test match when he bowled an absolute cracker jacker to Mike Gatting. The bowl spun from leg-stump to off-stump and Mike Gatting had no idea about what to do off that delivery. 

Warne was also very good in ODI cricket. The spin great had shown his worth in coloured clothing as well as he took 293 wickets in 194 matches at an economy rate of 4.25. Warne was a pivotal member of the 1999 cricket World Cup. Warne had the ability to get on top of any opposition no matter what the state of the game. 

The former Australian had a great connection with India and his duels with Sachin Tendulkar are the most cherished and remembered amongst Indian fans. Warne also played three seasons in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Rajasthan Royals (RR). In 2008 barring some very experienced international players, RR was a young side.

The team had to also pay a fine for not spending their full purse in the IPL auction in 2008. The inaugural IPL Champions were at the bottom of the table during that season at one point. 

From there Warne turned the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Dheeraj Patel and Yusuf Pathan into stars to watch out for. The Man from Baroda had a breakthrough season and helped RR to qualify for the final against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Warne used some shrewd tactics as RR won a thrilling final at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.

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