Shane Warne and the Indian puzzle - know his stats and records against India

Australian legend Shane Warne is synonymous with leg-spin bowling in world cricket. One of the greatest cricketers to have played the game, Warne tallied over 1000 wickets in international cricket, making him only the second player in the history of the game to achieve the feat. 

In 2000, Shane Warne was named amongst the five Wisden Cricketers of the century alongside Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Jack Hobbs and Sir Viv Richards, making him the only active cricketer to receive the honour at the time. 

In his international career spanning close to 15 years, Warne bamboozled the best of batters with his craft and guile all around the world. However, the Spin King didn’t always have it his own way on the field and especially when squaring off against sub-continental giants India. 

Shane Warne’s record vs India: Know the numbers

Amongst all the nations he competed against, Shane Warne’s bowling average is the least flattering against India across both Tests and ODIs with 47 and 56 wickets in the respective formats against the Indians. Warne’s strike-rate of 91.2 and 64.9 in Tests and ODIs against India is also the worst amongst all the countries that he played against.

Shane Warne’s record in India: The underwhelming stats

As far as his record in India is concerned, the spin legend had relatively underwhelming experiences in Test cricket with 34 wickets coming in nine matches at an average of 43. 

Warne’s best bowling performance in India came in the second Test match at Chennai during Australia’s 2004 tour where he snapped six wickets while conceding 125 runs. Against all teams, he's played 10 or more Tests. India is the only country he has a single fifer across formats. 

In the ODI format, Shane Warne fared slightly better, averaging 31 in India. 

Author: Kaustubh Potdar

Featured photo: Alexander Joe / AFP