The Australian cricket team’s decision to practice against a ‘duplicate’ of Ravichandran Ashwin 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 heralded as a battle between Tendulkar and the late Australian magician Shane Warne, as both cricketing icons were at the peak of their powers. A week before the mega series in March 1998, Tendulkar practiced his batting skills against Sivaramakrishnan at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai.
As India and Australia prepare for their final battle, Sivaramakrishnan looked back on memories and recalled his role in Tendulkar’s stunning success against Warne during the 1998 series. The former India player told The Times of India:
“Most people think about the exact purpose of those training sessions. I was never going to be a Shane Warne replica. But what worked for me was that he also had major leg fractures. You can never replicate the other bowler.”
Praising Tendulkar, he added that the Indian legend provided him with accurate feedback on Warne’s variations and off-field pace, helping him prepare the batsman for the big challenge. Sivaramakrishnan continued:
“Those were the days when you didn’t have video analysts and exposure to the wide range of video like you have now. We talk a lot. He gave me feedback on his experience facing Warne. Sachin very vividly described the off-field pace that Warne could generate.
“Plus, it gave me a clear picture of the variation in pace, trajectory and angles that 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 toes” – Sivaramakrishnan on how Tendulkar ‘created’ rough shoes
One of the highlights of Tendulkar’s success against Warne during the 1998 series was the way he dominated his legs even when the ball was thrown rough.
Sivaramakrishnan revealed how the Master Blaster responded by hitting spinning balls out of the rough during the training session. He remembered:
“Sachin had bought new shoes with sharp toes. He scratched the surface very hard and created the roughness. The gardener was not happy with what we were planning. So, we decided that we will use only one field for the one week session. By the third or fourth day, the pitch became very difficult to hit.”
Warne dismissed Tendulkar for four in the first Test of the 1998 series at Chennai. However, the Indian legend’s work paid off in the second inning when he crushed a masterful 155*, unleashing a flurry of shots against Warne.