Warne’s lethal weapon backfires on Australia

While Shane Warne was in Melbourne watching his beloved St Kilda lose their opening match of 2017 Australian Football League season, his latest protégé was ripping apart Australia’s middle order in Dharamsala with the tools he taught him.

Kuldeep Yadav is India’s latest supreme slow bowler, a left-arm wrist-spinner who was inspired by the King of Spin.

"Shane Warne is the reason why I started playing cricket and took up bowling. I used to bowl fast initially, but I switched to spin looking at videos of Shane Warne," Kuldeep told the Board of Control for Cricket in India website after meeting Warne for the first time in Pune last month.

"As a kid, I would get amazed looking at his bowling style and his ways of getting wickets. 

"He has been an idol for me and to be honest, I still have his bowling videos on my phone."

Now Warne will be able to watch highlights of Kuldeep’s heroics on his own phone after the youngster used the Australian’s most potent weapon to snare his maiden Test wicket.

Quick single: Left-arm mystery back to haunt Aussies

There has perhaps been no ball more threatening, more challenging, more effective than Warne’s flipper at the peak of his powers in the mid-1990s.

It was the flipper that bowled West Indies captain Richie Richardson at the MCG in December, 1992 to announce Warne’s arrival on the world stage.

Coincidentally, Richardson was on deck in Dharamsala in his role as ICC match referee to watch Kuldeep use the very delivery that castled him 15 years ago also capture the key wicket of David Warner.

The Australia opener was on a series-high 56 when he played back looking to cut, but as any good flipper does, the ball was flatter, faster and skidded on, producing a false stroke and an edge to captain Ajinkya Rahane at first slip.

"If you see the first wicket, it was not a chinaman, it was a flipper that I learned from Warne only," Kuldeep told reporters after play on Saturday. 

"So it’s fun to learn it for him and then dismiss batsmen from his country itself."

Kuldeep asked Warne specifically about the flipper when they met in Pune and it’s now apparent the debutant has since been using his time to hone his skills. 

"He said it is a difficult delivery to bowl and requires a lot of practice," Kuldeep said in the BCCI interview. 

"I will be practicing it in the nets along with Anil Kumble sir."

Kuldeep didn’t stop with the wicket of Warner.

He bowled No.5 Peter Handscomb through the gate with a loopy leg-break that spin viciously off the day one pitch before outsmarting allrounder Glenn Maxwell with a wrong’un that also hit the woodwork.

His fourth and final wicket was a neat caught and bowled from Pat Cummins, who like Handscomb was deceived in the flight to present a simple return catch.

Kuldeep and Warne didn’t just talk about the famous delivery that has now seemingly put both spinners on the map.

Quick single: Smith scales new heights with latest ton

The pair covered topics from grips, variations and tactics and if Kuldeep can be half as good as Warne then India have a spectacular talent up their sleeves for the next decade or more. 

"I asked him about bowling techniques, planning dismissals and reading the game of a batsman,” Kuldeep said.

"I wanted to know about things he observed as a bowler during his playing days. 

"He spoke to me about my bowling action and the kind of alignment my body should have while bowling from over or around the wicket. 

"Incidentally, we figured both had the same issues while running diagonally around the wicket and how we would lose out on bowling balance. 

"He gave me tips on the same and got talking about my variations.

"It was a very insightful chat."

Test Squads

India (for fourth Test): Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandaran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund, Mohammed Shami.

Australia: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Stephen O'Keefe, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade

Australia's schedule in India

Feb 23-27, First Test, Pune – Australia won by 333 runs.

Mar 4-8, Second Test, Bengaluru – India won by 75 runs.

Mar 16-20, Third Test, Ranchi – match drawn.

Mar 25-29, Fourth Test, Dharamsala