On This Day In 1992: Aussie Legend Shane Warne Made His Test Debut Against India at SCG

ON THIS DAY IN 1992: When Shane Warne first emerged in the international circuit, anyone could hardly imagine the Australian spinner would wrap up his career with a tally of over 700 Test wickets. Warne made his debut 32 years ago when India toured Australia for a five-match Test series.

After the home side comfortably won the first two games, a 23-year-old Warne was called up for the third Test, which kicked off on January 2 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The leg-spinner bowled 45 overs in his debut Test and managed to pick only one wicket, conceding 105 runs.

Australia batted first and posted 317 runs on the board. The Indian batting unit, which looked quite pale in the first two matches, bounced back in style in the third Test. With opener Ravi Shastri spearheading the attack, India produced a mammoth 483 runs.

The wicket in Sydney assisted the fast bowlers and Shane Warne was struggling with his accuracy. He finally got the breakthrough by trapping Shastri for a catch with a slower delivery. By then, the Indian batter had already completed his double-century, scoring a gritty 206 off 477 balls. The match ultimately ended in a draw.

Despite his underwhelming debut, Warne was picked for the fourth Test but once again failed to make an impact. Delivering 23 overs at the Adelaide Oval, Warne gave away 78 runs but could not take any wickets. Australia won the match by 38 runs to take an unassailable lead in the five-match series.

Due to another poor performance, Warne was dropped for the fifth Test. The early setback did nothing but help Warne recognise the errors in his bowling action. He revamped his run-up and honed his skills before appearing in a completely different version in the Ashes next year.

During his illustrious career, Warne represented Australia in 145 Tests and fetched a total of 708 wickets. He also featured in 194 ODIs and picked 293 wickets. The Australian legend passed away on March 4, 2022, after a heart attack.