'Sachin locked himself in the physio's room' - VVS Laxman recollects memories of the famous Tendulkar-Warne battle

Sachin Tendulkar is probably regarded as one of the greats to brace the sport. In an illustrious career spanning over two decades, the Master Blaster etched several records to his name en route his path to the glory. Along the course of the right-hander’s career, fans were gifted with many on-field battles like Tendulkar-Akhtar, Tendulkar-Lee and Tendulkar-Warne.

All eyes used to be on Tendulkar as the Master Blaster would pull out picture-perfect shots against some of the best bowlers of the sport. Former India batsman VVS Laxman, who shared the dressing room with Tendulkar for a considerable amount of time, reminisced the Tendulkar-Warne battle in the 1998 Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Laxman has recollected memories of the Test which was played between India and Australia and hailed the ‘Tendulkar-Warne’ battle as the best.

After electing to bat first, the Indian side was out for 257 in their first innings in which Tendulkar made a contribution of just four runs before getting caught by Mark Taylor. Laxman has revealed that Tendulkar locked himself up in the physio’s room and only came out after an hour. After Tendulkar came out, Laxman and others could see his eyes red as he was emotional and unhappy due to the manner he was dismissed.

I felt Sachin was very emotional: VVS Laxman

“Sachin was really well prepared for the Test match in Chennai. In the first innings, he was dismissed for four runs. He hit a boundary and then tried to play a big shot over mid-on, hitting against the turn and was caught by Mark Taylor,” Laxman said while speaking on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

“I remember Sachin locked himself in the physio’s room and only came out after almost an hour. When he came out, we could see his eyes were red. I felt he was very emotional because he was unhappy in the manner he was dismissed,” he added.

However, it was in the second innings when India turned the tide and paved their way back to the game. India came back strongly and amassed 418/4 on the scoreboard and Tendulkar played a brilliant unbeaten knock of 155. Tendulkar hammered Warne in the second innings as the leg-spinner was bowling into the rough outside the leg stump.

“Then, in the second innings, the way he blasted and hammered Shane Warne, who was bowling into the rough outside the leg stump,” said Laxman.

“Warne was using the depth of the crease and when he used to pitch it up, Sachin used to hit it through the mid-off, mid-on region. He went on to get a hundred. That battle with Shane Warne is the best I have seen,” added Laxman.