The ‘ageless’ wonder

It's amazing how some sportspersons can go on and on and on defying all odds, including, putting their ageing bodies to full use to entertain the crowd to the fullest.

The case in point is none other than former Aussie spin legend Shane Warne, who mesmerized the Kings Eleven batsmen with flight and turn, when all seemed lost to Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL).

It has been more than two years since Warne bade goodbye to international cricket, but his enthusiasm towards the game has not diminished one bit. In fact he looked like he was enjoying the duel role of captain-cum-coach thoroughly.

It is an open secret that Twenty20 is predominantly a batsmen dominated game and a sheer heartburn for the bowlers, but the way Warne turned the match around with his finger tips looked as if the veteran leg spinner would fit into this format perfectly.

Probably the so-called young guns on international scene like Kumara Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh and Warne's countryman James Hopes (for being an Australian) had no clue while facing him. In fact they should feel happy the great leg spinner is not playing international cricket anymore as he would have tormented them no ends if not ending their international careers prematurely.

He literally made the dashing Indian middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh dance to his tunes. The Mohali skipper should consider himself lucky to score a half century after being deceived by an orthodox leg spin but Darren Lehmann (the fielder) could not judge the catch in the deep and floored it when Yuvi was on 16.

However, the Aussie legend had the last laugh when he trapped Yuvraj Singh leg before the wicket with a flipper, which shot through like a venom spitting cobra.

But the most satisfying wickets of them all must have been that of Sangakkara, who was caught and bowled by the great man after being hammered for a six. He beat the Sri Lankan, who is quite a good player of spin bowling, with the flight and turn and Sangakkara, who had committed himself on the front foot had to go through with his shot but found the ball going right back to a smiling leggie.

Hopes, who was Warne's first victim, had no clue whatsoever and was made to hop around the crease before the legendary leg spinner ended his agony and discomfort with a googly, which came back enough to trap the youngster plumb in front of the wicket.

Despite the presence of the highest Test wicket-taker in the world (Muthiah Muralitharan) in the inaugural tournament, Warne will remain a mystery to the batsmen. Perhaps the added pressure of leading Jaipur, apart from being their main strike bowler, has only made him more determined to prove that he is still the best and can carry off the duel role of a captain-cum-coach effortlessly.

The joy and happiness he shared with his teammates, after winning the match quite convincingly, was there for all to see and perhaps youngsters like S Sreesanth, can learn a lot (performance wise) by just watching this legend in action.

Even when Lehmann dropped Yuvi, the great leg spinner did not lose his cool and just went ahead and plotted his victim's downfall. And unlike Sreesanth, the respect he gave the opposition batsmen, only proves the showman's other (nicer) side.

Perhaps, the happiest person on the field must have been the commissioner and chairman of IPL and the unofficial boss of the Jaipur team Lalit Modi, who was jumping up and down like a five-year-old kid.

And he had a big reason to be happy.

For just 450,000 US Dollars, Modi, has bought a three-in-one cricket-playing robot called SHANE WARNE, who can not only captain and coach his squad and also win matches for his side.

Good choice my friend!