T Natarajan bowled five no-balls in the first ball of every over of his first spell on Day 4 of the Gabba Test. His front foot crossed the popping crease by some margin and it was former Australian spinner Shane Warne who brought it to notice during commentary. The left-arm pacer after picking up three wickets in the first innings went wicketless in his second innings going for 41 of his 14 overs.
Shane Warne was on commentary when Natarajan bowled those ‘big no-balls’ and the Indian pacer was criticised for the same as well by the spin legend. Warne spoke at length about Natarajan’s habit of bowling unintentional no-balls during the first delivery of his spells against the Tim Paine-led side.
“Something that’s caught my eye when Natarajan was bowling. He’s bowled 7 no-balls & they’ve all been big ones. 5 of them have been off the first ball & they’re miles over. We’ve all bowled no-balls, but 5 of them off the 1st ball of an over is interesting,” Warne told during his commentary with Cricket Seven.
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Indian Fans Slam Shane Warne
Meanwhile, the Indian fans were livid with the spin legend’s unwanted criticism against the newcomer. Natarajan bowled six no-balls in the first innings of the hosts and the speed merchant also had one invalid delivery on Day 4 of the ongoing 4th Test at The Gabba. All five of the deliveries had come from the first ball of his overs. They decided to give it back to Warne as he charged the Indian bowler against spot-fixing.
Shane Warne "Something that’s caught my eye when Natarajan was bowling. He’s bowled 7 no-balls & they’ve all been big ones. 5 of them have been off the first ball & they’re miles over. We’ve all bowled no-balls, but 5 of them off the 1st ball of an over is interesting" #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/DdBxp4jW1K
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) January 18, 2021
https://twitter.com/obelixtwit/status/1351006723042119683?s=20
https://twitter.com/BishOnTheRockz/status/1350967613262860296?s=20
So this cheater @ShaneWarne has the audacity of implying that @Natarajan_91 was trying to spot-fix!! I mean Warne huge fan of ur bowling prowess but don't shoot someone on air with no clue of what being sport means. Get ur ethics right! #AUSvsIND #INDvsAUS #INDvAUS
— 🇮🇳pramil🇮🇳 (@DeeepFriedLife) January 18, 2021
India meanwhile, are marching well in their pursuit of 328 runs to win the Gabba Test. Shubman Gill is closing in on his maiden Test ton while Cheteshwar Pujara is holding fort at the other end.
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