IND v AUS: Warne Questions Natarajan's No Balls, Social Media Slams Him for Alleging Spot Fixing

T Natarajan has nothing been short of sensational in this series against Australia, be it the T20Is, ODIs or Tests. But in the last Test has bowled a fair share of no balls here. This caught the attention of former leg-spinner Shane Warne, and made a comment about his habit of bowling a no-ball on the first ball of the over.

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Natarajan bowled six no-balls in the first innings and then one of day four. Five of them were first balls of his overs. “Just something interesting that’s caught my eye when Natarajan was bowling, he’s bowled seven no-balls in this match and they’ve all been big ones,” Warne told Fox Cricket.

“And five of them have been off the first ball — and they’re miles over. I found that very odd. We’ve all bowled no-balls, but five of them off the first ball of an over, it’s just interesting.”

Even though Warne did not say it directly, it can be inferred that, he was pointing out towards a possible case of spot-fixing. Twitter did not take the charges lightly and blasted him on social media.

expecting Mark Waugh & Shane Warne to know a lot more about fixers than any of us or the current players .

— SR3 (@sriniramadurai) January 18, 2021

Shane Warne back with his noob commentary? #AUSvIND

— Jay (@bhavsarJ2_0) January 18, 2021

Good: Siraj's bouncer to Steve Smith Bad: Warne saying there is something fishy about Natarajan's no balls. Ridiculously good: Rishabh Pant singing - Spiderman, Spiderman , tuney churaya mere dil ka chain.#GoodBadRidiculous

— Biswarup Ghatak (@BishOnTheRockz) January 18, 2021

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

I am utterly pissed off at @ShaneWarne for insinuating that not everything was right with T.Natarajan's no-balls. Really, Warne? You, the friend of Raj Kundra, you, the cheerleader for the team with sandpaper in their underwear? Give me a break. Shame on you.

— Anand Kumar 😷 (@obelixtwit) January 18, 2021

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Meanwhile, fans and former cricketers are pleasantly surprised at India's tail wagging with No. 7 and 8 scoring half-centuries, Washington Sundar's father is upset at his son for not getting a Test century. Sundar scored 62 off 144 balls and shared a 123-run seventh wicket partnership with Shardul Thakur, who made 67 on the third day of the fourth Test between India and Australia at The Gabba. Sundar was the ninth man to be dismissed.

"I am disappointed he did not get a 100. When Siraj came, he should have hit fours and sixes. He is capable of that. He should have gone for sixes. He could have gone for pulls and big hits. Perhaps, he thought of trying to come close to Australia's total as the lead was very less," father M Sundar told IANS from Chennai.

• Brisbane Test
• India vs Australia 2020
• Mark Waugh
• Shane Warne
• spot-fixing
• T Natarajan