On December 2, 1995, the greatest leg spinner the world has seen, Shane Warne, spun a web around Pakistan batter Basit Ali in the 3rd and final test at the SCG of the Pakistan tour of Australia, 1995–96. Australia had already won the series, 2-0 before Warne bowled a beauty to Basit to ensure the hosts stayed in the game.
By this point, Pakistan was leading by 149 runs, and Warne had already taken 6 wickets in the match. Out of the three wickets that fell in the second innings, the leggie had already made Ramiz Raja and Ijaz Ahmed his victims. Given his form, skipper Mark Taylor gave the ball to the King of Spin to bowl the final over of Day 3.
After failing to get his man on the first five balls of the over, Warne decided to play some mind games. He invited the then wicketkeeper Ian Healy for a mid-pitch discussion to mess with Basit ahead of the final ball of Day 3 at the SCG.
The tactic worked wonders for Shane Warne and Australia. Coming from around the wicket, the leggie bowled a short ball pitched at least a foot away from the leg stump. Confused by how to play such a ball, Basit tried to kick it. The batter pushed his left leg towards the ball but made the mistake of taking his eyes off the ball. A second later, Basit was shellshocked, while the hosts were elated to see the stumps rattled on the final ball of the day.
Since then, the ball has been included in the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. And although Warne couldn’t stop Pakistan from winning that match, he was adjudged ‘player of the series’ for his 19 wickets in 3 matches.
Shane Warne on the infamous last ball dismissal
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