Shane Warne‘s 3-19 against Kings XI Punjab during Rajasthan Royals’ victorious run in the inaugural edition of the IPL is ranked fourth among Wisden’s T20 spells of the 2000s, as picked by CricViz analyst Freddie Wilde.

Shane Warne 3-19

Rajasthan Royals v Kings XI Punjab, IPL 2008
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
April 21, 2008

This was only Shane Warne’s fourth T20 match and his second since 2005. After losing their opening match of the season Warne’s spell-binding bowling display was integral to Rajasthan registering their first win of their campaign that would ultimately end with Warne lifting the trophy for the team who had spent less money than all others at the inaugural auction.

Rajasthan’s triumph in that first season was proof that there was more to T20 than simply splashing the cash and that the format was ripe for detailed tactics and strategy. Similar lessons were on display in Warne’s mesmerizing performance in Jaipur. First he snared Kumar Sangakkara, one of the finest players of spin in the modern game with a clever piece of bowling, tossing the ball up slower from wide on the crease. Sangakkara miscued a heave straight back to Warne. In his next over Warne trapped James Hopes with a slider.

An explosive Yuvraj Singh fifty threatened to take the game away from the Royals but Warne put a stop to the fireworks with his penultimate delivery, finding a way through Yuvraj’s sweep and pinning him lbw with a big turner.

Rajasthan only lost one of their remaining 13 matches on their way to the title and won all their matches at home. Warne’s bowling and captaincy was at the heart of their run.

Freddie Wilde is the author of Cricket 2.0: Inside the T20 Revolution, the Wisden Book of the Year 2020