A Magical finish by the wizard of 5 1/2 oz

With his team asked to field first,Warne is the last Rajasthan Royal to walk onto the field,the others having lined up in two neat rows to perform a guard of honour

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One last time8230;

With his team asked to field first,Warne is the last Rajasthan Royal to walk onto the field,the others having lined up in two neat rows to perform a guard of honour.

Having been the primary force behind making one-over spells commonplace in Twenty20 cricket,Warne decides to do things differently by doing them the old way,and lets his opening bowlers Ashok Chavan and Shane Watson bowl unchanged for six overs.

The big moment finally arrives in the ninth over,and Warne wheels in to begin his final four-over spell in the IPL. The fifth ball of the over sees him turn a leg break,pitched on off stump,sharply enough to take Sachin Tendulkar8217;s leading edge.

The next ball turns just as much,but Rohit Sharma treats it disdainfully,reaching out and breaking his wrists on impact to send it screaming to the cover fence 8212; 11 off Warne8217;s first over.

The 11th over sees an intriguing duel of thrust-and-parry between Warne and Tendulkar. Two big leg breaks fetch Sachins two doubles 8212; the first is a flat-batted swipe to long off,the second is a dab behind point. The next ball is the zooter 8212; Tendulkar waits and pats it back.

A single into the covers off the last ball is the final act in a rivalry of nearly two decades,as Amit Singh removes Tendulkar in the next over.

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The leg spinner returns for the 16th over,and concedes only five.

Warne8217;s final over sees him unfurl a rarely seen weapon. The final googly of his career is a wide long-hop,as one would expect from such a reluctant exponent of the wrong-un. James Franklin smacks it to the cover boundary.

Warne8217;s final wicket,however,is a classic. Rohit Sharma springs down the wicket,fails to get to the pitch of a big leg break and heaves so violently that the bat goes flying towards midwicket. Keeper Pinal Shah does the rest see pictures.

A TV crew homes in on Warne and teammate Johan Botha. The Royals skipper sounds almost certain that his side will overhaul Mumbai8217;s 133. 8220;crowd here have always been great cricket lovers.

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They understand the game,8221; he said. 8220;Hopefully we don8217;t get them too quiet when we get the runs.8221;

The openers show that Warne8217;s confidence was justified,and finish the game undefeated,with nearly seven overs to spare. Wearing a grey track top and shorts,Warne gets back on the field for a final round of handshakes.