[Watch] Throwback to when Shane Warne turned the 1996 World Cup semi-final on its head with his match-winning spell

The legendary Shane Warne would have turned 54 years old, if not for his unfortunate death in March 2022. The leg-spinner presented the cricketing world with countless memories through his performances, one of which came during the 1996 World Cup semi-finals when Australia needed it the most.

In the crucial knockout clash in Mohali, Australia were restricted to 207/8 in the first innings after opting to bat first. In reply, West Indies started well, and it was Warne who delivered the first breakthrough. The spinner took a sharp return catch to dismiss Courtney Browne in the seventh over.

The Men in Maroon recovered well and were comfortably placed at 178/4 with six overs to spare. However, Warne struck off the first ball of the 45th over to remove Gibson, with Ian Healy claiming a solid catch behind the stumps.

The spinner then trapped Jimmy Adams in front, who attempted to play the sweep shot. The dismissal in the 47th over reduced the West Indies to 183/6 as Australia slowly made their way back into the contest.

Shane Warne bowled the crucial penultimate over of the innings and trapped Ian Bishop LBW to claim his fourth wicket. He only conceded four runs and Damien Fleming wrapped up the proceedings in the final over to seal the historic five-run victory.

Watch the stunning spell of bowling right here:

Australia made it to their third World Cup final but lost against Arjuna Ranatunga's Sri Lanka in Lahore.

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Shane Warne was adjudged as Player of the Match for his spell in the semi-final

There were a couple of top performers for Australia in the contest, including Stuart Law and Michael Bevan, whose fifties ensured the total crossed the 200-run mark after they were reeling at 15/4 at one point.

However, the Player of the Match award went to Shane Warne as he had the final say in the match. The leg-spinner won the Player of the Match award in the semi-finals and final of the 1999 World Cup as well for his performances against South Africa and Pakistan.

Steve Waugh famously remarked in his autobiography while recalling the iconic win by stating, "How the bloody hell did we win that?"

What are some of the best spells by the legendary spinner across formats? Let us know what you think.