Sachin Tendulkar Moments That Matter
QADIR DESTROYED
.jpg)
THE FIRST RUNS:
.jpg)
A THRILLING FINISH
Perth, 6 December 1991: Tendulkar the batsman was exciting. But Tendulkar the bowler was hard to put down as well. Months after taking 4-34 in an ODI against a power-packed West Indies side, he helped India tie a low-scoring game on a spicy Perth wicket. Tendulkar dismissed the last man Patrick Patterson with a nice outswinger that landed on good length and was caught brilliantly at slip by Mohammad Azharuddin, to level the scores at 126 all. The kid had batting genius, and nerves of steel to match.
.jpg)
COMETH THE HOUR
Sydney, 4 March 1992: India were in the middle of a tough World Cup campaign when they took on arch rivals Pakistan. It was their first meet in a World Cup. Naturally the stakes were high and neither team could afford a defeat. The 18-year-old Tendulkar displayed some more of his magnificent back-foot play, racing to a 50 in 57 balls. He then bowled 10 overs for just 37 runs, setting up a win.
.jpg)
THE MAKESHIFT OPENER
Auckland, 27 February 1994: Navjot Singh Sidhu pulled out with a neck-strain ahead of a game against New Zealand, altering the course of the one-day game forever. Tendulkar was promoted to open the batting. He destroyed the Kiwis, making 82 in 49 balls with 15 fours and 2 sixes. Tendulkar’s naturally aggressive style was forever suited for batting in the field restrictions. Wonder why the Indian team management took so long to exploit his skills.
.jpg)
THE FIRST OF THE 49
Colombo, 9 September 1994: Now that he wasn’t batting low down at No. 5 and 6, it was only a matter of time Tendulkar would make his first hundred. Opening the batting in a Singer Cup game against Sri Lanka, Tendulkar made 110. It was his 78th match. Don’t miss the pickup shot off Craig McDermott.
.jpg)
AUSTRALIA VS ONE MAN
Mumbai, 27 February 1996: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. In the mid-90s, India was Tendulkar and Tendulkar was India. And nothing exemplified this better than his performances in the 1996 World Cup. When Tendulkar did well, India did well. When he failed, India failed. So it was in the game against Australia. India were set 259 to win and began badly.
Glenn McGrath had bowled three maidens on the trot and was difficult to score off. Tendulkar broke the pattern, picking McGrath off his good length, depositing balls over midwicket with ridiculous ease. When McGrath and Damien Fleming tried to correct their line, Tendulkar punished them through the covers. When Shane Warne came on, Tendulkar played a tennis-like forehand shot down the ground that bounced once before flying into the fence. These shots were not in the coaching manual. Tendulkar was teaching a whole generation some cool new tricks to try out in the gullies and parks. When he got out — stumped off a wide — much of India turned off the TV and went to bed.
.jpg)
Kolkata, 13 March 1996: The World Cup semifinal. The Eden Gardens. A pitch turning square. A tense chase. Tendulkar at the crease. Driving. Lofting. Cutting. Sweeping. Making it look all very easy. The World Cup dream was getting closer. Then came the fateful delivery. Sanath Jayasuriya floated a ball into Tendulkar’s pads. The ball dropped. Tendulkar attempted a single. Romesh Kaluwitharna grabbed the ball and whipped off the bails. Many Indians cried themselves to sleep that night. Such was the occasion.
.jpg)
QADIR DESTROYED
Peshawar, 16 December 1989: The first ODI of India’s landmark tour of Pakistan was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to poor light. Instead, a 20-over game was played to engage the crowd. Pakistan batted first, made 157-4. India were slow to get going, and at one stage needed 69 runs off the last five overs. Tendulkar, still the 16-year-old cherub that he was, came out to bat. In 18 balls, he made 53 runs but India fell four runs short.
The most memorable sequence of his innings was his dismantling of the veteran leggie Abdul Qadir: in one over, the teenaged prodigy scored 6, 0, 4, 6, 6 and 6, dancing down the pitch to the cunning spinner and hitting down the ground. On one instance, Qadir held the ball back and beat Tendulkar completely in flight. But the youngster had the presence of mind to adjust his feet the tiniest bit, hold back the shot for a fraction of a moment, and then continue with the loft over long-off anyway. Mind you: the visibility was poor on the day, and this wasn’t one of your small modern-day cricket grounds. Tendulkar wouldn’t have played the game but for Kapil Dev’s stiff neck and there were no plans to play him in the ODIs either. It was tough keeping him out of the squad after this.
.jpg)
THE FIRST RUNS:
Wellington, 6 January, 1990: Tendulkar scored two ducks in his first two ODI innings. But those failures were followed by a quick 36 off 39 against New Zealand. His first scoring stroke was a classy flick to long leg off the bowling of Shane Thomson, bowling seam-ups. The shots that followed – two thumping straight drives, a pull off Richard Hadlee – provided more testimony for his incredible talent. It would be easy to forget this was a 17-year-old kid playing these shots.
.jpg)
HELLO, ALLAN
Kolkata, 10 November 1991: The first episode of a great modern-day rivalry played out as South Africa returned from sporting isolation to play their first ODI. Allan Donald ripped the heart out of the Indian top-order, taking 5-29 on his international debut. But Tendulkar’s counter-attacking 62 steered India towards victory. Tendulkar, by now, was the fulcrum of the Indian batting, scoring consistently, scoring quickly, and dictating the pace of the game.
A THRILLING FINISH
Perth, 6 December 1991: Tendulkar the batsman was exciting. But Tendulkar the bowler was hard to put down as well. Months after taking 4-34 in an ODI against a power-packed West Indies side, he helped India tie a low-scoring game on a spicy Perth wicket. Tendulkar dismissed the last man Patrick Patterson with a nice outswinger that landed on good length and was caught brilliantly at slip by Mohammad Azharuddin, to level the scores at 126 all. The kid had batting genius, and nerves of steel to match.
.jpg)
Sydney, 4 March 1992: India were in the middle of a tough World Cup campaign when they took on arch rivals Pakistan. It was their first meet in a World Cup. Naturally the stakes were high and neither team could afford a defeat. The 18-year-old Tendulkar displayed some more of his magnificent back-foot play, racing to a 50 in 57 balls. He then bowled 10 overs for just 37 runs, setting up a win.
.jpg)
Auckland, 27 February 1994: Navjot Singh Sidhu pulled out with a neck-strain ahead of a game against New Zealand, altering the course of the one-day game forever. Tendulkar was promoted to open the batting. He destroyed the Kiwis, making 82 in 49 balls with 15 fours and 2 sixes. Tendulkar’s naturally aggressive style was forever suited for batting in the field restrictions. Wonder why the Indian team management took so long to exploit his skills.
.jpg)
THE FIRST OF THE 49
Colombo, 9 September 1994: Now that he wasn’t batting low down at No. 5 and 6, it was only a matter of time Tendulkar would make his first hundred. Opening the batting in a Singer Cup game against Sri Lanka, Tendulkar made 110. It was his 78th match. Don’t miss the pickup shot off Craig McDermott.
.jpg)
AUSTRALIA VS ONE MAN
Mumbai, 27 February 1996: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. In the mid-90s, India was Tendulkar and Tendulkar was India. And nothing exemplified this better than his performances in the 1996 World Cup. When Tendulkar did well, India did well. When he failed, India failed. So it was in the game against Australia. India were set 259 to win and began badly.
Glenn McGrath had bowled three maidens on the trot and was difficult to score off. Tendulkar broke the pattern, picking McGrath off his good length, depositing balls over midwicket with ridiculous ease. When McGrath and Damien Fleming tried to correct their line, Tendulkar punished them through the covers. When Shane Warne came on, Tendulkar played a tennis-like forehand shot down the ground that bounced once before flying into the fence. These shots were not in the coaching manual. Tendulkar was teaching a whole generation some cool new tricks to try out in the gullies and parks. When he got out — stumped off a wide — much of India turned off the TV and went to bed.
.jpg)
.jpg)
0 comments:
Post a Comment