My top 101 memories of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar - #13

 

 

March 2003, Centurion – ICC ODI World Cup, India v/s Pakistan

Sachin 98 (75b, 12*4s, 1*6s)

 

Ask any Indian about the proudest legacy of Indian cricket in ODI World Cups, there will be just one answer to it; “We have never lost to Pakistan in the ODI World Cups”. The clash of the neighbors has always been an emotional affair. The excitement, anxiety and the adrenaline rush that these encounters generate among the players & fans is unparalleled. It strokes the ego of every Indian that record books reads a score-line of “5-0” in their favor when it comes to ODI World Cups. All these times, there has been one man whose performance in these encounters has been exemplary; Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has played all 5 of these matches and been the Man of the Match 3 times.

 

The World Cup of 2003 didn’t start too well for India. We narrowly escaped an upset against Netherland and succumbed to an embarrassing defeat to the all-conquering Aussies. Nationwide agitation among the fans brought the ugly side of the Indian cricket out. It was a time for damage control. The team management asked Sachin to address the nation and calm them down; in a country where his popularity is unfathomable, it was expected to have an assuring effect on the aggrieved fans. Sachin’s message to the supporters was “We will give our best”, and they did it in some fashion. India beat Zimbabwe, culled Namibia and rolled over England with some panache. In the last round robin match, India was to face Pakistan. India’s progress to the next round was more or less confirmed but an encounter against Pakistan is oblivious to such petite things.

 

In SuperSport Park, Waqar Younis won the toss and decided to bat first. The “Usual Suspect” Saeed Anwar stood firm to score another century against India and the remaining  batting line-up of Pakistan rallied around him to post a daunting total of 276. With bowlers like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi, Pakistan was in good steads to win the match. But “The God” had different plans. On regular days, Sachin refrained from taking the strike first up, but this was no regular day. Sachin took the guard and from the other end, Wasim charged in. First couple of deliveries were shighters but the third one was not. From round the wicket, Wasim bowled a short of good length ball, shaping away from the right hander. Sachin took his front foot towards the ball, then rocked back on to the back foot and punched the delivery through the covers for an elegant four. ‘The little man’ was on his way. In the next over Shoibh came in hustling and bustling. He cranked up some serious pace but was hopelessly wayward. Sachin had a look in and waited for his chance; it came pretty soon. The fourth ball of the over was a short pitch delivery outside the off-stump; Sachin slashed it over the third-man boundary for a huge six. The controversy prone pacer fired in the next ball; it was fuller and angling in to the batsman. Sachin had anticipated this compensation in length; he shuffled across the stumps and wiped the ball through square-leg for a four. Rawalpindi Express flinched and fired in the next one straighter; the ball hit the broad bat with a ‘MRF’ logo and raced into the mid-on fence. Just 2 overs into the innings, Indian chase was on its way, fans were pumped up and Rawalpindi express stood derailed.

 

Sachin and Sehwag helped India to reach 50 in 5 overs. But then familiar India Pakistan turn-around happened. India lost Sehwag and Dada on consecutive balls to Waqar. Mohammad Kaif walked in and the instructions for him were clear, "Hang in there". But on the other end, Sachin was in no mood to mellow down. He played a lofted drive off Wasim in the very next over and Abdul Razzaq fluffed a difficult chance at mid-off. Razzaq hoped only if the earth would open-up and swallow him down; maybe that would have saved him from an earful from Wasim. Pakistan were made to pay for their mistake soon. Sachin hammered back to back boundaries of Waqar in the very next over and executed a picture perfect back-foot cover drive of Wasim.

 

The Pakistani’s had realized that match was slipping away and were feeling the pressure. Sachin also started manipulating things to make it worse for the fielders; He dabbed one to the on-side and ran for a quick two while calling out loudly for the same. The fielder on the on-side panicked and an over-excited throw went for another 4 over-throws; Sachin pumped up his fist in delight. It was chaos and there was this small man in the center orchestrating it. This brainless piece of cricket by the fielding side took Sachin to his fifty; it came off just 37 balls with 7 hits to the fence and a maximum. He finished that over with another exquisite cover-drive off Waqar; he stood up tall to a good length ball and stroked it through the covers. This was a mesmerizing performance by the little champion.

 

India was sailing smoothly towards the target, but then the heat of Centurion got to Sachin. He started having cramps. Realizing that his body might not hold up for too long, he started scoring swiftly. Abdul Razzaq and Afridi were taken for some free-flowing boundaries. A sweetly timed on-drive off Afridi went crashing into the long-on fence and helped Sachin to complete his 12,000 ODI runs.

 

But the master class was cut short when Shoaib bowled a well-directed bouncer into the body of Sachin; suffering from multiple cramps, Sachin could not sway away from the ball and lobbed it to gully. Sachin scored 98 off 75 balls with 12 boundaries and one six. India required another hundred runs after Sachin’s departure, which Yuvraj and Dravid compiled without much of a fuss. This was India’s fourth win against Pakistan in as many World Cups. Sachin was adjudged the Man of the Match for the hitting extravaganza. Till date, this knock is considered as one of the best innings ever played in the ODIs.

 

 

 

 

Scorecard

 

 

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My top 101 memories of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar - #12

August 2006, Kuala Lumpur– DLF Cup 2^nd ODI, India v/s West Indies

Sachin 141*(148b, 13*4s, 5*6s)

I always prefer watching an even contest between bat and ball rather than witnessing the manslaughter of bowlers. But now days the game has become lop-sided towards the batsmen. Fans who pay for the game want to see heavy runs being piled up and the policy makers have obliged. Flat wickets, shrinking grounds and the ever changing rules of the game have made life tough for the bowlers; as a matter of fact, the bowlers would prefer to be lying inside a coffin in the graveyard rather than bowling on most of the Indian wickets. Maybe this is a part of the evolution of the game but I will always have my soft corner for overcast conditions, slight dampness & grass on the wicket, the bowlers making the ball go crazy and the batsmen playing a dogged inning to score the runs. And any innings played in such testing condition will always be rated highly in my books. Let's look at one such knock which embodied patience, class and courage. 

Sachin suffered multiple injuries between 2004 and 2006. It was frustrating for the fans see the premier batsman being sidelined for such an elongated period of time. Sachin walked back into the team for the DLF Cup at Kuala Lumpur in August 2006. India was facing West Indies on a lively wicket in the 2^nd match of the series. India won the toss and opted to bat first. Sachin and Dravid started the proceedings for India. Over cast conditions, damp pitch with small cracks on it and bowler capable of bowling over 140 kmph on a consistent basis; this was expected to be a tough comeback for Sachin.

In the very first over, a ball from Jerome Taylor kept a little low; Sachin adjusted well and guided the ball through the slips for a four. In the next over, Fidel Edwards bowled a short one; it sailed over the head of Sachin; variable bounce was only going to make things tough. The next ball was just short of good length and pitched on the middle and off-stump; it swung outwards sharply and took the outside edge of Sachin. But the wicket keeper made a mess of it. Sachin retaliated with an inch perfect straight drive, only to be robbed off a certain boundary by the stumps at the other end. The next delivery again swung across the face of Sachin’s bat and beat him all hand down. The contest was exhilarating. It’s often said in cricket that “You never get in on such wickets. One unplayable delivery and you are gone. So score the runs when you can”. Sachin decide to get as many runs as possible of the bad balls and play out the good one. Sachin collected two well struck boundaries off Taylor; one with a flick to mid-wicket and another with a fierce square-cut to point. The confidence in Sachin was growing. Sachin also took two back to back boundaries off Edwards. The first one was a little streaky; took the top edge and flew over the wicket-keeper’s head for a one-bounce four. The next one was intentionally slashed over the slips for a boundary. The game became a little subdued for a after that. The single were not coming easily and the boundary balls were at a premium.

In the 12^th over Ian Bradshaw bowled an overpitched delivery from over the wicket; Sachin played the shot of the day to collect four runs. It was a cover drive all along the green carpet, oozing with class. Sachin was looking good now and the West Indies skipper Brian Lara was just starting to get worried. He handed over the ball to Dwayne Smith and asked him to pitch it on the cracks. A couple of balls reared up and one even took the glove of Sachin but the master hung on. Sachin kept on accumulating runs in a riskless manner but in between he also played some glorious shots; a straight-drive for four, a pull for six and a leg-glance for another boundary. He reached his half century off 67 balls with 7 fours and a six.

Sachin along with Irfan Pathan took Indian score to 200 by 35 overs. Sachin pushed the tempo up and took on Dwayne Bravo for two fours in one over; one was a deft glide through the third-man and the other was a firm lofted punch through the mid-off region for four runs. Sachin completed his 40^th century with a single; it came off 119 balls with 13 boundaries and a six. Sachin’s innings was the fulcrum around which the complete Indian batting rotated. He kept on rotating the strike and others were given the chance to hit out. The wickets kept on falling from the other end but Sachin kept on pushing the Indian score toward the coveted 300 mark. By the end of 47 overs, Indian scorecard read 271; the 300 mark looked improbable. But Sachin finally exploded and finished off the innings with 4 powerful hits for maximum. The first one came off a half-volley on the off-stump and the culprit was Bravo; Sachin craved it over the extra-cover region for a six. An action replay followed three balls later; same bowler, same shot and same result. However, this time the shot was a little straighter. In the penultimate over Sachin took Taylor for another big one as he slogged a full delivery for six over long-on. In the last over Sachin stepped out to Bravo and lofted him over the extra-cover fence for the final six of the inning. Indian score swelled up to 309. Bravo was chosen for special punishment that day and Sachin took him for 40 runs with 4 boundaries and 3 sixes.

It was a supremely calculated innings by Sachin; Started with caution, followed by controlled accumulation of runs and capped off with an exuberant flourish. Sachin batted through the complete quota of 50 overs and ended with unbeaten 141 runs. The inning included 13 boundaries and 5 sixes. Unfortunately, India lost the match by 29 runs under the influence of ridiculous Duckworth Lewis rule. Sachin was awarded the man of the Match.

 

 

 

Scorecard

 

 

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