Ask his opponents, and they would tell you that Sachin Tendulkar is one of the nicest guys to play cricket with. Recently, former Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq revealed how he once sledged Tendulkar and is still embarrassed about it. Many bowlers over Tendulkar’s 24-year career tried to sledge him with little effect. However, there’s an instance where Tendulkar decided to give it back to bowler through words and runs.
In an interview with cricket.com, Tendulkar spoke about the match he ‘cannot forget.’
“I cannot forget the match against Australia in the ICC Champions Knockout Trophy in Nairobi in 2000 as well. The wicket was once again damp and not a very easy one to bat on,” Tendulkar recalled.
It was the quarter-final of the tournament. The Tendulkar-McGrath rivalry was at its peak. The then world champions Australia had elected to field on the damp surface and to make the full use of it they had an all-pace attack that comprised Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie.
McGrath bowled a brilliant first over, giving away only a run. Tendulkar welcomed McGrath in the next over with a six. India were still 13 runs after four overs with both Tendulkar and his skipper Sourav Ganguly struggling to find a rhythm. It was in the fifth over when the world to go to witness another side of Tendulkar.
Revealing the mind games, Tendulkar added, “There was plenty of life on the surface. The way McGrath bowled the first over, I spoke to Sourav Ganguly and suggested that I go after McGrath. I realised we have to do something out of the box (play mind games). I exchanged a few words with him, which took him by surprise. I also started playing shots against him, though some of them were risky. The plan was to get him angry and make him attack my body instead of looking to get me out. We were beaten on occasions but also were able to make McGrath bowl where we wanted. I made a quick-fire 38 and this came in a winning cause, so I was very happy.”
Tendulkar had hammered McGrath for a straight six and followed it with another four. He continued to charge McGrath throughout the innings. Tendulkar was eventually dismissed by Brett Lee in the 12th over but not before he had smacked the legendary McGrath for three sixes and two fours.
Despite the good start, India were in a precarious position at the halfway mark at 130 for four. An 18-year-old Yuvraj Singh, in his first ODI innings, slammed an iconic 84 to help India to 265.
The bowling department led by Zaheer Khan would later bowl out Australia for 245. India’s happy run in the tournament ended in the final when Chris Cairns slammed an incredible hundred to help New Zealand win their first-ever ICC Trophy. That’s for some other time.
