New Delhi. If the competition is between India and Pakistan, the expectations are sky high. A hope of victory, of adventure, of ups and downs. One such match is expected from today’s India-Pakistan match in the Asia Cup to be played in Kandy, Sri Lanka. A few days ago, Virat Kohli showed the courage of a lion to snatch victory from the jaws of Pakistan in an important match of the T20 World Cup. There are many more such memories. Like the 1989 match, in which Sachin Tendulkar made Pakistani legend spinner Abdul Qadir and his fans cry tears of blood. Today we will talk about the same charismatic batting of Sachin.
Sachin Tendulkar was included in the Indian team for the first time in 1989. Captained by Srikanth, the team toured Pakistan, where Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Abdul Qadir were ready to test the batsmen. There is no doubt that Abdul Qadir was the world’s greatest spinner of that era. Qadir’s pride sank him when he challenged 16-year-old Sachin Tendulkar.
In fact, the ODI match between India and Pakistan in Lahore was called off due to rain. But by the time the decision was taken to cancel the match, the spectators had reached the stadium. The Pakistani board then requested the Indian team to play an exhibition match, which was accepted. After this, the first T20 match (20-20 over ODI match) was played between India and Pakistan.
In this exhibition match, Pakistan scored 157 runs in 20 overs. Salim Malik played a beautiful innings of 75 runs from Pakistan. This can be said to be the best score in 20 overs in that era of cricket. But India gave a jaw-dropping reply. Especially Sachin Tendulkar, who came in to bat when the third wicket fell on 88 in the 16th over. Now India needed 69 runs in 4 overs. Sachin was promoted in the batting order above Mohammad Azharuddin and Sanjay Manjrekar, which he justified.
Sachin first showed his killer batting in Mushtaq Ahmed’s over. He scored 16 runs off 3 consecutive balls from this young leg spinner. Seeing his junior getting hit, Abdul Qadir grabbed the ball and challenged Sachin that what will you hit the kid, show me by hitting him. Qadir was proud of his ability, which was seen breaking on 16 November 1989. Sachin, the spinner who was called a magician by Pakistani cricket lovers for his magical bowling, shed all the ghosts of his arrogance.
Sachin Tendulkar hit 4 sixes and a four in this over of Abdul Qadir. A few days after this match, Abdul Qadir admitted one thing honestly. He said, ‘I saw a great player that day.’ Sachin scored 53 runs in 18 balls in this match. However, despite this valuable innings by Sachin, India lost the match by 4 runs.
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Tags: Asia Cup, India Vs Pakistan, Pakistan, Sachin Tendulkar, Team India
First published: September 02, 2023, 08:58 IST