Some bowlers have had more success than others when it came to getting rid of Sachin Tendulkar. It’s no secret that some bowlers, such as James Anderson, Brett Lee, and Glenn McGrath, have had a lot of success against Tendulkar. That isn’t to suggest that the Master Blaster didn’t strike back, but he did have trouble with these guys on several occasions.
Several of Tendulkar’s dismissals have been met with fiery farewells, but there is one in particular that he recalls with resentment from early in his career. Even before he became a genius, bowlers knew that Tendulkar was a valuable scalp.
After striking a match-winning century in Manchester and two more centuries in Sydney and Perth a few years later, the young Indian had established himself as a legend and helped put the country on the map. Announcing his presence with an inning of 114, Tendulkar kept bowlers on edge for the World Cup.
Tendulkar and India played their first World Cup encounter that day, losing to England by 9 runs. Nevertheless, Sachin recalls that day for more than just playing in his first World Cup match.
What did Sachin Tendulkar say?
On February 22, 1992, India and England met at the WACA. Tendulkar, who was batting at 35, was out when India was 119/2 when he nicked a ball while attempting to push it onto the leg side. Alex Stewart took the catch, but Botham was already celebrating the wicket with emphatic hand gestures. Tendulkar kept the Indian innings alive by smashing five lovely boundaries, but once he was out, the chase collapsed and India fell just short of their target of 237.
“I got out to Ian Botham, caught behind,” Tendulkar said during the India Today Conclave.
“I didn’t particularly enjoy that reaction after Botham got me out. It lit a fire,” he added.
At that World Cup, Tendulkar scored 283 runs in 8 games to place him as the second-best scoring Indian player, surpassing even skipper Mohammad Azharuddin. Although India was ousted in the round-robin round itself, he scored three half-centuries (54 against Pakistan, 84 against New Zealand, and 81 against Zimbabwe). Tendulkar’s dominance of the World Cups would continue; he would go on to score 571 runs in 1996 and 673 runs in 2003.
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