5 instances when bowlers faced the wrath of Sachin Tendulkar

India’s Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar has played plenty of memorable knocks in his illustrious career. Among these, there were a few in which he went out with a purpose to prove a point to the opposition and to the entire cricketing world – that he is the one of the best to have ever played the game.Here we highlight 5 such instances from Sachin’s career, when he unleashed his wrath upon the bowlers.

#5 2nd Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1999, Melbourne

Sachin waged a lone war against the Aussies

1999 was an extremely tough year for Sachin Tendulkar for a lot of reasons, from losing his father to being burdened with captaincy for an extremely difficult tour to Australia. With all the odds stacked up against him and his team performing below the required standards, Sachin decided to take the war to the opposition all by himself.

In the 2^nd Test of India’s 1999 tour Down Under at Melbourne, Tendulkar single-handedly fought the great Australian bowling attack featuring McGrath, Warne and Lee and scored an incredible 116 in a team total of 238. Although India lost the Test badly, many stood up and saluted the master for his valiant knock.

#4 2003 World Cup Group Game vs Pakistan, Centurion

Tendulkar upper cuts Shoaib for six

Sachin Tendulkar had quite a history with Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar ever since the latter burst on to the world cricketing scene. One of Akhtar’s famous victims in his early days was Sachin, whom he got out clean bowled off the first ball that the great man faced in the infamous Eden Test in 1999. He was also reponsible for getting Tendulkar run out in the 2^nd innings.

The two had not come face-to-face after that due to strained relationships between their respective countries until the much-hyped encounter between India and Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup. There was a real buzz in the crowd as the Indian openers, Sehwag and Tendulkar, made it to the middle to begin a 274-run chase. It was Tendulkar vs Shoaib all over again and the Master Blaster was up for the challenge. Akhtar’s first delivery, a short one, was sent rocketing over the thrid-man boundary as the entire cricketing world came to a standstill.

What followed was arguably the best knock that Sachin Tendulkar has ever played and you could sense the almost childish anxiety with which the master went about his job. Even though he fell to Akhtar just 2 short of a famous hundred, it was quite evident that the score had been settled with Tendulkar winning hands down.

#3 2nd Test of the India-South Africa Test Series 1997, Cape Town

Tendulkar looks to the heavens during his memorable 169

In an otherwise forgettable series for India, Sachin Tendulkar’s 169 and his breathtaking 222-run stand with Mohd. Azharuddin in the 2^nd Test at Cape Town were easily the most memorable moments. Sachin had found it quite difficult to negotiate the likes of Pollock and Donald in the first Test played in Durban as he fell for low scores of 15 and 4 in the two innings respectively.

Come the Cape Town Test and all eyes were on Tendulkar to overcome his troubles from the first Test. The situation did not help either as India were in mess at 25 for 3 when he came in to bat and further worsened to 58 for 5 with only Azhar being the last recognised batsman apart from him. Both batsmen decided to fight fire with fire and took the attack to the South African pace battery.

While the Hyderabadi was at his aggressive best, Tendulkar seemed to have a point to prove to a certain Allan Donald and wasted no time in getting after him while the ball kept disappearing to all parts of the ground. Sachin’s swashbuckling 169 is rated as one of the best knocks he has ever played.

#2 Coca-Cola Champions Trophy Final, 1998, Sharjah

Tendulkar crashes one during his fierce knock

Anger is something that you don’t generally associate with arguably the greatest Indian batsman, Sachin Tendulkar. But there was at least one occasion in his long career where you could make out that the ‘Little Big Man’ of world cricket was truly angry.

The Coca-Cola Champions Trophy 1998 was a triangular series featuring India, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh played in Sharjah. With Bangladesh out of the equation, the last league match between India and Zimbabwe did not hold much significance. However, it was brought to life by rookie Zimbabwe pacer Henry Olonga, who demolished the Indian top order by getting rid of Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar in his very first spell. Tendulkar’s dismissal was particularly remarkable as he was caught while trying to fend off a bouncer.

In the final, everyone was expecting a repeat performance from the Zimbabwean tearaway but the iconic Indian batsman had other ideas. Despite India needing just 197 for victory, Sachin went after Olonga as if they were chasing more than 300 and battered the hapless bowler to all parts of the ground.

The intensity in his shots suggested that he was desperately seeking to make amends for a meek dismissal in the previous innings. At the end of it all, India were victorious by 10 wickets and Sachin was unbeaten on 124 while Henry Olonga went for 50 from his 6 overs.

#1 1st Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1998, Chennai

Sachin whacks one through the leg side during his epic 155 not out against Australia

This knock was probably one of the greatest instances of the legendary Mumbaikar unleashing himself upon the opposition. It was the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1998 at the Chepauk. In the first innings, legendary Aussie leg-spinner Shane Warne had managed to get the better of Tendulkar by inducing an outside ege off his bat which carried to Mark Taylor in the slips.

When Tendulkar walked in to bat during the 2^nd innings with India at 115 for 2, there was still a lot left to do in terms of building a big lead for the home side. A sense of purpose was clearly visible in the champion batsman’s approach as he started his innings and it only got better for him as he progressed further. It was just a matter of time before Sachin began to decimate the Australian attack with his wide array of shots.

Although the Master Blaster did not spare any of the bowlers, he was particularly severe on the man who got him in the previous innings, Shane Warne. He hammered the leggie to all parts of the ground with utter disdain. By the time he ended thanks to a declaration, Tendulkar had 155 not out against his name at a strike rate of above 80 while India took a lead of 347.