5 biggest Indian losses under Sachin Tendulkar

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Arguably, the most revered cricketer of his generation, Sachin Tendulkar was not a player, he was an emotion. He was the collective consciousness of India's pride.

Rising to greatness, the Master Blaster broke records as if they were his for the taking. Whenever he went out to bat, Tendulkar, carried the hopes of an entire nation on his shoulder.

Pressure is a double-edged sword, it can either bog you down, or it can liberate you. Sachin liberated the entire nation, they prayed with him, they batted with him, the believed with him.

Then in 1996, Team India's captaincy was thrust upon the most celebrated batsman in the world. For a player who was well beyond comparisons, Tendulkar's reign as a captain will always be a blot on his record.

He won just four Test matches out of 25 as a skipper and out of 73 ODIs played under his leadership, only 23 were won.

Now let's have a look at the 5 most shocking results under the captaincy of Sachin Tendulkar.


India vs Pakistan, 4th ODI of Sahara Cup at Toronto, Canada (1996)

"Cricket is a pressure game and when it comes to an India-Pakistan match the pressure is doubled" - Imran Khan

Pakistan are mercurial, flaky, unfathomable and India are elegant, imperious and rock stars at home. So, whenever India and Pakistan lock horns, it turns out to be the most volatile game in world cricket.

The BCCI and PCB signed a five-year agreement to participate in the Sahara Cup, a bilateral ODI series between India and Pakistan to be staged from 1996 to 2000 in Canada.

The series was called off in 1999 after India suspended all cricketing ties with Pakistan as the diplomatic relations between the two countries worsened.

Pakistan won the series twice, in 1996 and 1998. Out of a total of 15 ODIs played, Pakistan won 8 and India emerged victorious in 7.

However, India's most painful loss of the series came on 21st September 1996, under Sachin Tendulkar's leadership. It was the 4th ODI of the 5-match series and India came into the match with a 2-1 series lead.

India won the toss and opted to field and riding on Ijaz Ahmed's 90, Pakistan posted 258/8 in 50 overs.

Chasing 259, the Men in Blue lost the plot right from the onset. Wasim Akram got rid of openers Nayan Mongia (0) and Sachin Tendulkar (3) cheaply before Saqlain Mushtaq wreaked havoc and India were 161 all out in 39.2 overs.

India had to pay a heavy price for that batting collapse. They faltered in the 5th ODI as well and lost the opening edition of Sahara Cup to arch-rivals Pakistan 3-2.

India vs West Indies, 3rd ODI at Kingstown, St Vincent (1997)

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This was India's first tour of the Caribbean in eight years. The West Indies team and the weather frustrated the touring side in equal measure.

India had already lost the Test series 1-0 and the only way to salvage some pride was by winning the ODI series. In the 3rd ODI of the four-match series, India won the toss and elected to field first.

West Indies opener Stuart Williams scored 76 before being dismissed by skipper Sachin Tendulkar. Brian Lara (33) and Carl Hooper (48) also chipped in and the hosts managed to score 249/9 in 50 overs.

Although Tendulkar was removed for 9 runs by Courtney Walsh, it started off as an easy chase for the visitors. Sourav Ganguly (79) and Rahul Dravid (74) added 130 for the second wicket and took India within the range of a comfortable win.

Astonishingly, from 201/3 India were all out for 231 in 48.2 overs. It was one of the classic cases of India's infamous batting collapses in the 90s. Consequently, India were beaten 1-3 in the ODI series.

India vs West Indies, 3rd Test at Bridgetown, Barbados (1997)

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This loss was so heartbreaking that in his autobiography 'Playing it My Way', Sachin Tendulkar has written that he wanted to quit cricket altogether after being disgusted with his team’s performance.

March 31, 1997, will go down in history as one of the most embarrassing days of India cricket.

After drawing the opening two Tests, India were heading for a victory in the third.

Tendulkar's men needed 120 to win with 10 wickets in hand. With only VVS Laxman managing a double-digit score, India lost the last 8 wickets for 49 runs and were all out for 81.

It was the lowest total that the West Indies had ever defended and Brian Lara became only the sixth West Indian to win his first Test match as captain.

"Monday 31 March 1997 was a dark day in the history of Indian cricket and definitely the worst of my captaincy career", Tendulkar wrote.

India vs Australia, 3rd Test at Sydney, Australia (2000)

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India's first Test match of the 21st century is bound to be memorable but unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons.

India had already lost the three-match Test series after being beaten in the first two matches and were playing for their dignity in Sydney. Sachin Tendulkar won the toss and opted to bat first.

Hosts' wrecker-in-chief Glenn McGrath and his accomplice Brett Lee dismantled India as the visitors could manage just 150 in the first innings.

Riding on Justin Langer's 223 and Ricky Ponting's 141* the hosts bamboozled India as Australia declared their innings on 552/5.

Opener VVS Laxman scored 167 but for the rest of the team, there was no respite in the second innings as well. India were bundled out for 261 and lost the match by an innings and 141 runs.

It was India's eighth largest defeat in their Test history. Interestingly the last occasion India lost a Test by an innings was against West Indies at Calcutta in 1983-84. Since then India had played 112 Test matches without an innings defeat.

Moreover, it was only the second time in his career that Anil Kumble (33.2-6-126-0) had failed to capture a wicket after conceding over 100 runs.

India vs South Africa, 1st Test at Durban, South Africa (1996)

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The 1996-97 series was Sachin Tendulkar's first overseas Test tour as captain and third overall. The visitors won the toss and opted to bowl in the Boxing Day Test.

South Africa opener Andrew Hudson (80) top-scored in the first innings as the hosts posted for 235 with India's Venkatesh Prasad doing most of the damaged with his impressive five-for.

Allan Donald's five-wicket haul ripped apart India's batting and the visitors bowled out for 100.

In their second innings, the Proteas posted another 259 runs and Prasad was mighty impressive with consecutive five-fors. Tendulkar & Co needed 395 to win but they went down like ninepins. Donald and Shaun Pollock came together to thunder strike India.

The Men in Blue were dismissed for 66 and they lost the match by 328 runs to trail in the three-match Test series by 1-0. India lost the second match too, whereas the last match was drawn. South Africa won the series 2-0.

The memories of Indian batting line-up being blown away twice in this Test are engraved in many Indian fans' memories.

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Edited by Sankalp Srivastava