5 times Sachin Tendulkar was denied a century by part-time spinners

#2. By Grant Flower (2003 World Cup)

A smooth inning of 81 by Tendulkar was cut short by Grant Flower

Both Sachin Tendulkar and his team entered the 2003 World Cup played in Africa in poor form. Sachin was put back into his usual opener’s position for the big event and he started it with a half-century in India’s opening game against the Netherlands.

He was also the leading scorer for his team in their decimation by Australia in the team’s second match. After that disappointing loss, India needed to reboot their World Cup campaign and this started with their third game against Zimbabwe at Harare.

The hosts won the toss and put India in to bat. Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag got India off to a good start. Sachin was playing well within himself and avoided risky strokes. There were hardly any lofted shots from his bat.

But thanks to his great ability, he was still able to play a smooth inning. By the time he moved into the 80’s, a hundred seemed very likely. But then, Grant Flower, a very capable batsman, and a useful part-time left-arm spinner bowled a beautiful delivery that pitched around middle stump and hit the top of middle and off to dismiss Tendulkar for 81.

This was a shocking blow for Indian fans and must have been so for Sachin too. Thankfully for him, his team performed well and managed an easy win. A hundred though was missed.