Sachin Tendulkar recalls how a mongoose proved to be lucky for team India in 1993

What’s the story?

Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar today recalled how a mongoose proved lucky for his team in their breath-taking last over win in the semi-final of the Hero Cup at the Eden Gardens way back in 1993.

"I don't know how many of you have noticed this but because it was the first day and night match, there was a mongoose which kept coming in the second half of the game," Tendulkar was quoted by PTI.

"We got some wickets when it came. Then there were some runs and again the mongoose came and we got wickets. So I was waiting for the mongoose to keep coming. The match got rather close and I ended up bowling the last over."

In case you didn’t know

The last over from Tendulkar will be remembered forever in Indian cricket history. South Africa needed just 6 runs of the over to clinch the issue and the then captain Mohammad Azharuddin chose the young Mumbaikar to bowl the final six balls.

Tendulkar bowled three dot balls to Allan Donald which was preceded by a runout. In the last ball, South Africa needed 4 runs and Brian McMillan failed to hit a boundary.

India carried forward this momentum into the final too where they beat the West Indies by 102 runs.

The heart of the matter

It was in 1993 that India squared off against South Africa at the historic Eden Gardens in the semi-finals of the C.A.B Jubilee Tournament. India managed only 195 from their 50 overs and it would have been quite an easy target for South Africa.

But they lost wickets at regular intervals which Tendulkar believes was due to a presence of a mongoose who was time and again creeping inside the playground. The mongoose turned out to be lucky for the whole team as Tendulkar defended 6 runs of the final over to give India a 2-run victory.

What’s next?

After the win, India returned to the same venue a few days later to play West Indies in the final. There batting first India piled on 225 runs with Vinod Kambli top scoring with 68. Later when it was India’s turn to bowl Anil Kumble turned out to be the hero as he grabbed figures of 6/12 to demolish the West Indies.