5 iconic matches played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium

#4 When the \'master\' became the \'blaster\' - India vs Zimbabwe, Coca Cola Cup Final, 1998

Never, under any circumstances, make Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar angry. For he will respond, not by words, but with the broad blade that transforms into a weapon of mass destruction more often than not. The Master never forgets, and Zimbabwe were made to feel the brunt of his retribution for inflicting a humiliating defeat on the Men in Blue two nights previously.

The African side made first use of the wicket, but against a disciplined Indian bowling attack admirably led by old warhorse Javagal Srinath, they couldn’t muster enough runs to even remotely pose a threat to the opposition. Leg-spinner Paul Strang top scored with 46, and a late cameo from veteran bowler Eddo Brandes took the total to 196, which looked to be almost at par, at one stage.

Then Tendulkar walked in with Sourav Ganguly, and all hell broke loose.

Henry Olonga, the hero of the game two nights ago, had committed the cardinal sin of removing the dashing Indian opener with a short ball at good pace. It was an ignominious dismissal by his standards, so once the dreadlocked pacer came on to bowl, Sachin just let go of all caution and proceeded to savagely batter his opponent, hitting fours and sixes at will. 50 runs came off Olonga’s six over spell, and that was the last that the Indian public saw of him that night; he played no further part with the ball.

Captain Alistair Campbell’s decision to not give enough overs to the accurate Heath Streak backfired big time, as Sachin’s uninhibited strokeplay fetched him 124 runs off just 92 deliveries. Ganguly’s fine innings of 63 became a mere footnote, as India romped to victory with all 10 wickets in hand and more than 20 overs still left to play.