Every Indian cricket fan who has seen Sachin Tendulkar bat in his prime vividly remembers his twin hundreds in 3 days against Australia in the Coca Cola Cup in Sharjah in 1998. On April 22, 1998, Sachin hit a magnificent hundred to drive India into the final of the tri-series even after the Indian chase was interrupted by a ferocious Desert Storm. In a recent chat-show, Sachin revealed the emotions he went through as the storm hit the stadium and his subsequent feeling at the revised target.
Sachin felt that he felt frustrated at the revised target and all the calculations went for a toss when 4 overs were reduced with just 9 runs deducted from India’s target.
“We went inside the dressing room thinking of the new revised target, what it would be. Eventually (when play resumed) we had 46 overs but if I’m not mistaking only 8-9 runs were deducted from the target so I was quite upset. When we plan a chase we do it according to the full quota of overs and suddenly 4 overs are taken out and only 9-10 runs are deducted That is where your calculations go for a toss,” Sachin recalled on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’.
Mind you, Sachin’s hundred was not enough for India to win the game but it was more than sufficient for the Men in Blue to earn a place in the final against the same opponent 2 days later, by leaving behind New Zealand on account of a higher run-rate.
However, Sachin said that he was ready to hold on to Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist in order to survive the storm as it was a totally new experience for him.
“This was my first ever experience. I had never seen a desert storm like that. When I saw that, the first thought was that I was gonna get blown away by this. Adam Gilchrist was standing right behind me. The storm was so strong that I decided to forget about all social distancing and was ready to hold on to him because if the storm blows me away then at least there will be an 80-90 kilos Adam Gilchrist with me, so I was thinking literally like that, that’s when the umpires decided to leave the field,” Sachin said.
Sachin duly made amends for the previous match by smashing another hundred in the final as India beat Australia to lift the trophy.
