What batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar told MiD DAY over the years about his most memorable One-Day moments...
>> Bowling the last over against SA in the 1993 Hero Cup
South Africa needed six runs to win in the last over. There was no plan for me to bowl that over but I said I am very confident of bowling it successfully. I conceded just three and we won.
>> 82 (off 49 balls) against NZ as opener in 1994
I was vice-captain then and our regular opener Navjotu00a0Singh Sidhu woke up with a stiff neck. I requested Azharu00a0(Mohammed Azharuddin) and Ajit Wadekar (cricketu00a0manager) to ‘just give me one opportunity and I am veryu00a0confident of playing some big shots. And if I fail, I’ll neveru00a0ever come to you again’.
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>> Titan Cup win over South Africa in 1996
South Africa were playing terrific cricket right through theu00a0tournament. We adopted a different strategy. As captainu00a0I chose to have five fielders on the on-side. I told Robinu00a0Singh not to bowl seam but cutters into the body andu00a0make them score everything on the on-side. Maybe thatu00a0came as a surprise for them. This was one low-scoringu00a0game that I can never forget.
>> 1997 Sahara Cup win over Pakistan
We were without our top three bowlers for this tournamentu00a0which I led India in. We were without Javagal Srinath,u00a0Venkatesh Prasad and Anil Kumble but we had Abeyu00a0Kuruvilla, Harvinder Singh, Debasish Mohanty andu00a0Nilesh Kulkarni as newcomers. It was a fantastic effort andu00a0we beat Pakistan 4-1. Incredible!
>> 1998 Sandstorm hundred in Sharjah against Australia
Another memorable hundred against Australia in a seriesu00a0which was held after the Test series at home. The revisedu00a0target and sandstorm made it challenging. It felt reallyu00a0good to follow up that hundred with another one in theu00a0final which was played on my 25th birthday.
>> Match-winning 98 vs Pak inu00a02003 World Cup
There was that six off Shoaib but there were other shotsu00a0which I felt good about in that match. I was playing with au00a0finger injury and the finger wouldn’t straighten. I avoidedu00a0fielding practice through the tournament because I wasu00a0experiencing a lot of pain while catching. I gave fieldingu00a0practice though.
>> Tri-series triumph in Australia, 2008
Not only India, but all other sides found Australia toou00a0hard to beat. My hundred in the first final at Sydney wasu00a0satisfying but the second match in Brisbane was tough.
We went to bed at 3 a.m. in Sydney after a day-nightu00a0game. I just could not sleep and woke up at 8 am tou00a0catch a morning flight. I was trying every possible thingu00a0to be fresh for the next day’s match. The next day we won the toss and batted. It was quite humid so the conditionsu00a0were tough. We knew that the first half hour was crucial.
I thought even if I don’t get runs quickly, it’s fine becauseu00a0if we don’t lose early wickets, the big stroke players canu00a0always capitalise on the start and that’s what happened.
>> 175 against Australia in Hyderabad, 2009
I know my body well and I know how much I can push sou00a0I was not surprised to score a 175 at the age of 36. Evenu00a0if I had to complete those 20 runs by running them, Iu00a0was absolutely fine. I was a few runs short of completingu00a017,000 ODI runs before the match but that wasn’t playingu00a0on my mind. However, every now and again it appearedu00a0on the scoreboard. That’s not important to me. Theu00a0important thing was to go out and win.
>> Scoring ODI cricket’s first double hundred (vs SA, 2010)
I was striking the ball well, but I didn’t think of 200.
When hitting the ball, you don’t start thinking of a doubleu00a0century. All I did was continue with the bat swing andu00a0flow.
Even after scoring 100, I didn’t think of it. When Iu00a0got close to 180 or so and there were eight to nine oversu00a0still to go, that’s when I realised I have a chance, and fromu00a0the other end, Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni played someu00a0fabulous shots. I just looked to rotate the strike and hitu00a0boundaries in between.
>> Winning the 2011 World Cup
The moment the winning runs were scored, I jumped. Viru (Sehwag) who was next to me, jumped too. We were sitting in the dressing room and praying. Getting the trophy in our hands, and the popping of champagne (while talking about his most memorable moments of the celebrations). Also, when the team lifted me with the tricolour in my hand. That was the ultimate feeling.
>> 100th international century
This (100th international century) is history. Now, I can move on and not think about it. Ajit’s (brother) was the first call I got. Yes, it was special because he has been physically and mentally with me throughout. It’s like he has played with me all these years.
Like me, my family members are happy and relieved.
I went to my (hotel) room and the first thing I did was light agarbattis to God and thank him for this moment.
Interviews conducted by Clayton Murzellou00a0
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