'Sachin Tendulkar didn't play a single shot for 10 overs and then started smashing me': Pakistan legend on iconic battle
From Javed Miandad's last-ball six in Sharjah to Virender Sehwag's triple century in Multan, from Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan's unbeaten 151-run partnership in Dubai to Virat Kohli's epic innings of 82 at last year's World Cup, Indo-Pak cricket is filled with many a memorable moment.
Quite frankly, even after all these years there is nothing quite like India vs Pakistan in cricket. Political tensions on both sides of the border may have put a hold on bilateral ties between the two nations and restricted the contests to merely in ICC events. But even now whenever there is an India vs Pakistan cricket match, the world stops. In fact, if anything, the fewer matches have only raised the stakes. India and Pakistan have always shared a fiery rivalry. From Javed Miandad's last-ball six in Sharjah to Virender Sehwag's triple century in Multan, from Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan's unbeaten 151-run partnership in Dubai to Virat Kohli's epic innings of 82 at last year's World Cup, Indo-Pak cricket is filled with many a memorable moment.
Having said that, the rivalry these two teams shared in the 1990s and early 2000s will always remain unmatched. Those battles in Sharjah, the World Cup in 1996, 1999 and 2003, the individual face-offs… India vs Pakistan had it all. One of the most defining periods of rivalry was in 1999, when Pakistan toured India amid the Kargil war, and the two teams put on a classic. Sachin Tendulkar's heartbreak, Anil Kumble dismissing all 10 Pakistan batters in one innings, the series had 'Masterpiece' written all over it. The first Test in Chennai itself had set the tone with Tendulkar and Saqlain Mushtaq stealing the show.
Tendulkar's knock of 136 in vain will go down in history as one of the most painful innings for an Indian cricket fan, but for Pakistan, it remains arguably their greatest Test match of all time. Pakistan's architect of that win, Saqlain recalled the famous Test in Chennai, explaining how he tricked Tendulkar into playing the shot that led to his downfall. Now, in the past Saqlain has described this incident countless times, but the description and some never-before heard details on this one promises to blow your minds away.
"India vs Pakistan Chennai Test. There is no better Test in Pakistan's cricket history – it was rated the No. 1 Test. In the first innings, I dismissed Sachin in the first or second delivery. Next innings when he came to bat, which was at a very crucial point in the match, Sachin did not play a single shot for the first 10 overs. He observed all my tricks which I threw at him. I tried off-spin, doosra, top-spin, arm-ball, bowled quicker off-breaks, flighted deliveries... he just played me cautiously for 10-12 overs. After that, he started smashing me," Saqlain said on The Nadir Ali podcast.
"Then came a time when I went to Wasim Akram. I told him 'Wasim bhai... I think he is reading me well so please take me off and bring someone else. Akram told me 'Brother, no matter what, you will bowl from this end. I don't trust anyone else. If this match turns, it will because of you'. I would give a lot of credit to Wasim Akram. This is the communication he and I had during that match."
Chasing 271 to win, India found themselves in no-man's land after Saqlain and Waqar Younis had shredded the top order to leave the host reeling at 82/5. But when all hopes seemed lost, in came Tendulkar and put on a braveheart effort. Battling a bad back, Tendulkar fought his way to a century, scoring 136 with 18 boundaries. He had single-handedly brought India close and put them on the brink of victory before a rare lapse in concentration put paid to his heroics. Of course we know that Saqlain foxed Tendulkar with the doosra, but the decision to bowl it required a lot of guts and intense planning.
"For the next 10-12 overs, I did not bowl a single variation to him. I kept him hooked to just one ball which is off-spin and set one field so that he forgets all that he saw and observed in the first 10 overs. I didn't show him the doosra - neither at the striker end or the non-striker end. And when he forgot, I went to Akram and said 'I think now I have caught a hold of him. I will now take a chance against him'. Then I bowled a doosra and he went after him. Sachin had scored a 100 by then and had hit him for almost 16-17 fours. India needed 37 (17) to win with 5 wickets to left, and Sachin top edged it and Wasim took the catch," described Saqlain.
