A classic World Cup duel between Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne in Bombay in 1996

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, millions of hopes would be pinned on this name for a large part of the 90s. The little master carried the Indian team with his batting efforts in major tournaments. In the 1996 World Cup, he burst onto the scene in terms of scoring runs in global competitions. In that tournament, he played multiple notable knocks and, on this day, he almost guided his team to victory in the group stage match against Australia with his 90 runs in the run chase. 

First Innings

The Kangaroos batted first and exhibited their class against the Indian bowling lineup. Mark Waugh led the Aussies with his mind-blowing century. Opening the innings, Waugh smashed 126 runs off 135 deliveries to outclass the opposition bowlers. Captain Mark Taylor also played a crucial role with his half-century and these two knocks ensured that Australia crossed the 250-run mark. 

In the later phase of the first innings India made a comeback with breakthroughs at regular intervals which denied a final flourish to Australia. However, the target was still a tricky one for the hosts to chase in the second innings against a formidable Australian bowling attack. 

Second Innings

Australia did not take too long to put the chasing side under pressure. The Kangaroos took a couple of quick wickets by dismissing Ajay Jadeja and Vinod Kambli. However, as the custom was, Sachin once again stood strong to rescue his team out of a precarious situation. He built small but important partnerships with skipper Azharuddin and Sanjay Manjrekar. Sachin ended up with 90 runs and dominated the Australian bowlers including Shane Warne pushing the opposition on the back foot. However, Sachin’s dismissal gave Australia a window to make a comeback and the Kangaroos exploited that. 

Sanjay Manjrekar tried to carry the team across the finishing line but the lack of assistance from the other end resulted in India’s narrow loss. Australia bagged the match by 16 runs courtesy of a 5-wicket haul from Damien Fleming. 

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