Legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar is widely regarded as one of the greatest batters to ever play cricket. With many memorable knocks over the course of his career, the Master Blaster recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of his ‘desert storm’ innings against Australia in Sharjah.
He celebrated the anniversary by cutting a cake alongside his fans at an event in Mumbai. Played back on April 22, 1998, the game was part of a triangular series between India, Australia, and New Zealand. After the Aussies had posted 284 runs after 50 overs, Tendulkar came into the run chase and played one of the greatest knocks in history.
After a sandstorm hit Sharjah, India got a revised target of 276 runs to chase in 46 overs. Tendulkar amassed a whopping 143 runs off 131 deliveries. However, the knock went in vain, as Australia won the game by 26 runs. The video of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the knock went viral on Twitter.
Tendulkar’s knock goes down as one of the finest in losing cause in cricketing history
Coming in to bat along with Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly only managed to amass 17 runs to his name before he was sent back to the pavilion by Damien Fleming. Furthermore, Nayan Mongia, Mohammad Azharuddin, VVS Laxman, and others could not amount to much and failed to make as much of an impact to propel India to a victory.
Mongia scored 35 runs, whereas Azhar and Laxman managed to amass 14 and 23 runs respectively to their names. Only Tendulkar’s brilliant knock in the game kept the team’s hopes alive. However, the legendary batter also fell prey to Damien Fleming after he attempted to hook his delivery, which was caught behind by Adam Gilchrist.
The dismissal broke millions of hearts, and despite the knock ultimately being in vain, it is still revered as one of the greatest in white ball-cricket and solidifies the legacy of the Master Blaster.