Sachin Tendulkar turns back the clock to key World Cup game against Pakistan at Centurion, SA
Sachin Tendulkar during the 2003 World Cup in Southern Africa. PIC/AFP
The Indian Premier League lends itself to a whole lot of innovation in terms of strokeplay, but the upper cut executed by Sachin Tendulkar 20 years ago still evokes thrilling memories.
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The master blaster played that shot which went for six off Shoaib Akhtar in the 2003 World Cup. Tendulkar recalled that moment the other day: “It was the India-Pakistan game. The momentum was with us and we decided that we should hit when we can. So, I played a shot which wasn’t planned to be honest; it just happened.
“Shoaib wasn’t bowling that quick, sirf 150 hi daal raha tha [only bowling at 150kmph]. I saw the length, I picked the line just outside the right eye-line and played it up and over point,” Tendulkar said at the Celeste x Sachin Tendulkar event by Tanishq.
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The 1983 World Cup win by Kapil Dev & Co was a turning point for a young Tendulkar. “I looked at Kapil Dev lifting the trophy and said to myself, one day even I would like to do the same thing and this is something I should start chasing. That's how my journey began along the way.
“It’s been 12 years to that golden moment. To me, that was the reason my journey started in 1983 [when India lifted their first World Cup] and to have done that full circle, [it is an] incredible experience. The best day was this day 12 years ago,” Tendulkar said.