Sachin Tendulkar was the batsman who redefined batting in one-day internationals. His ability to pace his innings according to conditions, bowling attacks and game situation remained unmatched throughout the 1990s. While the 2000s saw the rise of several great batsmen, Tendulkar continued to hold his own.
Be it the elegance of straight drive, the finesse of his flicks or the brilliance of his shots square of the wicket, Tendulkar was pure joy to watch.
While he played several top notch innings throughout his career, his knock of 98 against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup, during a tough run chase, is considered by many among his best.
One man, who was the receiving end of Tendulkar’s genius with the bat that day is former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis, who in fact was the skipper of the Pakistan team in that match.
Younis could only watch as Tendulkar took apart the famed Pakistani pace bowling attack which comprised him, strike partner Wasim Akram and the express paceman Shoaib Akhtar.
Speaking to cricket fans on the Twitter handle @GloFansOfficial, Younis, who is currently the bowling coach of the Pakistan team, said that the innings is hard to describe because of its sheer brilliance.
“Sachin Tendulkar’s innings against Pakistan in 2003 is hard to be described in words because he played so well and especially because India was under pressure on that day and we were good at bowling. So that innings! Probably even if you would ask Sachin about this he might also say the same thing, that it was probably one of his best innings.
“The way he faced Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim and me under pressure and the way he attacked and got early runs, I think it was amazing innings, one of the best innings I’ve seen,” Younis said while responding to Tendulkar’s super fan Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary.
