Sanjay Bangar had just about broken into the Test team then and he was part of the playing XI that beat West Indies at Port-of-Spain in a Test. If you discount the win against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in 2001, India had finally broken the jinx of winning a Test outside the sub-continent after a gap of 16 years against a high-ranking side.
Later in the summer, India turned the tables against England at Headingley where Tendulkar's phenomenal effort of 193 helped India win a Test in absolutely seamer-friendly conditions.
Bangar, who laid the platform of the win by blunting a sharp English attack at Leeds, remembers Tendulkar's child-like glee after India won the Test.
"Sachin really treasured an overseas win. Whether it was beating the West Indies in a Test at Port-of-Spain in 2002, where he got a hundred in the first innings to equal Don Bradman's record of 29 hundreds or in Headingley where we defeated England on a typical English wicket. Sachin had scored 193 in that game against a formidable attack and I could sense he really enjoyed those victories.
He wasn't really very expressive after a home win but abroad he used to let his hair down. He really treasured those wins."
Recalling the game against Pakistan at Centurion the former all-rounder said, "I was the 12th man I could feel the intensity as I ran in with the liquids.
The wounds of the Test defeat against Pakistan in Chennai (1999) were still fresh in his mind where he battled a bad back to take India within striking distance of a win, but was dismissed when India were 17 runs away and India lost.
At Centurion, even though he was cramping, he opted not to call for a runner till he couldn't bear the pain any more. Virender Sehwag finally came in. It was the first time Tendulkar had used a runner in 14 years.
He wanted to finish the job himself. He was really happy after the win and literally forced everyone to take a sip of the champagne. It didn't matter if one was a teetotaler."
0 comments:
Post a Comment