Fourteen years ago, during the India vs Pakistan match, at the Eden Garden, Kolkata, fans witnessed an epic clash. Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar and Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar were in front of each other in the third Test of the series. Pakistan had, earlier, defeated India in the first Test despite Tendulkar’s brilliance. India came back strongly, thanks to Anil Kumble’s historic 10-wicket haul in the second Test. With that, the series was leveled at 1-1.
The third Test was played at Kolkata where India’s Javagal Srinath grabbed 13 wickets but the Test match is still remembered for Akhtar. The speedster playing his first match against India had dismissed great batters like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar on successive balls on Day 2 of the Test match.
Sachin is the nicest guy on the planet: Shoaib Akhtar
Recalling the incident, Akhtar said that the in-swinging yorker he bowled to send Tendulkar’s middle-stump flying, was his ‘claim to fame’.
“My claim to fame came when I bowled Sachin Tendulkar off the first ball,” Akhtar recalled when asked about his most prized wicket in ‘The Vaughny and Tuffers Cricket Club podcast.’
Akhtar further said that before the Test match, he intended to meet “the God of cricket” and tell him that he would want to get him out.
“I went up to many Indian cricketers and said ‘I want to see the God of cricket.’ They said ‘don’t you know him?’ I said ‘No, I want to see him because I want to bowl him out off the first ball.’ So, Sachin, the nicest guy on the planet, the greatest batsman… I went up to him, looked at him, checked him out and said ‘Brother, you have no chance against me’. So, I bowled him first ball,” Akhtar added.
