When you’ve scored 100 international centuries and over 34000 international runs, picking certain top innings can be a bit tricky. But for Sachin Tendulkar, who owns almost every batting record that there is, there are three knocks in particular he ‘enjoys watching’ the highlights of.
Tendulkar has in the past revealed the knocks that are the closest to him. He revealed how the 114 against Australia at Perth in 1992 gave him the confidence that he belonged at that level, while the unbeaten 103 against England in 2008 was equally special in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks. The innings of 140 against Kenya at the 1999 World Cup, right after the passing of his father is perhaps the most emotional of his career, as is the fighting 136 against Pakistan which later got to be known as the Chennai heartbreak.
However, the famous ‘Desert Storm’ in 1998 – the twin centuries against Australia – and the 98 against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup are the three innings that Tendulkar admits he likes watching the highlights of. In April of 1998, Tendulkar cracked back-to-back centuries against Australia.
He hit a 143 against them in the first of the two games, and while it wasn’t enough for India to win, Tendulkar’s century had ensured his team a place in the final. Two days later in the summit clash, on Tendulkar’s birthday, the batsman hit 134 as India beat Australia to win the Coca Cola Cup in Sharjah.
Five years later, with India facing Pakistan in a high-octane World Cup clash, Tendulkar scored a magnificent 98, considered one of his best innings of all time. Tendulkar has admitted in the past that he had spent sleepless nights ahead of that game, which India won by six wickets to take their World Cup record against Pakistan to 4-0.
“The two games that we played in Sharjah, in 1998. Both against Australia – the semifinal and final. We had to get to a total to qualify for the final, which was also pretty steep. And another one if I had to add, then I would have to say the 2003 World Cup match against Pakistan. Always enjoy watching them,” Tendulkar said during a Q/A session on his YouTube channel.
Tendulkar looked back at his first international assignment for India – the tour of Pakistan in late 1989 – saying how as a youngster, he had quite the appetite, and how his family members reacts after he returned playing.
“I was only 16 years and this first trip in 1989 to Pakistan was in the month of November-December. Certain parts of Pakistan were cold. When the temperature drops, we used to get some warm good. We would tend to eat a lot. In was a growing kid, so I was eating whatever there was on the table,” Tendulkar said. “When I came back home, I could see that my family members were very happy with my performance.”
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...ghlights-of/story-l4u7eCBKaL3geSfzmpWeyO.html