Star Sports to Bring Back Sachin Tendulkar's Best with ‘Sachin's Birthday Special'

Mumbai, April 18: Indian cricket over the years has produced legends like Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly. However, the one thing every Indian cricket fan will agree on is that no one brought more excitement or is revered more than the God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar. Despite having retired almost 7 years ago, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is still regarded as the best Indian batsman to ever play the game with 29437 runs in 200 Tests and 21367 runs in 463 ODIs at a staggering strike rate of 86.2.

As the birthday of the legend approaches, Star Sports gives Indian cricket fans the opportunity to relive some of his best innings in a specially curated show, ‘Sachin's Birthday Special' from April 19 to 24. Some of the games that fans of Sachin can look forward to reliving are:

World Cup 2011: India v England

India considered the unanimous favourites to win their first ICC ODI World Cup at home were tested in a manner no one expected by a gritty English side. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, the Indian top order led by Sachin carted the English bowlers at will. Scoring 120 runs in just 115 balls, Sachin with his first ODI century against England on home soil championed the cause as India scored 338. England led by their own opening batsmen, Andrew Strauss took on the fight and went on to score an almost match winning and career best score of 158 from 145 balls. However, deep into the power play despite being punished for a few boundaries, Munaf Patel held his nerve and only allowed a single from the final delivery when England needed just two to win ensuring that both teams shared the spoils of the day.

World Cup 2011: India v South Africa

India's match against South Africa was another exciting head to head battle. Once again India won the toss and decided to bat first. The opening pair of Sehwag and Sachin put 142 runs on the board in just 17 overs before Sehwag was bowled. Sachin was then joined at the crease by another stylish batsman in Gautam Gambhir. Sachin right from the first ball looked in great touch and went on to score another ODI ton at a strike rate of 109. The rest of the Indian squad didn't trouble the scorers much and took the total to 296 in their 50 overs. South Africa not ones to just hand India the match also began the match on a positive note when Hashim Amla decided to take on the Indian bowling. Despite not a single batsman scoring in three figures, it was a combined effort from the middle order that never let the game get away from the Proteas. In the end the South Africans won the game comfortably with a couple of balls to spare.

World Cup 1999, India v Kenya

In 1999, on the eve of the second game against Zimbabwe, Tendulkar was informed of the demise of his father. As Tendulkar made his way home for his father's funeral, India slumped to an embarrassing defeat against cricketing minnows Zimbabwe. With India needing to win their last three games to have any chance of qualifying for the Super Sixes, India's talisman flew back to England to infuse a shot of energy and belief into the team. Kenya won the toss and put India to bat. With the loss of the two early wickets, Sachin was welcomed with the traditional chants of ‘Sachin..Sachin' as he walked in at number 4. It was soon clear that Sachin was in ominous form as he left behind a wreckage of Kenyan bowlers on his way to an unbeaten 140 in just 101 balls. Despite a valiant effort from a few Kenyan batsmen, the Indian team won the match comfortably by 94 runs.

World Cup, 1996, India v West Indies

West Indies won the toss and decided to bat against a strong and balanced Indian bowling attack. Other that opener Richie Richardson's cameo of 47 and a steady 38 from Shivnarine Chanderpaul, no other West Indian batsman contributed much leaving the West Indies to limp their way to a score of 173 in their 50 overs. The Indian innings got off to a shaky start as Ajay Jadeja was bowled by a beauty from Curtley Ambrose. Recognizing the situation and respecting the fearful West Indian bowling lineup, Sachin played a well-balanced knock of 70 before he was run out leaving it to the likes of Azharuddin, Vinod Kambli and Nayan Mongia to bring home the victory with over 60 balls remaining.

World Cup 2003, India v England

In a match between familiar foes, India won the toss and played to their strengths by opting to bat first. In their 50 overs, India scored an impressive 250 runs led by Rahul Dravid who scored 62 and Sachin who provided India with the steady start and scored a half century as well. 23-year old fast bowler Ashish Nehra who literally won the match for India with an outstanding spell of swing bowling to end with match figures of 6 wickets for just 23 runs in his spell of 10 overs.

World Cup 2003, India v Pakistan

Winning the toss, Pakistan elected to bat and ended their innings scoring 273 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. After the resumption of proceedings, the Indian opening duo, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar launched a blitzkrieg against the Pakistani attack as they made 50 runs in 32 balls within the first 25 minutes. After Sehwag's dismissal, the Pakistani bowlers tried everything in their power to dismiss Sachin who was at his sublime best falling agonizingly short of a historic ton. Led by Sachin's 98 runs, India went on to complete yet another victory over a deflated Pakistan side by 6 wickets.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 18, 2020 03:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).