How 26/11 made Team India win Chennai Test; Sachin Tendulkar recollects

Tendulkar remained unbeaten on 103, the 41st century of his illustrious Test career.

New Delhi: In 2008, Team India were struggling in the Chennai Test for the first three and a half days. England had given them a mammoth target of 387.

India came out with a stupendous batting performance, led by Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, and went on to script one of the most memorable wins in Indian cricketing history.

In an exclusive conversation with former Marine Commando Praveen Kumar Teotia as part of the Indian Express' Stories of Strength event held in Mumbai on the ninth anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, Tendulkar recalled how the team drew inspiration from the bravery and valor of the Indian security forces during the terror attacks.

His five hours of defiance, forging an unbroken 163-run stand with Yuvraj Singh, completed the fourth highest successful run chase in Test history and the biggest fourth innings score ever at the Chepauk Stadium.

"When the terror attack took place in Mumbai, I remember we were playing a Test match against England in Cuttack. After the match, we went to the dressing room and saw news channels on television reporting that a gang-war has started in Mumbai. The reporting, initially, was of gang-war. Nobody had any thought that it was a terror attack," Tendulkar said during his conversation with former Marine Commando Praveen Kumar Teotia.

"When we reached our hotel in Bhubaneswar after an hour and a half, the news reporting about the incident changed. News channels were showing Taj Hotel, Trident Hotel, and other things. But they were now not using the word gang-war. We couldn't sleep the whole night. The situation got worse in Mumbai," he added.

"Next day, the ongoing tour got canceled. The England cricket team decided to return back. We also returned back to Mumbai. After 10 days, we had our Test match in Chennai. The England cricket team came back and agreed to play two Test matches. When we reached Chennai, the frame of mind of the entire team was different. No matter how much we tried to focus on cricket, at the back end of our minds, we all were thinking about the terror attack,” said the cricketing legend.

"For the first three and a half days of the Chennai Test, England completely dominated us. But we didn’t give up. We all had in our minds that we will do something for the country, for the people. After three and a half days in the Test match, things started to change and we went on to win the match, that too comprehensively. The whole team was so high on emotions that after the win, for the very first time, groundswomen, instead of groundsmen, came to the field, they celebrated our win, they congratulated us."

"Even in our cricket team, we have people from different castes, religions etc but they all play together for India. When it comes to India, we all are together. This feeling of togetherness can never be removed. And all this was possible because of you guys, our brave Indian soldiers. On behalf of the entire nation and the people of India, I thank you, our Indian armed forces and your bravery. I salute you," he concluded.