New Delhi: Eons ago, before the advent of Twenty20 cricket, a 16-year-old bludgeoned one of the greatest spinners of all time for 28 runs in an over in a 20-over game between India and Pakistan. The sequence read 6, 0, 4, 6, 6, 6. Cricket fans hardly remember that epoch-making moment as the game was marked an unofficial one, a mere exhibition match.
Yes, we are talking about Sachin Tendulkar. And the bowler was Abdul Qadir.
Fast forward to 2017, the world witnesses a biopic showcasing the life and times of possibly the greatest batsman, who is hailed as the God of Cricket. The movie dwelled on that one evening in Peshawar in 1989, revisiting the moment and declaring it as the moment when the God was introduced to the mortal world, all flesh and bones.
Not many knew it ever happened, even though the match was telecast live in India, the home of cricket.
Here's what happened.
The first one-dayer after the four-match Test series, which witnessed not a single match yielding a result, was expected to be a blockbuster. But rain played spoilsport, with the match getting abandoned without a ball bowled. For the benefit of the spectators, both the sides agreed to play an unofficial 20-over game.
Pakistan batted first, and thanks to two half-centuries from Mansoor Akhtar (53) and Saleem Malik (75), scored a 157 for 4. Chasing an improbable win, India struggled for runs, and were 88/3 in the 15th over. Then arrived Tendulkar, who had shown glimpses of brilliant in the Test series.
Needing 69 runs in the last five overs, Tendulkar revived the chase by hitting Qadir's protege and future legend Mushtaq Ahmed for couple of sixes.
Then came the penultimate over, which set in motion Tendulkar's greatness. The right-handed batsman hit the first ball for a six over long-on. It was followed by a dot, then the third ball was hit through cover for a four.
A tenacious Tendulkar hit the next ball over the bowler for a straight six. The fifth ball produced the same result, thanks to the fielder at the long-on boundary who had made a mess, with the ball spilling over the rope for a six.
The over ended with a six over long-off for the fourth six in the over. The over produced 28 runs as India inched towards a famous win.
But as it turned out, India lost the match four runs, with Tendulkar unbeaten on 53 off 18 balls.
Here's the video footage of that innings:
According to reports, before the start of that over, Qadir had told Tendulkar, "Bachchon ko kyon mar rahe ho? Hamein bhi maar dikhao" ("Why are you only hitting the kid? Hit me too.")
Tendulkar's biopic "Sachin: A Billion Dreams" was released on Friday to full houses in India. And one unmissable part of the biopic was revisiting the cricketer's introduction to the world, in his own words. The movie dwelled on that scene to carry forward a narrative so true, that fans were left bewitched, with many cheering 'Sachin, Sachin' once again.
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