The cricket competition between India and Pakistan is one of the most intense in the world. Both countries have played many memorable matches over the years. India is known for having some of the best batters in cricket history, while Pakistan’s strong point is their fast bowling. Basit Ali, a former Pakistani batter, shared some stories about his time playing and what went on in the team’s locker room. In a video on his YouTube channel, Ali said that the Pakistani players were afraid of India’s star batter, Sachin Tendulkar.
Ali also mentioned that India had many excellent batters, including their former captain, Mohammad Azharuddin. He remembered a motivational speech from Wasim Akram, the Pakistani captain at the time, about how to handle Tendulkar before a match.
“Tendulkar was a top order batter and I was a middle order batter, so we often watched his batting. During our team meetings, our captain at the time, Wasim Akram, would say everywhere, even during practice and meals, ‘dismiss Sachin and we’ll win the match’,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.
“And as soon as Sachin got out, Pakistan would win the match. Even though the great Azharuddin was there, we weren’t scared of him, but we were definitely scared of Sachin Tendulkar,” the 53-year-old added.
Tendulkar tops the ODI run-scoring charts in the rivalry between India and Pakistan, scoring 2526 runs in 67 innings in 69 matches. He also scored 1057 runs against Pakistan in Test cricket, averaging over 42.
Sachin Tendulkar, often called ‘Master Blaster’ because he could powerfully hit through any type of bowling and had great control over all batting skills and shots, amazed and captivated the whole world with his batting from 1989 to 2013.
Born in Maharashtra, Tendulkar started playing Test matches on November 15, 1989, when he was just 16 years old. Later that same year, on December 18, he played his first One Day International (ODI) match.
Sachin holds the record for the most runs in international cricket, scoring 34,357 runs in 664 matches with an average of 48.52. He has hit 100 centuries and 164 half-centuries, more than any other player in international cricket. He is the only player to have scored 100 centuries.
