One of the greatest rivalries in sports is that between India and Pakistan in cricket, since the two countries have participated in a number of memorable matches throughout the years. Although India has produced some of the best hitters in the history of the game, Pakistan’s greatest asset has been their skill with the ball, particularly when it comes to pace. Former Pakistani batter Basit Ali shared some fascinating insights about the dynamics of their dressing room by recalling specifics of his playing career. Speaking in a video posted to his YouTube page, Ali acknowledged that the Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar was a threat to the Pakistani players.
Although he insisted that India had many excellent batsmen on their roster, including former captain Mohammad Azharuddin, Ali recalled Wasim Akram giving the squad a pep talk about Tendulkar prior to the game.
“He (Tendulkar) was a top order batter and I was a middle order batter, so we used to see his batting. In our team meetings, our captain at that time Wasim Akram used to say everywhere, even during practice, even during meals, ‘dismiss Sachin and we’ll win the match’,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.
“And soon as Sachin used to get out, Pakistan used to win the match. Even though the great Azharuddin was there, but we were not scared of Azharuddin, but definitely scared of Sachin Tendulkar,” the 53-year-old added.
With 2526 runs in 67 innings across 69 matches, Tendulkar leads the ODI run-scoring rankings in the rivalry between India and Pakistan. In Test cricket, he also amassed 1057 runs at an average of over 42 against Pakistan.
Tendulkar, a right-handed batter who amused and enthralled the entire world with his hitting from 1989 to 2013, was dubbed the “Master Blaster” for his ability to blow past any bowling attack and his absolute mastery over every skill, technique, and shot in the book.
At the age of sixteen, the Maharashtra-born cricketer debuted in a Test match on November 15, 1989. On December 18, of that year, he participated in his debut ODI.
Sachin is the best run scorer in international cricket, having amassed 34,357 runs at an average of 48.52 in 664 appearances. In international cricket, he holds the record for most hundreds and half-centuries struck with 100. The only other player with a century of centuries is him.
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