Had to ‘beg and plead’ to open innings for India: Tendulkar


PTI, Sep 26, 2019, 11:03 AM IST

New Delhi: Batting great Sachin Tendulkar says he had to “beg and plead” to open the innings for India in an ODI against New Zealand in 1994, recalling a major turning point of his career.

The switch from middle-order to opening the innings proved to be a masterstroke as Tendulkar finished with a world record 49 hundreds in the 50-over format.

Sharing a video on LinkedIn, Tendulkar recollected the moments leading up to that one-dayer against New Zealand at Auckland.

“In 1994, when I started opening the batting for India, the strategy used by all teams was to save wickets. What I tried to do was slightly out of the box,” he said.

“I thought I could go up front and take the opposition bowlers on. But I had to beg and plead to please give me a chance. If I fail, I won’t come after you again,” he added.

Using that move as an example, the prolific former batsman urged his fans to never shy away from taking risks because of the fear of failure.

“In that first match (against New Zealand at Auckland), I scored 82 off 49 balls, so I didn’t have to ask again if I would get another chance. They were keen for me to open. But what I’m trying to say here is, don’t be afraid of failure,” the 46-year-old Tendulkar said.

While he may have ended with a 49 ODI centuries, Tendulkar’s first ton in the format came after a long wait of five years.

It was in September 1994 that he hit his first ODI hundred, against Australia in Colombo, having made the switch from the middle-order to opening the innings.

He recorded scores of 82, 63, 40, 63 and 73 in his first five innings as an opening batsman.

Tendulkar finished his ODI career with 18426 runs in 463 matches — the most by any in the history of the format.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Maharashtra Polls: Eknath Shinde targets Uddhav for `giving up’ Bal Thackeray’s principles for power

Will appear before Lokayukta for questioning in MUDA case, says CM Siddaramaiah

Lies have short life, Cong’s ‘fake’ narrative smashed: Fadnavis

Temple idols found desecrated in Hyderabad, case registered

SC junks plea against quashing of LOC issued to ex-house help of Sushant Singh Rajput

JPC chairman Jagdambika Pal to visit K’taka on Nov 7 to meet farmers protesting Waqf notices

Indian boxer Mandeep Jangra wins WBF’s world title

Related Articles More

IOA submits ‘Letter of Intent’ to host 2036 Olympics in India

Mohammed Shami’s return to competitive cricket delayed; not to play for Bengal against Karnataka, MP

IPL auction set to be held in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh at end of November

So proud of you: Ravindra reveals rare message from dad after NZ’s historic series win

Gautam Gambhir’s performance under scanner after disaster in Sri Lanka and India

MUST WATCH

Gho Pooja in Deepavali Festival

Melukote Deepavali

Ganapathi Co-operative Society Ltd

Udayavani Chinnara Banna 2024

Annapoorna Aahar | Food Places In Mysore


Latest Additions

Davanagere: Man murdered by relative for insurance money; 4 arrested within 24 hours

Heroin worth Rs 3.5 crore recovered in police raid in Delhi, 2 arrested

Govt clerk found dead in Tahsildar’s chamber, FIR filed against minister’s PA, 2 others

Treated Muslims like fuel for ‘lantern’: Prashant Kishor targets Lalu, asks upper castes to stay away from Nitish

MP Brijesh Chowta urges Kerala CM for strict action against attack on Edneer Swamiji’s vehicle

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.