Dinesh Karthik recalls when he denied Sachin Tendulkar a century. Karthik narrated his experiences of the third T20I against Sri Lanka in Cuttack in 2009.
Sachin Tendulkar, the greatest Indian cricketer of all time, celebrated his 51st birthday on April 24, 2024, and well wishes flooded in from all around. On the occasion of Master Blaster’s birthday, Indian batsman Dinesh Karthik recalled an event in which he denied the legend a century.
Karthik narrated his experiences of the third T20I against Sri Lanka in Cuttack in 2009. India was pursuing a target of 239. Tendulkar and Karthik combined for an unbroken 74 runs for the fourth wicket, finishing the game with 7.3 overs to spare. The wicketkeeper-batsman recalls when he hit a boundary against Tendulkar in the 1990s.
“Well, I can give you both happy and negative memories. A good memory is that the first time I met him, we were on top of a flyover. We were on our way to the airport by bus when he arrived in his automobile and boarded the bus in the middle of the ride. That was the first time I had seen the man in my life. So that’s a good memory,” Karthik remarked in a video released by RCB.
“Bad memory: 97, not out. We needed four runs to win, so I hit a six. So I ended up ensuring that he didn’t receive the hundred. Even now, I get a lot of flak for that, and rightfully so. Understandable,” he said.
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Sachin was someone that I looked up to as a young kid: Faf du Plessis
Faf du Plessis, the captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, has also met cricket legends. The Indian Premier League gives such opportunity, but du Plessis has never shared a locker room with Sachin. However, he has recalled his first meeting with the great and stated that the 51-year-old is someone he has always admired.
“My first memory of playing for South Africa versus India was absolutely wow. When you go in, you see Sachin batting for the first time because he was someone I looked up to as a kid and respected for his consistency. That, I believe, has always been the most noticeable aspect to me. But seeing him for the first time, and for such a small guy to have such a large presence, was something that jumped out for me the first time I played against him,” he said.
Also Read: Dinesh Karthik recounts how he denied Sachin Tendulkar a century.