1998 was one of the best years for Sachin Tendulkar in his career and Australia were his favorite opponent and the 2 innings that he played vs Australia at Sharjah in 1998 on 22nd and 24th April are 2 innings that will always be remembered by all Indian cricket fans.
Australia were the best side in the world at that time and to play 2 back to back innings like this against them was a statement that the best batter in the world is here and all the others can fight for number 2 and these 2 innings at Sharjah made that Stadium much more famous than it already was.
So, let’s look at these 2 incredible knocks one after the other:
The Desert Storm
This innings that Sachin Tendulkar played on 22nd April to make India reach the final of this tournament is also known as the Desert storm and Australia made a whopping 284 and India needed 238 to qualify for the final and when India came on to bat then it was one man against the best team in the world and that one man Sachin Tendulkar was dominating the bowling attack and hitting fours and sixes for fun. In the middle of the match a desert storm took place and after that the way in which he batted and aided by the phenomenal commentary by Tony Greig were memories of a lifetime. He made 143 from 132 balls and he hit 9 fours and 5 glorious sixes.
Also Read | Best Sachin Tendulkar ODI innings
The Birthday Special In the Final
Then came the final of this tournament and it was yet again Australia vs Sachin Tendulkar and this was on his 25th birthday as well so he wanted to make it memorable. Australia again made 272 and India needed a steep 273 to win and yet again Sachin Tendulkar was in his element and he started his magic and he never allowed the Australian bowlers to settle down as he batted for 131 balls this time and made a match winning 134 and in this innings he hit 12 fours and 3 sixes and he made sure that India would win the match and these 2 innings became part of cricketing folklore.
Also Read | Best Sachin Tendulkar Test cricket innings
The significance of these 2 innings
The importance of these 2 innings played by Sachin Tendulkar would not have been properly seen at that time but now after 25 years of that , so many young Indian players saw those 2 innings when they were young and they wanted to be like Sachin Tendulkar and play for India in their careers and everyone said that those 2 innings made them want to be a cricketer and Sachin Tendulkar achieved cult status after those knocks and he was called as the God of Cricket. Whenever any fan watches those shots that Sachin Tendulkar hit then everyone would get nostalgic.
Also Read: Talking about the 200* by Sachin Tendulkar vs South Africa at Gwalior
