In the early 2000s, the fierce rivalry between Sachin Tendulkar and Shoaib Akhtar added flavour to matches between India and Pakistan. While Akhtar enjoyed some success against the batting maestro, Tendulkar, too, dominated the Pakistan pacer on many occasions.
One such occasion came in the group game of the 2003 World Cup, where Tendulkar overpowered Akhtar with relative ease. Widely regarded as one of his best knocks in ODIs, the 'Master Blaster' scored 98 off just 75 deliveries in the game, aiding India to a memorable victory.
Even as Akhtar eventually dismissed Tendulkar in the innings, the match is best known for the batsman's six over the third man boundary on Akhtar's delivery. The shot was so impressive that it became a part of the folklore and is always revisited ahead of every India-Pakistan encounter in ICC events.
Talking on an Instagram Live session, Akhtar opened up on his relationship with Tendulkar and also talked about the six.
“Sachin has been a very, very close friend of mine,” Akhtar said. “He’s a tremendous guy, very humble. He’s been the greatest batsman, but I might have dismissed him 12-13 times in matches.
In fact, Akhtar has dismissed Sachin on 8 occasions in international cricket - 5 times in ODIs, and 3 times in Tests.
Talking further, Akhtar mentioned the six he conceded to Tendulkar, and had a cheeky remark on the same.
“Although, Indians only remember that one six which he hit me in Centurion [during the 2003 ICC World Cup] as it makes them really happy. They keep showing the same six. If I knew that one six can make 1.3 billion Indians so happy, I would have conceded a six every day!” said Akhtar.
