New Delhi: Stranded on 194 when stand-in skipper Rahul Dravid declared the Indian innings in the 2004 Multan Test, Sachin Tendulkar has spoken about the anger and shock he felt by the decision which "did not make any sense".
In his autobiography 'Playing It My Way', Tendulkar reveals how hurt he was at the declaration and he told Dravid to "leave him alone" so that he could come to terms with his disappointment of missing out on a double century.
"I assured Rahul that the incident would have no bearing on my involvement on the field, but off the field, I would prefer to be left alone for a while to come to terms with what had happened," Tendulkar writes in the book.
However, the batting legend said that the incident didn't have any adverse effect on his relationship with Dravid.
"Despite this incident, I am glad to say Rahul and I remained good friends and even on the field, our camaraderie remained intact until the end of our careers. We continued to have some good partnerships and neither our cricket nor our friendship was affected."
In the book, published by Hachette India, Tendulkar has narrated the entire story of the Multan declaration and what happened behind the scenes after he was back in the dressing room.
Tendulkar writes, "At tea-time, I asked stand-in skipper Rahul Dravid, who was in charge because Sourav was out with a back injury, and coach John Wright what the plan was. I was informed, we were looking to give Pakistan an hour to bat, so would put them in with 15 overs left on the second day. It was perfectly sensible and I went about my business after tea with this plan in mind."
Tendulkar said that he paced his innings in a manner that he could reach double century in time to give Pakistan 15 overs to bat as per plan.
"But then, a little more than half an hour into the post-tea session, Ramesh Powar, who was substituting in the game came on the field and asked me to accelerate. I even joked with him, saying I was aware that we needed quick runs but with the field totally spread out, there was only so much we could do", he writes.
