The master blasts - Another Sachin special
It was billed as the match of the tournament and it lived up to the hype
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Contrary to what people think, I hadn't really planned to bat that way. I was pumped up for the match all right, but when we went out to bat, the idea was to stay in for the first few overs and see off the new ball. When you're chasing 275, you don't want to lose three or four quick wickets. Obviously, you can't afford to fall too much behind the run-rate either, but we knew that if we played out the first 10 overs, we had enough batsmen to play strokes later. So there was no question of targeting Shoaib or anybody else.
Sachin is the greatest batsman in the game, and if he comes out with something like that, it's no surprise. I was the one who got him out first ball when I was a nobody [in the Asian Test Championship, 1999]. And if he smashes me it doesn't mean Shoaib Akhtar is finished. Yes, we make strategies, and I make a strategy for the whole team rather than only for Sachin. Obviously, he is a key player and it's always an advantage to get him out fast. I had a strategy at Centurion too, but I was unfit. I had a problem with my knees and went into the game after having taken six injections. My entire right leg was numb and I was only about 40 per cent fit. It was just a bad day for us. It was bad being hit for sixes. It was just bad to lose in that way. They asked me to play, and they made me play, and I had to play for the sake of my country.