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'Dinda came and started glaring at Sachin. Then, he...': Ex-India batter recalls Tendulkar's fiery reply in a 2007 match
The former India batter recalled an incident between Ashoke Dinda and Sachin Tendulkar when the bowler hit the India star on his elbow during a match in 2007.
Former India batter Sachin Tendulkar is widely regarded as one of the greatest in the history of the game. A record-holder for most runs in both, ODIs and Tests, Tendulkar commanded a huge respect as a batsman even among the oppositions during his playing days. The bowlers thought twice before sledging the ‘Master Blaster’, remaining wary of not riling Tendulkar up with gestures or words. However, an Indian bowler committed the mistake of doing the same; what followed was narrated by former cricketer Deep Dasgupta during his commentary stint in the third ODI between India and West Indies.
Dasgupta revealed an incident from the 2007 Ranji Trophy final between Bengal and Mumbai, where the latter played with big guns like Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Wasim Jaffer, and a young Rohit Sharma in the XI. The Bengal team featured a youngster named Ashoke Dinda, who would go on to make multiple appearances for India in the future; Dasgupta, the captain of Bengal at the time, recalled how Dinda glared at Tendulkar after hitting him on the elbow, following which the India batter replied in style.
“It was the Ranji Trophy final between Bengal and Mumbai. I was the captain of Bengal, we had won the toss and opted to bowl. It was a wet wicket and they had lost a few quick wickets. It was a proper Mumbai side, with Zaheer, Ajit, Rohit.. you name it,” Dasgupta began.
“They lost two wickets early and Sachin came out to bat. It was the first season of Ashoke Dinda, he was young and fast. I had already told him, 'With Sachin, you just come and bowl'. Dinda had this habit at that time that whenever he would beat the batter, he would just take 2-3 extra steps in his follow throw and glare at him. So, I categorically told him, 'Don't say anything to Sachin'.”
As it would turn out, Dinda did stare at Sachin after a few deliveries, and the batter eventually scored a century (105) in the innings.
"Then, on one ball, he bowls a little short, it bounces off the wicket and hits Sachin on the elbow. He shakes his hand, it was clear that he was hurt. And then, Dinda comes and starts glaring at him. I was like, "What are you doing man!". I came running towards him, put my hand on his shoulder and said, 'go back, go back'. And then, Sachin got an 80 or a 100 (105). So, you got to be careful about what you speak to whom. Because players like him can punish you," Dasgupta finished.
Mumbai eventually won the match by 132 runs.
