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Cricket Players'I thought it was the best delivery in the world': Monty Panesar recalls 'that' magical ball to dismiss Sachin Tendulkar
It's been nine years since Monty Panesar bowled that ripper of a delivery to castle Sachin Tendulkar in a Test match in Mumbai, but the dismissal is one that is etched in the minds of cricket fans.
It's been nine years since Monty Panesar's ripper of a delivery that castled Sachin Tendulkar in a Test match in Mumbai, but the dismissal is one that is etched in the minds of cricket fans. England, during the 2012 tour of India, had lost the opening Test in Ahmedabad by nine wickets, and heading into the second game in Mumbai, had included left-arm spinner Panesar in their Playing XI.
With India batting first on a Day 1 turning deck, Panesar pitched a ball on middle stump, got it to turn and rip, brought Tendulkar forward and clipped the top of the batsman's off-stump. It was indeed a magical delivery. Panesar, who picked up a five-wicket-haul in that game, for the longest time, felt it was the best ball of all time and revealed how he tricked the former India batsman into playing a false stroke.
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"Spin bowling is one of those things where you just get it right on some days. And like I said, that pitch was turning on Day 1. I remember getting Sehwag out on a full ball onto his pads. And when I bowled that ball to Tendulkar, I just thought, yeah, I want to hit the top of off," Panesar told Firstpost during a podcast.
"That's what I wanted to do, bowl on middle stumps, hit the top of off and get him coming to play forward. I did not realise that he was looking to play towards midwicket. I guess it was the pace, it was quick and it drifted because technically it was a third day pitch. With the pace, he thought it was going to go with the arm, played towards midwicket, and hit the top of off."
Panesar bowled with the SG ball – ones that are used for Test matches in India – but remembered them behaving a lot like England's Duke's ball, which aided hi further. "We had really good balls during that entire tour. If I had a ball with a relatively softer seam, it probably may or may not have gripped. Similar to the Duke's ball when I'm in England," Panesar pointed out.
"It got it to turn because the seam is quite pronounced. I thought the SG ball was similar to the Duke's ball and when I turned it and it gripped, I was like ‘Oh Gosh! It’s the best delivery in the world'".
