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Cricket PlayersNamibia bowler who dismissed Sachin Tendulkar 23 years ago recalls how Master Blaster stumped him after match
23 years since he dismissed Sachin Tendulkar, Namibia’s Rudie Van Vuuren still remembers the Master Blaster's incredible gesture after the match.
Not too long ago, a fan video summed up what Sachin Tendulkar, even after all these years, means to world cricket. “Prime Sachin Tendulkar or Current Babar Azam?” he was asked to pick, to which the elderly replied: “Current Sachin Tendulkar”. If there was ever a mic drop moment, this was it. To think of it, if that’s the aura the Master Blaster carried in 2025, 12 years after he retired from the game, imagine his charisma during his playing days. Tendulkar’s was the wicket everyone wanted to get. From the ‘Get Sachin out, and the entire team will crumble’ theory in the 1990s, the Indian team shrugged off the one-man army label in the 2000s, and yet, all the way till the 2011 World Cup, every bowler – be it a rookie or the most experienced – wanted to dismiss Tendulkar more than anyone else.
Namibia’s Rudie Van Vuuren did exactly that in the 2003 World Cup. A tournament which, from start to finish, belonged to Sachin, with 673 runs – a record that lasted 20 years – getting Tendulkar out required something special. In the India vs Namibia match, Van Vuuren was able to castle Tendulkar, but not before Sachin had belted 152 against Namibia. Today, 23 years later, Van Vuuren, who donned many a hat in the last two decades, recalled what it was like dismissing the great man back in the day.
“In the Cricket World Cup 2003, I took the prized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar. I’m a conservationist. I’m also a medical doctor. I’m also the Cricket Namibia president. I used to play Rugby and Cricket for Namibia. I’m a pilot. I’m a father as well,” he said ahead of Namibia’s T20 World Cup match against India in New Delhi later today, in a video uploaded by the ICC.
“I remember what happened. I think Sachin was batting on 140-odd. And he was tired, and I was tired. The ball was so slow that it almost didn’t hit the bails off the stumps, but yeah, that’s the prized wicket in world cricket, of course. If you can get the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar, that’s great.”
Tendulkar's post-match gesture floored Van Vuuren
The outcome of that match at Pietermaritzburg was a foregone conclusion once India finished with 311/2, with centuries from Tendulkar and captain Sourav Ganguly leading the way. In reply, Namibia were bowled out for 130, with Yuvraj Singh’s 4/6 spinning a web. However, it’s what happened after the match that Van Vuuren holds close to his heart, when Tendulkar’s gesture bowled him over.
“Francois Erasmus, our team manager, I asked Sachin if he would take a photo with me and he agreed. It was amazing to share. We sat there and talked for a long time. And the thing that impressed me the most about him was just his humbleness. What a humble man. What an ultimate athlete. He talked, was interested in Rugby and what we do. It was a great experience talking to him,” recalled Van Vuuren.
