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Cricket Players'The moment he lifted his bat, I knew he was out': Akhtar reveals how Akram plotted Sachin's dismissal in 1999 Test
23 years after that iconic dismissal, the legendary Pakistan pacer recalled the delivery and revealed how Wasim Akram had plotted the dismissal.
When Sachin Tendulkar made his way into the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata in the February of 1999, India were just 36 runs short of going past Pakistan's first-innings total of 185 runs. Sadagoppan Ramesh and Rahul Dravid's patient partnership helped India tackle the initial storm. Yet in the very next ball, there was a pin drop silence. It was a battle the crowd waited for and in the end, Shoaib Akhtar emerged victoriously as he castled down the middle stump with a scorching yorker and Sachin walked back to the pavilion for a golden duck. 23 years later, the legendary Pakistan pacer recalled the delivery and revealed how Wasim Akram had plotted the dismissal.
In just the previous delivery, Akhtar had dismissed Dravid with a similar yorker delivery. But when Sachin walked in, Akhtar, in his conversation with Sportskeeda, revealed that Wasim came up to him and advised him to bowl the reverse swing.
“When Sachin was getting ready to take strike, Wasim Akram advised me to bowl reverse swing. He told me to ensure that the ball ends up in line with the stumps after pitching. Initially, I was very anxious about getting him out. But when I started running in, I was completely focussed as I wanted to get my run-up completely right - whether it was my jump or my bowling action," he said.
“The moment Sachin lifted his bat, I knew he was out. His backlift was really high and I knew the ball was reverse-swinging a lot. I wasn’t surprised with the result since I had planned the delivery.”
Akhtar also revealed how the crowd had reacted to the dismissal. While it was ecstasy for the Pakistan team, the Eden crowd went numb.
“There was pin drop silence in the ground after Sachin’s dismissal," he revealed.
India were eventually dismissed for 223 in the first innings with Akhtar finishing with 4 for 71. Saeed Anwar's master 188 ensured Pakistan had enough on the board to defend before Akhtar cast his magic yet agian with 4 for 47 in the second innings as the visitors scripted a memorable 46-run win.
