Finch opened the batting with Tendulkar for MCC against Rest of the World in the Lord’s Bicentenary celebration match in 2014.
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Finch opened the batting with Tendulkar for Marylebone Cricket Club against Rest of the World in the Lord’s Bicentenary celebration match in 2014.
Chasing 294 to win, Finch and Tendulkar shared a 107-run opening stand as MCC overhauled the target in 45.5 overs with seven wickets in hand.
"All I was thinking was don’t run him out. Just do not run Sachin out. I think it was one of the biggest, if not the biggest, crowds that Lord’s has ever had. It was a "huge anniversary, Sachin’s captaining one team, Warnie’s (Shane Warne) captaining the other,” Finch said on the Sony Ten Pitstop show.
"That was a huge day. I think there was a huge Indian presence at the ground too, they were very loud. Obviously, the chants of ‘Sachin-Sachin’ going up all around Lord’s. And I just kept thinking, ‘If I run him out, I would never hear the end of this. I might not get out of Lord’s’."
While Tendulkar was dismissed for 44, Finch carried on and scored a big century (181 not out off 145 balls). In the process, he got to bat with other legends such as Brian Lara, Rahul Dravid, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
"Luckily, that was an unbelievable experience, batting with Sachin, (Rahul) Dravid, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, it was unbelievable. Also on the other side was Gilly (Adam Gilchrist) and (Virender) Sehwag opening the batting, which is an absolute dream for me to watch them bat together. KP (Kevin Pietersen), Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh) got a big hundred as well. It was unbelievable, such a great day, something that I would never forget," he remarked.