The stories of how he didn't bat much in the nets and took only throwdowns in between games during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa have been quite popular for long. But not many people are aware, the great Sachin Tendulkar also had to battle cramps, a bout of diarrhoea as he went about dominating bowling attacks for that month and a half scoring 673 runs in 11 innings. 

"Pakistan is the only game that I have ever taken a runner in my life," Tendulkar himself told India Today about the game he scored a memorable 98 in against a bowling attack featuring Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar in Centurion. India won that game by six wickets, chasing a difficult 274-run target.

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"That was the World Cup game I couldn't even stand and it felt like someone has tied 500 kg weights. You can check with our then physio Andrew Leipus."

"I was cramping ....and I took a quick single which wasn't a wise thing to do. As it happened I collapsed and I said I can't go on like this and I tried standing up and I couldn't. So I thought because of cramping, the damage done was severe."

Later in the super 6 round, the great man revealed he was forced to carry tissue paper suffering from a bout of diarrhoea as he scored another magnificent 97 in the win against Sri Lanka in Johannesburg. 

"I had a tummy problem. Because I didn't want to cramp in the next match, I kept having so much salt (water) and I had terrible diarrhoea."

"Those are the challenges you face when you have to go out there and play, no matter what if I was able to stand there, bat or not. I was always going to go out there on the field," Tendulkar added. 

(Inputs from India Today)