Recalling the famous Chennai 1999 Test, former pacer Waqar Younis said Pakistan knew despite India chasing a difficult target of 271 and finding itself 82/5, that it can't win unless it is able to see the back of Sachin Tendulkar.
Despite battling a stiff back, Tendulkar remained unfazed and played what is regarded as one of the greatest knocks in the Test match history.
Read Also: Wasim recalls how risk taken against Tendulkar paid off as Pakistan won Chennai '99 Test
In the fouth-innings chase, Waqar remembers, the master batsman kept losing partners during his epic 136, with only wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia (52) providing some support for the sixth wicket, before he also departed and that forced Tendulkar to take risks.
"We took a new ball and first Nayan Mongia hit one in the air. I think he was in a rush or I don't know what went through his mind," Waqar said on 'The Greatest Rivalry Podcast'. "He thought the game was over and they won that game, and they got a little complacent, especially Nayan Mongia."
"And once he got out, we were still sort of thinking, ‘That's not going to happen, we are not going to win this game. Till the time Sachin is there, it's not going to happen.'"
As it happened, with 16 runs needed and only the tailenders to bat with him, Tendulkar looked to smash off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq through the leg-side. Saqlain's doosra instead took the top-edge and went to the hands of Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram at mid-off. It was heartbreaking for Tendulkar, who had singlehandedly took India so close to the win.
"I don't really know, to be honest, what Sachin was thinking at the time. Because they were cruising, it was not an issue, they still had four wickets in hand and they needed, I think, 16 (17) runs," said Waqar, giving Tendulkar's stroke his own assessment.
"The way he was batting, it was just out of this world. And then in the very next over, I think, to Saqlain Mushtaq, Sachin hit one in the air and that was it. That confidence, that belief started creeping in that now we will not allow them to get those 15-16 runs, whatever was required."
"And then Saqlain just got all over them. It was hard for them to defend, or to hit out and they were losing wickets. And I think they lost all four wickets in something like five or six overs, or maybe less. It was some Test match. I would say one of the best Tests I watched, I played and I witnessed," he added.
Tendulkar's departure followed yet another collapse, as Indians were dismissed for 258, falling agonisingly close to a memorable win.
(Inputs from IANS)
