Sachin Tendulkar, who fulfilled his dream of winning a World Cup for India in the 2011 edition of the tournament, revealed how he fired up the Indian team ahead of the semi-final match of the 2011 World Cup against Pakistan in Mohali, Punjab.
The 2011 World Cup semi-final clash between the arch-rivals was much more than the battle between bat and ball. Among the thousands in the PCA Stadium in Mohali were the Prime Ministers of both countries, who were in attendance to witness the two teams clash for the first time in India in ODIs since 2007.
Speaking on the occasion of his 50th birthday, Tendulkar recalled the incredible build-up to the match.
"It wasn't exactly a lighter moment, because it was the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2011. "India was playing Pakistan. Both the Prime Ministers were going to be there. So it was very, very tight security.
We got to the ground and the normal routine is, you know, once you get to the ground, you have pre-match lunch and then you go out on the field for your warm-up sessions and then slowly, slowly get in the game,” Tendulkar was quoted as saying by the ICC.
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"Because of security reasons, you know, our food hadn't reached the ground, and the whole team was agitated. The whole team was like, ‘Lunch kidhar hai? Where is our lunch? You know, this is the World Cup semi-finals, we need to prepare ourselves, and all that.
And that continued for a while. Even when we went on the field for our warm-up session, there were still a couple of guys thinking about it,” he added.
Tendulkar said that he found this the perfect moment to rally the troops and fire the team up for the big occasion.
Tendulkar recalls: "So we were in a huddle, and that's when I spoke briefly. I said, ‘The world is not bothered whether we've had our pre-match lunch or not. This is the World Cup semi-finals. If you are so hungry, show the world how many runs you can score or how many wickets you can pick. That is what they're interested in. Nobody is interested in knowing whether you've had your lunch or breakfast. None. This is the World Cup semi-finals. Go out there and express yourselves.”
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Tendulkar himself led from the front with a knock of 85 runs as India posted 260/9 in 50 overs. In reply, though Misbah-Ul-Haq scored 56, he delayed the final assault too late and Pakistan only managed 231 runs as India won by 29 runs and qualified for the finals.
Tendulkar deservedly took home the Player of the Match award for his brilliant knock. Three days later, he achieved the lifelong dream of winning the World Cup, as India defeated Sri Lanka in Mumbai.
(ICC inputs)
