3 of the best Sachin Tendulkar IPL knocks in a chase
Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar retired in 2013 but still rules the hearts and minds of cricket fans around the world. The little maestro represented India for 24 years and was part of an Indian side which saw many ups and downs.
Sachin Tendulkar remained a constant for the Indian side, representing the nation in 664 international encounters. He scored 15,921 Test runs at an average of 53.78 with 51 tons. In ODIs, Sachin Tendulkar scored 18,426 runs at an average of 44.83 with 49 hundreds.
Like any great cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar was subject to adulation as well as criticism during his playing days. One of the criticisms that he faced, though unfairly, was that he didn't contribute much while chasing the innings.
There were more than just a handful of instances where he won the game for India in a chase. These include his unbeaten 103 at Chennai in 2008, 98 at Centurion against Pakistan in the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup, 117 not out at the SCG in the first final of the CB series in 2008 and 134 at Sharjah in 1998.
Sachin Tendulkar has been instrumental in several chases for Mumbai Indians in the IPL as well. With the Master Blaster turning 48, let's take a look at three of his best IPL innings in a successful chase.
1. Sachin Tendulkar (74 off 44) against Chennai Super Kings at Mumbai, IPL 2012:
Harbhajan Singh, captaining Mumbai Indians, won the toss and decided to field first. Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina and Dwayne Bravo led the charge for CSK and MS Dhoni finished off with a 15-ball-25. CSK reached 173/8 in their 20 overs.
The target was achievable but they needed a good start. Mumbai opened with their newly formed pair of Sachin Tendulkar and James Franklin. However, the move backfired. Franklin was out for 1 off 9 balls and Mumbai Indians stood at 8/1 after 2.2 overs.
Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar was joined by Rohit Sharma as they proceeded to take the game away from Chennai. Tendulkar's swift knock came at a strike-rate of 168 and was laced with 11 fours and a maximum. The legendary batsman specifically targeted Albie Morkel and Ravindra Jadeja.
By the time he was dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin, MI had scored 134 in 15.5 overs. There was a mini collapse, but Dwayne Smith's brutal hitting ensured Sachin's effort didn't go to waste.
2. Sachin Tendulkar (72 off 52) against Chennai Super Kings at Mumbai, IPL 2010:
Mumbai Indians got off to a great start in the tournament, while CSK were still looking to get into a rhythm. Nevertheless, they would've been happy with their effort at the innings break after they'd been put in to bat by Mumbai Indians skipper Sachin Tendulkar. Suresh Raina's unbeaten 83 off 52 and Subramaniam Badrinath's 55 off 45 helped Chennai Super Kings to a total of 180.
Shikhar Dhawan and Sachin Tendulkar then ensured the Mumbai Indians got off to a great start. Sachin Tendulkar led the charge and held on to one end after Dhawan fell with MI at 94. There were a few nervy moments after Mumbai Indians lost Saurabh Tiwary and Rajagopal Sathish in quick succession, but Sachin Tendulkar teamed up with Kieron Pollard to get MI closer to the target.
He was dismissed when Mumbai were less than 10 runs from their target and eventually won with an over to spare.
3. Sachin Tendulkar (71* off 48) against Kolkata Knight Riders at Mumbai, IPL 2010:
Another contest in Mumbai and another successful chase under the leadership of Sachin Tendulkar. The interesting bit here was that Sachin Tendulkar led the chase and remained unbeaten till the end.
Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and decided to bat first. Barring Chris Gayle, with his 75 (60), no KKR batsman could dominate the proceedings. Zaheer Khan, Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh bowled well-controlled spells to keep KKR down to 155/3.
Sachin Tendulkar got off to a swashbuckling start, with Shikhar Dhawan playing second fiddle. The Little Master attacked Ishant Sharma, hitting six boundaries off his two overs in the powerplay.
He kept attacking even after Dhawan got out and ensured that Mumbai won the game with 9 balls to spare.