When Team India's gesture moved Sachin Tendulkar
An India-Pakistan fixture is always one that bring a lot of excitement to any cricket fan. It is one of the most interesting matches that any follower of the game looks forward to. Although the World T20 match between the two sides looked in doubt, once the match was moved to Eden Gardens, everyone knew that the game would be a thrilling one in front of around 90,000 fans.
With many former legends of the game and celebrities gracing the match with their presence, all the attention in the cricketing world was on the match at Kolkata. India's greatest cricketer of all time, Sachin Tendulkar was also present at the stadium.
On what was a track that was a spinning paradise, Pakistan could only manage 118 runs in 18 overs, after the match was shortened due to thunderstorms earlier. Indian spinners bamboozled the Pakistani batsmen and restricted them to a modest total.
In reply, India, despite having lost three wickets early on, soon settled their nerves as the vice-captain Virat Kohli came up with a masterclass as he scored an unbeaten 55 off 37 balls to lead India to a comfortable win over Pakistan.
After having reached his fifty, Kohli made a special celebration pointing to the stands and bowing down in adulation to Sachin Tendulkar. When asked about it after the match, Kohli described how Sachin was a big part of him growing up as a cricketer and his admiration for the Little Master.
“It is very difficult to explain that feeling because I started playing cricket, watching him, because of him and seeing him in the stands and to be able to do that in front of 90,000 people, against Pakistan in a crucial match and with him celebrating and getting happy, I can't explain that feeling.”
“As a child, I have seen him do that for India and now I have the opportunity to do that in front of him, so it is a feeling that is not describable,” said Kohli.
Following this, Sachin took to Twitter to thank and appreciate Kohli and the Indian players for their performance and also making him feel nostalgic about his playing days.
Here are the tweets:
Great Win Team India. Thank you for the innings and gesture @imVkohli! #IndvsPak (1/2)
— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 19, 2016
Team India returning to the dressing room after the game, waved to me. Felt like I never left the team...#IndvsPak (2/2)
— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 19, 2016