5 instances when Sachin Tendulkar made opponents deeply regret sledging him
There are certain things that you just don't do. You want to wrestle bears, by all means go ahead. Fancy a fight with a lion, give it a shot. People have managed both. You can even try to get Lady Luck to smile on you and try facing a lion and a bear at the same time.But then again, there are certain things that are just not done. You don't sledge the God and get away with it. Even Lady Luck will shake her head and walk away if you try to sledge Sachin Tendulkar. Just see how two Australian cricketers are wary of sledging Sachin. Brett Lee looks reverently at Sachin and dismisses any possibility of sledging getting to him. He has said “Sachin Tendulkar is a guy you don't want to chat to, period, because he will knuckle down, same as Brian Lara. There are guys you can stir up and get stuck into and there are others you leave alone.”Shane Warne has added “With Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, it’s better to be friends and make them smile rather than wind them up.”Everyone didn't get the memo though. Here is a look at cricketers who regretted sledging Sachin Tendulkar.
#1 Abdul Qadir
Sachin Tendulkar marked his territory quite early in his career when he was just 16 years old. In 1989 he was facing Pakistan in a less than friendly environment. The crowd had signs reading "Hey kid, go home and drink milk." But Sachin was unfazed and he went about his business. He blasted Mustaq Ahmed by hitting two sixes in one over. That prompted Abdul Qadir to poke a lion.
Sachin did not dignify that with a verbal response. Later he recalled "Qadir was a great bowler and I was only playing my first series. I didn't say anything, but it fired me up. I took up the challenge and gave it a go.”
Give it a go he did. In Abdul Qadir's over he blew him across the field for a six. He didn't score on the next ball but he hit three sixes and one four in the remaining balls of the over. The over was recorded as (6, 0, 4, 6, 6, 6)
Qadir later conceded "It wasn't like I was just feeding him: I was trying my best to get him out, but he was just so talented that he gave me no chance."