Shoaib Akhtar. | (Credits: X)
Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has recollected the moments before he rattled Sachin Tendulkar’s stumps during the famous Kolkata Test in 1999. With Tendulkar still getting ready when Akhtar had started his run-up, the former tearaway bowler recalled thinking ‘Kya kar raha hai bhai’ as a short clip from the mini series ‘Greatest Rivalry: India vs Pakistan’ surfaced.
Akhtar, one of the fastest bowlers ever to play the game, was on fire during India’s first innings of the opening game of the Asian Test Championship. Nicknamed Rawalpindi Express, the Pakistani bowler had dismissed Rahul Dravid, breaking his resistance at 24 off 93 deliveries and went on to clean up Tendulkar for a golden duck with an in-swinging yorker.
In the video surfaced on social media, here’s what the 49-year-old stated about that moment
“Sachin Tendulkar has arrived, the god of cricket, okay, fair enough!! He was taking way too long to get ready. I went back to the run-up and started taking the run-up, he was still getting ready. I said, ‘Kya kar raha hai bhai? Get ready. I ran hard. The one guy who was shouting and that was me.”
Shoaib Akhtar took eight wickets in the match to fire Pakistan to a famous win
Akhtar had taken figures of 19.2-1-71-4 in the first innings to bowl India out for 223 in reply to Pakistan’s first-innings total of 185. The tourists scored another 316 runs, headlined by Saeed Anwar’s 188, setting their arch-rivals a target of 279.
However, the home side folded for 232 in pursuit to lose the match by 46 runs.
