World Cup: Sachin Tendulkar bowls the delivery of India-Australia match
Zaheer Khan was India’s standout bowler, but the ball of the game was bowled by Sachin Tendulkar. The Little Master proved that he is a genius with the ball too. If it were to be bowled by an Englishman, the English media would have declared it the ball of the century.
Tendulkar, bowling the 30th over of Australian innings, was asked to swing his arm around. In the absence of a leg-spinner, Tendulkar bowled some leg-breaks and came out with deliveries that would have made a certain Shane Warne proud. He turned the third ball of his first over square, the ball pitching outside the leg stump and missing the off-stump by a distance.
Michael Clarke, facing the delivery, was reduced to a mute spectator. He just saw the ball spin and beat him. He missed the edge but a better batsman would perhaps have got out to the delivery. Clarke, looking awfully off-colour, was not good enough to negotiate the delivery.
Tendulkar, incidentally, was bowling in an international after over 15 months. He went on to bowl another over and conceded just nine runs in his two overs at an average of 4.5. One would have wished Dhoni to give Tendulkar a few more overs and Munaf Patel a few less. But then, Dhoni’s bowling changes and decisions on the field left a lot to be wished.
