When Suresh Raina 'Bunked' School To Watch Sachin's Desert Storm
When Sachin Tendulkar unleashed his 'desert storm', Suresh Raina skipped school to watch it
Jaspreet Sahni | TNN | Updated: Jun 1, 2020, 14:39 IST
NEW DELHI: It was April, the summer of
1998
, 1 pm in the afternoon. Two kids, Sonu and Amit, were rather anxious in the classroom of their school in Muradnagar, Uttar Pradesh. "Tendulkar ki batting dekhni hai (want to see Tendulkar bat),"
they muttered to each other. India were to take on Australia in the Coca Cola Cup in
Sharjah
. A place in the final was at stake. The clock was ticking towards the game's start time. Sonu and Amit couldn't wait any longer. They sneaked out of the school, skipping the last two classes of the day.
The scene at Sunil bhaiya's house was set. He had a black and white TV, but more importantly a welcoming heart, access to cable TV, and Star Sports on it. The kebabs sponsored by Jamil bhai were waiting to enter the fry pan. Preparations were on, and the stage was almost set for Tendulkar to entertain someone who, 13 years later, went on to win the World Cup as a team-mate of Sachin's. The 12-year-old Sonu who bunked school was Indian cricketer
Suresh Raina
.
We had TV at home, an Uptron, but with only Doordarshan on it," recalled Raina in a chat with Timesofindia.com.
India weren't having a great time in the tri-nation series, which was also incidentally the first series in a decade in Sharjah, that didn't feature Pakistan. The matches were played in a round-robin format, with all teams playing the others twice each. Australia won all four league-stage encounters.
while India and New Zealand won one each. India pipped the Kiwis on net run rate to enter the final against the Aussies. Sachin was the biggest architect of India's passage to the final.
Quote & Say if its your Favorite Sachin Tendulkar Inning.— Sachin🇮🇳 Tendulkar FC CrickeTendulkar (@CrickeTendulkar) April 24, 2019
Birthday Boy🎂 Sachin Tendulkar #DesertStorm- 2🌪️
134 v Aus Sharjah Final 24th April 1998
*Pure Gold* Don't Miss- Tony Grieg's Epic Commentary wattaaa sixxx....watta player..
😍GOOSEBUMPS GUARANTEED😍 #HappyBirthdaySachin pic.twitter.com/mTyH9kZQN4
Tendulkar's 131 ball 143 in the second league match against Australia to take India into the final went on to become not just one of his best ODI innings but also arguably the most entertaining highlights package in 50-over format.
The knock was christened '
Desert Storm
', also thanks to a sandstorm that halted India's charge with Tendulkar and VVS Laxman at the crease. Upon resumption, Tendulkar tore into the Aussie bowling attack to help India qualify for the final, even though the Men in Blue lost the match by 26 runs according to the Duckworth-Lewis method, but Sachin was adjudged the 'Man of the Match.
In the final, Sachin played another gem of an innings -- 134 off 131 balls. Chasing 273, India won by six wickets. Sachin was the 'Man of the Match' again and India clinched the trophy, and with it, registered one of the most memorable ODI series wins ever.
"Sunil bhaiya ka ghar tha, aur ek hamare Jamil bhai the, jo khane ka intezaam karte the, kebab, wagaira. (it was Sunil's house and Jamil used to arrange the food). We had a group of 5-6 people," Raina reminisced while talking to TimesofIndia.com.
We used to bunk the last two periods of school because the tournament in Sharjah was going on. Sachin paaji used to open in that era. Paaji ki batting hi dekhte the uss time pe, ya Rahul (Dravid) bhai. Paaji out hote the to fir nikal lete the ghar (we used to watch only Sachin's batting, or Dravid's; but once Sachin got out, we would leave for home)."
Seven years later, Raina made his debut for India -- in 2005. Five years later, in 2010, with Tendulkar at the other end, Raina made a Test century on debut. Life had come full circle -- from watching Sachin bat to batting with him.
year later (2011), Raina played a crucial role, especially in the quarterfinal against Australia (34 not out off 28 balls), to help Tendulkar realise his dream of winning the World Cup.
"Hum chhote choote the (we were just kids)," Raina recalled. "I was just 12 at that time, used to study in seventh standard.
Sachin Tendulkar
itna bada naam tha (Sachin Tendulkar was a big name).
Like most
fans, Raina, who has scored almost 8000 runs in international cricket, distinctly remembers
Tony Greig
's commentary that added to the entertainment at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
"Paaji (Tendulkar) made two consecutive hundreds, hit (Michael) Kasprovicz for huge sixes. On top of that, the commentary of Tony Greig, who was also a big name. The form that paaji was in and the kind of commentary, though our English wasn't that good at the time, the excitement his voice generated added another flavour (to the visual experience)," said the left-handed batsman who is also a Chennai Super Kings icon in the Indian Premier League.
"Food was also one of the reasons to go there (laughs). Sometimes we used to get biryani as well at Sunil bhaiya's house. At home everyone was vegetarian, and to have chicken at that time was a huge thing. Uss zamane mei to itne paise hote nahi the (we didn't have much money at that time). Jab bhi match hota tha to hum ikathe baith ke dekhte te (we used to sit together and watch cricket)," said the 33-year-old who is also one of the best fielders India has produced.
Those days were followed by Raina moving to Sports College Lucknow to pursue his cricket dreams.
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