India v Pakistan, 1st Test, Chennai, 1998-99

The last straw - Tendulkar goes, India go

Sachin Tendulkar celebrated his century but would soon be reduced to tears in the dressing-room © AFP

Electrifying passages revisits ten great passages of play that exemplify the intensity and passion of the rivalry between India and Pakistan ...

At 254 for 6 on the last afternoon, India needed only 17 to win with Tendulkar still at the crease. But then he mistimed a lofted drive and holed out and, as the shadows lengthened, Pakistan ran through the tail to win by 12 runs.

Moin Khan
Because he was such a big player and in awesome form at the time, we were all pretty sure that Sachin was going to win the game for them. But as soon as we got him out, it became obvious to us that we would win - in those days India's reliance on him was much greater than it is now.

After Sachin was out, we had a meeting where Akram led the way, telling everyone that one final effort was all that was needed and that the match was ours. Yes, when we got him out the target was still very gettable - 17 runs with three wickets in hand - but Saqlain Mushtaq was bowling so well at the time. He was ideal, really, because he was very tight, but aggressive as well. Because of that we were always confident.

The biggest boost was the spirit that we got from Sachin's dismissal. After every over, Wasim would have a team meeting and really inspire everyone. The fielders became really focused and involved in the game. All the close-in fielders really applied the pressure as well, always having a chirp, you know: "You'll never get the runs, no matter what you do," or words to that effect.

Javagal Srinath's wicket - the last one - when he played a defensive shot and the ball spun back to dislodge the bail, sparked off the most amazing emotions, of course. I had missed stumping Sachin a little earlier off Saqlain, so it was a big relief for me as well.

Moin made 60 in the first innings, and missed stumping Tendulkar when he was on 91. Interviewed by Osman Samiuddin.

Sunil Joshi
Sachin and I had shared a good partnership and were getting close to the target. Sachin was experiencing acute pain and I told him to just stay in while I went for the big hits. But he decided it would be better if he went for the shots. He smashed two successive fours off Saqlain before attempting another big hit and getting out.

The ball was reversing quite a bit by then and I was standing outside leg stump while facing Wasim. Even so, it was nearly impossible to handle the swing.

Anil Kumble was out to Wasim soon and I knew then that it was up to me. I decided to go after Saqlain and with only one fielder inside the circle and two balls left in the over, I tried to push a single and retain the strike. But my bat got stuck in my pads and I lobbed a simple return catch back to the bowler. The tension was just too much and Saqlain made it tougher for us by racing through his overs and not allowing us to take a breather. It was a combination of panicky batting and fantastic bowling that decided the game.

Joshi made eight with one six in the chase, 25 in the first innings, and took a wicket. Interviewed by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan.

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Matches

Scorecard

Players/Umpires

Sunil Joshi

Moin Khan

Series/Tournaments

Pakistan tour of India

Teams

India

Pakistan

Grounds

MA Chidambaram Stadium