‘That’s how I started connecting’: Sachin Tendulkar reveals what spurred him on to hit four sixes off Abdul Qadir

Sachin Tendulkar revealed what Qadir had told him upon his introduction in the attack during an exhibition match in 1989 and how it spurred him on to launch the bowler for 28 runs in the over.

Sachin Tendulkar was only 16 years of age when he took on one of the greatest spinners of all time, Abdul Qadir. The former India batsman famously hit Qadir for four sixes in an exhibition match, signalling his arrival in international cricket. Long before T20 cricket came into the scene, India and Pakistan were involved in the first ever T20 match way back in 1989, an international match that was trimmed to a 20-over exhibition game. Tendulkar recalled what happened prior to the match and how the teams agreed for to play.

“The match was in Gujranwala, I think. It had rained and both teams were informed that many spectators have come to see so why don’t we have a 20-over exhibition match?” Tendulkar told Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel.

“We were told that this won’t be an international match but at least the crowd won’t return disappointed. So we agreed to play the match thinking we’ll at least get some practice out of this game. I was batting at No. 4 and I remember when I had gone out to bat, we had to score some 65-70 runs in four overs.”

Even though Pakistan went on to win the match narrowly, it was India’s Tendulkar that made headlines as he hit Qadir for four sixes in an over. Such an assault was unheard of, let alone to someone of Qadir’s stature. The over read: 6, 0, 4, 6, 6, 6, with Tendulkar remaining unbeaten on 53. The former India batsman went on to reveal what Qadir had told him upon his introduction into the attack and how it spurred the great Tendulkar on to launch him for 28 runs in the over.

“Kris Srikkanth was the captain so our discussion was to get some practice for the next game. I told Chikka ‘I think we should go for the total’. He said ‘Yes, why not.’ And that’s how I started connecting the shots,” Tendulkar said.

“Mushtaq (Ahmed) was bowling, he got hit for two sixes and a four. Andul Qadir came to me and said ‘I’ll bowl from this side. Try and hit me’. I said you’re such a senior bowler, I can’t hit you that easily. So from there we started chasing. That was a big over, we got some 27-28 runs.”