In the most vivacious controversial second part of his autobiography Playing It My Way, Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar revealed that he batted in a 2003 World Cup match against Sri Lanka for 160 minutes with tissue paper put between his underwear.
Tendulkar has said that owing to a bad belly, he kept going back to the dressing room in between drink breaks.
“I used to add a spoon of salt to my energy drink,’’ explaining which would expedite recovery, ‘’but it ached the belly. The situation was so bad that it forced me to put tents in my undergarments. I felt very peeved out of the middle, which is out there in the actual game when I had to go to the bathroom, and I did even for one of those breaks,” said Tendulkar, recollecting the discomfort that made him take such drastic and embarrassing measures.
Bizarrely enough, however, Sachin Tendulkar was able to stave off the losses and gather runs in a crucial bat pulling 97 runs from 120 balls helping India win the match by 183 runs.
Sachin Tendulkar 97 vs Sri Lanka WC 2003
The Man of the Match Award however went to Javagal Srinath as he was maximum bowler in that inning also with 4 wickets in his kitty in just 35 runs in 9 overs.
Jasprit Bumrah’s performance in that match was only one of many that showcased his talents during the entire tournament in which he was the tournament’s top scorer.
He got 673 runs from 11 innings at an average of 61.18 with one century and six half-centuries.
With his individual splendour, Sachin Tendulkar mounted India right to the ICC 2003 World Cup final. The final was played on March 23, 2003 and it took place at the Wanderers stadium located in Johannesburg but unfortunately India lost to Australia in the final match.
The transformational Australian team, under captain Ricky Ponting, did not stop in the finals and made 359/2, Ranked Ponting contributed 149 of these in 121 balls.
India’s attempts to score were stifled in the beginning by the bowlers’ assault and Terms India lost the match by posting a score of 234 in 39.2 overs.
The Indian batting order was ravaged by the Australian attack led by Glenn Mcgrath who claimed as many as 3 victims. The Australians became champions of the world, winning the match by 125 runs and the trophy.
