Spectacular Sachin Tendulkar Produced Superb Late Fightback | Sachin Magnificent Near Century

Cricket

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Panoorin Ngayon

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Join this channel to get access to perks:    / @cricketmax87   India looked set for a huge total after a spectacular opening partnership between Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir, but Pakistan produced a superb late bowling fightback to restrict the home side to a score well below the 350-plus total that had appeared possible. India opted to bat first but suffered an early setback when Sourav Ganguly was bowled in the first over, bringing Gautam Gambhir to the crease alongside Sachin Tendulkar. The pair handled the new ball intelligently, particularly against the pace of Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul. Then Tendulkar shifted gears. After being tested by Shoaib's express pace, Sachin launched an attack on Umar Gul, smashing three consecutive boundaries in one over. His combination with Gambhir quickly turned into one of India's most dominant partnerships of the innings. Tendulkar and Gambhir added a magnificent 173-run partnership for the second wicket. The 50-run partnership came from only 62 balls, while Gambhir combined solid defence with aggressive strokeplay. Tendulkar continued to dominate, bringing up the 100-run partnership with a beautiful flick through midwicket. India appeared firmly in control. But Pakistan's second spell changed the entire complexion of the innings. Umar Gul returned and produced the breakthrough everyone wanted — Tendulkar was caught behind for 99, falling just one run short of his 42nd ODI century. It was the third time that year that Tendulkar had been dismissed on 99. Gul then struck again in the very next over, removing Gautam Gambhir and suddenly putting Pakistan back into the contest. With India trying to rebuild, Gul continued to trouble the batsmen with genuine pace, regularly touching speeds close to 150 kmph. Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh attempted to restore India's momentum, but Shahid Afridi and Sohail Tanvir tempted both batsmen into attacking false shots. Shoaib Akhtar then returned with a shortened run-up and claimed three late wickets, completing Pakis