The former English cricketer and now the Member of House of Lords of the United Kingdom, Ian Botham, is widely known as one of the greatest all-rounders the game has ever witnessed. And in many fortunate matches, he excelled with both the bat and ball. Botham had missed out on the 1987 World Cup and was back in the team for the 1992 WC.
‘Beefy’ as he was fondly called, was not expected to be a major force for England in the 1992 edition. Not just this, but as a matter of fact, his selection for the tournament at the age of 36 raised several eyebrows. It was his final appearance, and on the other side, it was Sachin Tendulkar who was making his World Cup debut at just 18 years, half of the veteran all-rounder’s age at the time.
This was almost after nine years that Botham was playing against India in an ODI, and opened the batting against the blue squad in their first WC match at Perth, but scored only nine. England made 236 in 50 overs before India came out to chase. The master blaster came at no. 4 to bat after the team lost their second wicket on 63.
Tendulkar along with opener Ravi Shastri added 63 runs for the team. Tendulkar hit 35 runs off 43 balls including five boundaries, and then it was time for Beefy to strike. The teenager had already made his name in the international circuit though it was his first time when he was facing Botham. As the two legends representing two different generations faced each other, Botham threw a challenge at Tendulkar for the game, predicting to take his wicket.
On this day, 30 years back, Botham’s delivery dismissed Tendulkar after he nicked it to the wicket-keeper Alec Stewart, leaving India at 126 for three.
Watch the throwback video here:
On this day in 1992….when Sachin met Beefy………the ONLY time Sachin Tendulkar played against Ian Botham in international cricket.
Sir Ian seemed pretty happy with his wicket….
Pretty amazing eh!!! pic.twitter.com/OECTO7qGSL
— Rob Moody (@robelinda2) February 22, 2021
Botham can be seen ecstatic to have claimed the wicket he was eyeing and the veteran had a clear win over the teenager on the occasion. But that wasn’t it, that day Botham was on fire, as he struck India again by dismissing another youngster Vinod Kambli (3) and ended up with an impressive score of 2-27 in 10 overs and went on to become the man of the match. The legend’s special celebration after dismissing Tendulkar remains a memorable moment of the 1992 World Cup.
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