Sachin Tendulkar's favourite opposition to torment was Australia. The man just raised himself to a different level when he faced off against the Aussies and some of his best performances came against the team from Down Under.
Well, rewind to 1998 when Sachin was slowly transforming from good to great as a batter. It was the ICC Knockout Tournament in Dhaka, the first edition of what we know as the Champions Trophy now. India and Australia were playing a virtual quarterfinal and Sachin was itching to get going.?
That year itself he had already hit 3 ODI hundreds and 2 Test centuries against them and Australia were wary of Sachin's blade as they knew what havoc he could cause. He would do just that.?
Sachin was on song even as a couple of early wickets fell around him. Opening partner Sourav Ganguly and skipper Mohammad Azharuddin fell early but he added fruitful runs with Rahul Dravid and Ajay Jadeja. The shots had grace, timing and power in them as Sachin was batting at a whole new level. Steve Waugh rotated his bowlers for a breakthrough but Sachin stood tall.?
141 runs came from his bat in 128 balls with 13 fours and 3 sixes. When he did get out, it was because he failed to make his ground. In other words, no bowler took his wicket that day. India made 307/8, a stiff chase for the Aussies.?
But Sachin was not done yet, far from it infact. Earlier in the year, he had taken 5/32 against the Aussies. Having destroyed them with the bat, it was time to torment them with the ball. That's exactly what happened.?
4/38 in 9.1 overs saw them collapse from 194/4 to 263 all out. Steve Waugh, Michael Bevan, Damien Martyn and Brad Young were his victims as India secured a place in the virtual semis with a 44-run win. The Aussies went home and India's campaign would end with a loss to West Indies in the next round.?But that day, Sachin was the star of the show and he destroyed Australia not once, but twice in the same game. The Master Blaster can rarely be kept out of the game. ?