Press Trust of India
New York, Nov 8: The chants of ‘Saachin, Saachin’, something which are familiar at Indian grounds filled the air but Sachin Tendulkar could not trump Shane Warne’s magic as the Indian icon’s Blasters went down to the Australian legend’s Warriors in the first ‘Cricket All Stars’ T20 game here. But then it was a match not about results, it was a chance for the American expatriates to get a first hand view of their cricket icons and there were plenty.
Leave aside Tendulkar and Warner – there was Wasim Akram, Brian Lara, Courtly Ambrose, Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Muttiah Muralitharan – all legends in their own rights. As one Indian spectator said, “It was memories at midnight for those watching the game on TV at home.”
Tendulkar was the undisputed favourite for the largely Asian crowd at a baseball stadium here but it was Warne, who weaved some old-time magic to lead his side to a six-wicket win.
Set a target of 141, the Warriors romped home with 16 balls to spare after Ricky Ponting (48 n o, 38b, 3×4, 3×6) and Kumar Sangakkara (41, 29b, 2×4, 3×6) put on 81 runs between them for the third wicket. To be fair to the Blasters, the two are still in competitive cricket and easily handled the bowling thrown at them. Except for the Rawalpindi Express, Shoaib Akhtar (2/26), none of the other Blasters’ bowlers could trouble the two.
Warne snared three wickets, including that of Tendulkar and the legendary Brian Lara. For the Blasters, Virender Sehwag (55, 22b, 3×4, 6×6) hit the series’ first half century. But after he was cleaned up by Dan Vettori, the Blasters failed to keep the momentum going.
Overall, Tendulkar and Warne’s attempts to introduce cricket to the Americans worked quite well on debut. “The whole idea of Cricket All Stars is to popularise the sport,” said Tendulkar after the match. “I thought it was fantastic, the atmosphere was amazing,” said Warne while doing a lap of honour across the ground.
