When Sachin Tendulkar rode the Desert Storm in Sharjah 25 years ago to become cricket’s superhero

When we are talking about Sachin Tendulkar, we have to talk about 1998. That was the year that he stamped his authority on world cricket. And, it started with Australia.He decimated Australia in the first three months of that year. It started with Australia’s tour of India where he had an amazing Test series and then we had a Tri zeries that was played with a red ball, with Whites in India. Zimbabwe was also there.India had defeated Australia in all the four matches in India, before going to Sharjah. When India travelled to Sharjah, we lost both the league matches to Australia. They had defeated New Zealand once and then arrived at that magical chapter in Sachin Tendulkar’s cricketing journey.That was “Desert Storm” that we all love to talk about every time Tendulkar’s name comes up. India had to beat Australia in their last league match to qualify for the final of the Coca Cup in Sharjah. But, they had to achieve a net run rate so that they could keep New Zealand away from the scene and just qualify for the final.That was the time when India had found themselves in that kind of situation pretty regularly and Tendulkar was no stranger to that.It was the time when the Sachin Tendulkar-Shane Warne rivalry was on for almost two months and Tendulkar had beaten him hands down in India. He was enjoying the best form of his life. Though he was not being able to convert his form into big scores in Sharjah, India couldn’t have counted Tendulkar out.On that morning of that match, Tendulkar seemed very nervous. Anshuman Gaekwad, then coach of the Indian team, asked him what was happening. “I’m nervous. I want to do this for India. I want to win both these matches for India,” Sachin had said.It was late April and it was very hot in Sharjah. Tendulkar later used to say he used to dip his feet in ice water every time he came off the field. It was so hot that they had blisters on their feet.When the match began, Australia cruised to 284. In those days, chasing anything close to 300 was near impossible. India seemed to have very faint chance.India needed to score 254 to qualify. But, Tendulkar wanted India to win the match.Sourav Ganguly and Tendulkar got off to a good start. Interestingly, India had pushed Nayan Mongia up the order. Mongia did his job. It lengthened India’s batting, though he barely did any pinch-hitting.Things were going smooth when slump happened and Tendulkar had VVS Laxman for company with India at 112 for 4 at that time.And, then the sand storm hit.No player there had experienced anything like that, as they lay flat on the field. Tendulkar had once described the situation, saying he needed to hold on to something to just not get blown away by the storm.When India resumed it’s innings, nobody gave them a chance. India needed to score 236 in 46 overs to qualify for the final. That seemed an impossible task at that point.Then Tendulkar took it upon himself to achieve what seemed impossible. He and Laxman batted for 120 runs (Laxman had scored only 23 of them). He had his job cut out – just keep rotating the strike and Tendulkar do the bulk of the scoring.Tony Greig’s commentary during that match is also unforgettable. “Whadda player, whadda wonderful player. They are dancing in the aisles in Sharjah,” were his iconic lines that still reverberate.Tendulkar ensured that India qualified for the final. He was given out in a rough decision. He was trying to hook Damien Fleming and was given out “caught behind.” The popular notion is that he looked at the square leg umpire and asked him if he was out. He was not going to leave the field so easily.That evening, he became truly the “one-man-army” of Indian cricket.Allan Border was the caretaker of the Australian team and there is an anecdote that he had told Ian Chappell: “No way Sachin Tendulkar is going to repeat this. No way this is going to happen twice in two days.”When the final match began, it turned out to be a replica of the previous match.How was Tendulkar as a leader?During this tour, Mohammad Azharuddin was the captain and Tendulkar was his deputy. Ajit Agarkar once shared a story around that final match. Those days, bouncers were not allowed in ODIs. They were called “no balls.” Bouncers should not go beyond the shoulders.Tendulkar had told Agarkar that he should try to bowl bouncers to Mark Waugh and then bowl a few wide balls to disturb his planning. Waugh fell into the trap. While the pulled the first ball, he nicked an wide ball and was safely taken by Mongia. This is how the intimidating opening pair of Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist was broken.India was set a target of 273. Sourav Ganguly, who opened the innings with Tendulkar, hit a couple of boundaries and got out to a short delivery. Then came Nayan Mongia, again.But Tendulkar played on. While Mongia was asked to go for Shane Warne, it was Tendulkar who took on him. It was Shane Warne’s first over. Tendulkar danced down the pitch and hammered him over long on. There is also footage showing Warne swatting a fly in disbelief.Warne went on to say later that he nightmares during that tour, Tendulkar hitting him all over the stadium.Tendulkar scored 134 off 131 balls.The impact that the two innings had both on Indian cricket and Tendulkar is beyond description.Many young cricketers say it was Tendulkar’s “desert storm” that got them hooked to cricket. It was sheer dominance over the game, the belligerence. It was the time he unleashed his fury. It was a different Tendulkar during that period: 1996 to 1998. 1998 was the year when Peter Parker became the Spiderman. He turned into a superhero.He said, “I can be a superhero.”That was the time Indian cricket lovers got into the habit of switching off their television sets as soon as Tendulkar got out. He had that impact.Audio production: Anil Chauhan