When they batted, the scorer had the toughest job. Maiden overs were rare and aerial strikes, frequent. The opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag — with 3,919 runs for India in 93 ODIs at an average of 42.13 — is still regarded as one of the best in limited-overs cricket.
In the sixth episode of ‘What The Duck 3’ — a cricket talk show — the duo narrated anecdotes from their playing days. Tendulkar revealed how he helped Sehwag open up to him.
“When Viru had just joined, he was a shy guy. He just wouldn’t talk to me. I thought this can’t work. If we need to play together, bat together, I need to make him feel comfortable. So I told him let’s catch up on dinner. Where he told me he was a vegetarian.”
“He was not eating chicken because he was told he will become fat. Only thing I told him was if I looked fat! Ever since, he has been eating chicken,” said Tendulkar.
The bonding, that started with dinner, led to free flow of runs from 2002 to 2012 till Tendulkar decided to retire.
The 182-run stand (181 balls) against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 2003 is their best. Sehwag had scored 130 (134 balls) while Tendulkar recorded a breezy 91-ball 102.
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