Former India wicketkeeper-batter Deep Dasgupta recalled an incident during the Ranji Trophy final in 2007 between Bengal, a team he was captaining then, and a star-studded Mumbai which is a reminder of why Sachin Tendulkar is regarded not just as a batting great but also a composed character who preferred to let his bat do the talking. Tendulkar was provoked/sledged by opponents but rarely would he engage in any verbal slugfest and responded by scoring plenty of runs instead.
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A young Ashok Dinda learnt the lesson during the aforementioned clash in India’s premier red-ball competition. While commentating during the 3rd ODI between India and West Indies on Wednesday, Dasgupta revisited the incident during the final when a young Dinda would often try to get a rise out of his opponents by taking extra couple of steps in his follow through.
“It was the Ranji final between Bengal and Mumbai. I was the captain of Bengal and we opted to bowl first. On a damp wicket, Mumbai lost early wickets and they were had big names like Zaheer (Khan), Ajit (Agarkar), Rohit (Sharma) and others," Dasgupta said.
Dasgputa then categorically asked Dinda to just bowl and return to his mark quietly when bowling to Tendulkar.
“They lost two wickets early and then Sachin came out to bat. It was the first season of Ashoke Dinda, he was young and fast. I already told him, ‘Against Sachin, just bowl’. Dinda had this habit of taking take 2-3 extra steps in his follow throw and glare at batters whenever he would beat their edges. So, I categorically told him, ‘Don’t say anything to Sachin’."
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“Then, on one ball, he bowls a little short, it bounced off the wicket and hit Sachin on the elbow. He shakes his hand, it was clear that Sachin was hurt. And then, Dinda comes and starts glaring at him. I thought, ‘What are you doing man!?’." Dasgputa said.
He continued, I ran towards him, put hand on his shoulders and asked him to go back (to his mark). And then, Sachin got an 80 or a 100 (105 off 129). So, you got to be careful about what you speak to whom. Because players like him can punish you," Dasgupta concluded.
Tendulkar scored 43 in the second innings as Mumbai eventually sealed the title with a big 132-run win.
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