When Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar had scored his 95th century, it was the last time he had crossed the 100-run mark in a winning cause at the highest level. Speaking of his last five centuries for India, each one had come in either a draw, loss or a tied encounter.
Advertisement
Having said that, consequences of one of these five centuries had irked not only Tendulkar but the entire Indian cricket team. As a result, Tendulkar had no option than to share a mandatory non-negotiable directive in order to ensure the sanity of his teammates in the middle of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
A match where he scored his penultimate century in international cricket directed a lot of criticism towards the team. Batting first in a group stage fixture against South Africa in Nagpur, India couldn’t really convert a quickfire start into a match-winning innings total. A total of 296 in 48.4 overs was chiefly possible because of a stellar century by Tendulkar at the top of the order. The legendary right-handed batter had scored 111 (101) with the help of eight fours and three sixes.
However, the Proteas had chased the total down with 3 wickets and two balls to spare in the match. Having faced their first loss in a home World Cup, India’s chances of making it through to the quarterfinals had not been handed a dent as such. Although the hosts still were at the top of the points table with seven points after five matches, a loss was too big for the fans to digest.
Having Scored 99th ODI Century In A Losing Cause, Sachin Tendulkar’s Warning For Teammates United Them In 2011 World Cup
Infamously called “Chokers” for their performances in ICC tournaments over the years, South Africa handing the home team a defeat didn’t go down well with a few Indian media houses.
During an interaction with Radio City India a month ago, former India batter and part of 2011 World Cup-winning team, Suresh Raina, revealed how Tendulkar was pretty upset with a certain publication’s newspaper article post the loss. Resultantly, during one of the team meetings, Tendulkar directed the team members to refrain from reading newspapers until the end of the tournament. In fact, the players were not even supposed to watch news channels on the televisions.
“We had a meeting and Sachin [Tendulkar] had directed each one of us that no one should be found with a newspaper in their rooms from here on. There was no supply of newspapers in any of our rooms. There was no social media during the time, and we were even prevented from watching the news channels.”
While the news article which had irked Tendulkar was not revealed by Raina, he further exclaimed that the entire team united with a much stronger bond and desperately wanted to prove their mettle before the world. In fact, the ignition of a renewed passion couldn’t have come at a better time. Prior to the loss against South Africa, their match against England had ended in a stalemate. It was, thus, crucial for the team to reach the knockout stage with a win under their belt.
What Happened After India’s Loss To South Africa In World Cup 2011?
India then defeated West Indies by 80 runs in their final group stage match in Chennai. With four wins under their name off six matches, they finished at the second spot in Group B points table.
With Australia sealing the third spot in the Group A points table, they were scheduled to play India in the second quarterfinal in Ahmedabad. Chasing a 261-run target, India managed to secure a 5-wicket victory.
Subsequently, there was no stopping the MS Dhoni-led side as they went on to defeat arch-rivals Pakistan (by 29 runs in Mohali) during the semi-final, and then Sri Lanka (by 6 wickets in Mumbai) in the grand finale. The entire nation basked itself in a festive mood for many a days to come post India lifting the World Cup after 28 years.
