How True is Sehwag's Story about Sachin & Shoaib?
"Beta beta hota hai, baap baap hota hai"
This is what Virender Sehwag said to Shoaib Akhtar when Sachin Tendulkar hooked him for a 6.
The story goes something like this:
Sehwag was batting on a score close to 200... Shoaib Akhtar kept peppering him with bouncers and kept asking Sehwag to hook... Sehwag's response to Akhtar was "your daddy is batting at the other end, ask him and he will hook"... Sachin was batting at the other end... Shoaib bowled the bouncer to him... Sachin hooked him for 6... that is when Sehwag uttered those words.
Here, hear it from Sehwag himself as he tell Shahrukh Khan the story during the recently held Sahara India Sports Awards.
But where is the video of Sehwag uttering those words?
Which match was it?
Did it actually happen?
The one Sachin 6 off Shoaib that comes to mind is the one over point during the World Cup match in 2003.
When was this famous hook for 6?
A friend, Maryam Haroon, investigated this story further and here is what she found.
In test matches against Pakistan, Sehwag has been close to a score of 200 on 4 occasions:
1. 309 in Multan, 2004. Shoaib played the game, Sachin scored 194*, but his innings did not include any 6.
2. 173 in Mohali 2005. Shoaib did not play.
3. 201 in Bangalore 2005. Shoaib did not play.
4. 254 in Lahore 2006. Sachin did not get to bat.
So the incident definitely did not take place in a test match.
So maybe it was an ODI?
Well Sehwag has never got to a score of close to 200 in an ODI against Pakistan, but he does have two centuries. The 108 in Kochi, 2005, when Sachin scored only 4; and the 119 in Karachi, 2008, a game that Sachin did not play.
So then, a made up story being told by Sehwag on national Television?
There doesn't seem to be much truth in it.
So what was it then? A story told for entertainment value? Marketing the Shoaib vs Sachin or Shoaib vs Sehwag rivalry? Belittling Shoaib Akhtar?
Decide for yourself.
Note:
I just found out about this through a friend on Facebook, but again through Facebook I found out that Zeeshan Ahmed had already broken this story on his blog long way back.
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Perhaps it was a pulled or hooked 4, but Sehwag misremembers it as 6, or is saying so to add masala! :)
(As an aside, I do remember Sachin hooking Shoaib for a 4 in a Test match in India... think it may have been Delhi. He certainly hooked Steyn for a 6 today.)
I remember Sachin hooking Shoaib for a 6 (it was a top edge though!) on 13th March 2004 in an ODI at Karachi - the first time India had toured Pakistan for a full Test series after Sachin's debut tour.
Sehwag scored an 80-odd in that game, but I don't remember Shoaib coming round-the-wicket to Sehwag in that match. However, one thing strikes me though - if it was just an entertainment story, Sehwag wouldn't have mentioned round-the-wicket detail!
I think it must be something like the anonymous person said, it must be a 4 that Sehwag remembers as a 6, maybe because it landed very close to the ropes!
sehwag is not pakistani.
he wont say wrong in such a ceremony, especially by taking players name and their position of bowling (round the wicket). one than can happen is that it may be a 4 instead of 6 that's all.
sehwag is not pakistani.
he wont say wrong in such a ceremony, especially by taking players name and their position of bowling (round the wicket). one than can happen is that it may be a 4 instead of 6 that's all.
So only pakistanis lie? Sehwag was clearly adding masala to the story he cooked up. He is a bastard who knows only too well to complain and make a name for himself. Like how he criticized maxey for the loss and gambhir for the 2 crore ishants comment. 10L bowlers perform better than ishant. Sehwag is stupid and Im an Indian