Had to ''beg and plead'' to open innings for India: Sachin Tendulkar
New Delhi: Batting great Sachin Tendulkar says he had to "beg and plead" to open the innings for India in an ODI against New Zealand in 1994, recalling a major turning point of his career.
The switch from middle-order to opening the innings proved to be a masterstroke as Tendulkar finished with a world record 49 hundreds in the 50-over format.
Sharing a video on LinkedIn, Tendulkar recollected the moments leading up to that one-dayer against New Zealand at Auckland.
"In 1994, when I started opening the batting for India, the strategy used by all teams was to save wickets. What I tried to do was slightly out of the box," he said.
"I thought I could go up front and take the opposition bowlers on. But I had to beg and plead to please give me a chance. If I fail, I won't come after you again," he added.
Using that move as an example, the prolific former batsman urged his fans to never shy away from taking risks because of the fear of failure.
"In that first match (against New Zealand at Auckland), I scored 82 off 49 balls, so I didn't have to ask again if I would get another chance. They were keen for me to open. But what I'm trying to say here is, don't be afraid of failure," the 46-year-old Tendulkar said.
While he may have ended with a 49 ODI centuries, Tendulkar's first ton in the format came after a long wait of five years.
It was in September 1994 that he hit his first ODI hundred, against Australia in Colombo, having made the switch from the middle-order to opening the innings.
He recorded scores of 82, 63, 40, 63 and 73 in his first five innings as an opening batsman. Tendulkar finished his ODI career with 18426 runs in 463 matches -- the most by any in the history of the format.
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Stalin claims DMK secured 1.54 crore votes
Chennai (PTI): DMK president M K Stalin on Tuesday, in a veiled reference to the TVK, claimed that the party that won additional constituencies has gained only 17.43 lakh more votes than the DMK.
He was referring to the April 23 Assembly polls where the DMK and its allies secured 74 seats, with the Dravidian party netting 59 constituencies.
In a statement, Stalin said, "the percentage difference in votes between us and them is just 3.52 per cent," in an apparent reference to the Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kahzagam emerged victorious in the polls, the results of which were announced on Monday.
Claiming that the DMK alliance has secured 1.54 crore votes, Stalin said, "I consider each and every one of your votes as an invaluable token of trust".
Stating that DMK has been in power several times, he said "there is no victory we have not seen and there is no defeat we have not faced".
"Whether in victory or defeat, those who regard them equally and continue their journey toward their ideals are the comrades of the party", he said adding "you are the lifeblood and roots of the movement".
"The harvest of 1.54 crore votes is the fruit of your commitment", he said.
"What return can I offer for your hard work? With the feeling of being the chief worker, we will continue our journey," the DMK chief added.
Stalin said "if we are the ruling party, we will formulate schemes for the people. If we are the opposition party, we will fight for the people's demands. In that regard, now as a strong opposition party, we will continue to work for the people".
Asserting that the DMK will continue the journey of taking forward the policies of the century-old great Dravidian movement, protecting race, language, and nation, the DMK leader said "in our journey, I will not leave anyone behind. We will win again".
