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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Etah man dies by suicide over sister's wedding expenses
Etah (UP) (PTI): A 30-year-old man allegedly died by suicide here due to financial stress over his sister's wedding expenses, police said on Thursday.
The incident occurred in Fatehpur Mafi village under the Marhara police station area when the victim, identified as Satish Kumar, hanged himself at his residence while other family members were in the fields harvesting wheat.
According to police and family members, preparations were underway for the wedding of Satish's sister on April 19, and the household was busy with arrangements.
His father, Rakesh Kumar, had been busy distributing wedding cards.
Shyam Pal said his brother Satish took the extreme step because he was mentally disturbed due to severe financial stress from wedding expenses.
Satish had been married for about eight years and is survived by his wife and four minor children.
His father said Satish had a habit of consuming alcohol.
After receiving information, Marhara police reached the spot and sent the body for post-mortem examination after completing inquest proceedings.
Station House Officer KK Lodhi said the matter is being investigated based on input from family members and legal action will be taken after the post-mortem report is received.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
