Sachin Tendulkar 'came out of retirement' to bat an over for a charity match to aid Australian bushfire relief at the Junction Oval, Melbourne on Sunday. The former India batsman faced Australia woman fast bowler Ellyse Perry in the special over, his first appearance on the cricket field in "five and a half years". Sachin Tendulkar hit a boundary off the first ball, thanks to a misfield by a woman fire-fighter, who had come to field for Ellyse Perry for the special cause.
Watch videos of Sachin Tendulkar's batting after "five and a half years":
On Saturday, Tendulkar revealed in a tweet that he has a shoulder injury but promised that he will come out to bat "against the advice of his doctor".
"Sounds great Ellyse. I would love to go out there and bat an over (much against the advice of my doctor due to my shoulder injury). Hope we can generate enough money for this cause, and to get me out there in the middle," Tendulkar tweeted in reply to Perry's challenge on social media.
In a video tweeted by Australian women's cricket team, Perry can be heard saying: "Hey Sachin, it's awesome to have you out here in Australia supporting the Bushfire match."
"I know you're coaching one of the teams but a few of us were sitting around last night chatting and we thought it would be absolutely amazing to see you potentially come out of retirement for one over in the innings break out here at Junction Oval," she added.
The match will raise money for victims of the blazes which began in September and have left at least 33 people dead and thousands of homes destroyed.
"We'd love to have a bowl to you and obviously fetch a few balls from over the boundary that you've hit. We thought it would be an awesome way to raise a bit more money for the Bushfire Appeal, which I know you're already doing so much for," Perry said.
"If you're at all up for it, we'd love to have you out here -- I know there'd be some girls very keen to field some balls that you hit. So let us know, and thanks again for everything," she added.
In the 10-over-a-side match, former Australia batsman Ricky Ponting and West Indies legend Brian Lara impressed with strokeful 26 and 30 runs respectively.
The Ponting XI scored 104/5 in their allotted 10 overs against Adam Gilchrist-led Gilchrist XI.