Whenever India face Pakistan, there is every chance that a new folklore will arise from it. Shoaib Akhtar must know. He often proved to be quite a handful for the Indian batters with his speed, while sometimes getting hit for runs too. However, the way he demolished India top-order during the Test of 1999 at the Eden Gardens is a stuff of legends. In the first innings, he took four wickets including those of VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar. In the second innings, he was accused of obstructing the field while Sachin was taking a run and ultimately was run out.
Things got so much out of control that the agitated spectators at the Eden Gardens had to be evacuated. India lost the match by 46 runs. The wicket of Sachin was all the more special for Shoaib as he dismissed the batting great for a duck.
"So, Sachin, being a nice, greatest guy on the planet Earth, greatest batsman... I went up to him, looked at him, checked him out and said 'Brother, you have no chance against me'. So, I got him out on the first ball in Kolkata. First time ever happened in the history of cricket," Akhtar said in an interview to Michael Vaughan on Telegraph Sport.
"Because of me he got out on the first ball. Because of me that he got run out. Because of the 70000-80000 people needed to be evacuated from the Kolkata Stadium. First time the match was delayed, the test match was delayed for two hours. First time in history the match was played under 100000 people and now there is nobody, and I was bowling."
The match was part of the Asian Test Championship.