The Indian legendary cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar said that social distancing wasn’t even on his mind when the desert storm arrived in Sharjah during his memorable innings vs Australia in 1998. In a recent chat-show, he went on to recall the emotions he went through as the storm hit the stadium. As a result of the storm, four overs were reduced and only nine runs were deducted from the target, which made the chase stiffer.

During a show on Star Sports, Tendulkar said, “Eventually (when play resumed) we had 46 overs but if I’m not mistaking only 8-9 runs were deducted from the target so I was quite upset. When we plan a chase we do it according to the full quota of overs and suddenly 4 overs are taken out and only 9-10 runs are deducted That is where your calculations go for a toss.”

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Tendulkar also recalled how he made a plan to hold on to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist in order to survive the storm as he had never witnessed something like it ever.

The batting legend explained, “I had never seen a desert storm like that. When I saw that, the first thought was that I was gonna get blown away by this. Adam Gilchrist was standing right behind me. The storm was so strong that I decided to forget about all social distancing and was ready to hold on to him because if the storm blows me away then at least there will be 80-90 kilos, Adam Gilchrist, with me, so I was thinking literally like that, that’s when the umpires decided to leave the field.”

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Despite Tendulkar’s spectacular hundred, India lost the match but managed to qualify for the final by leaving behind New Zealand on basis of net run rate. In the final a couple of days later, Sachin went on to score another century which helped India beat Australia and clinch the trophy.