Dinesh Karthik recalls fond and regretful moments with Sachin Tendulkar on his 51st birthday

On the occasion of iconic cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s 51st birthday, veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik recalled some good and bad memories involving the Master Blaster.

On Wednesday, April 24, Tendulkar is celebrating his 51st birthday. The legendary batter achieved numerous remarkable achievements in his illustrious career, which spans more than two decades.

He is the leading run scorer in both one-day internationals and test cricket. Tendulkar has an incredible record of smashing 100 international centuries, and no one has even come close to this milestone to date.

Dinesh Karthik shares Good and Bad memories involving Sachin Tendulkar

His outstanding contributions to cricket have garnered him widespread recognition and won numerous prestigious awards, including the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, and the Khel Ratna, the country's highest sports accolade.

Well, on the occasion of Sachin Tendukar’s birthday, Karthik, who is playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the ongoing IPL 2024, recalled the time when he first met the former Indian skipper in person, and it was the team bus.

Dinesh Karthik was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times: “Good memory being the fact that the first time I met him, it was on top of a flyover. We were going in a bus en route to the airport and he joined in his car and just got into the bus midway. That’s the first time I ever seen the man in my life. So that is a good memory.”

The RCB wicketkeeper-batter also shared a "bad memory," and he would always have regrets about denying Tendulkar the chance the chance to complete his century in a ODI match against Sri Lanka in Cuttack.

Karthik said: “Bad memory was 97, not out. We needed four runs to win and I hit a six. So, I ended up making sure that he didn’t get the hundred, Till today, I get a lot of grief for it and rightly so. Understandable.”

Here's the rewind of the IND vs SL ODI Match

Going back to the moment, in a memorable match during the 3rd ODI between India and Sri Lanka in Cuttack in 2009, Team India was chasing a target of 240 for victory. And Tendulkar found himself just four runs shy of his 46th ODI century.

As the chase progressed, a young Karthik played a crucial role in steering India towards the target. Well, the moment came when Karthik hit a six against Sri Lankan spinner Suraj Randiv, which reduced the required runs for the win to just 7. At this point, Tendulkar needed nine runs to reach his century.

In the next over, Tendulkar managed to score a boundary off Lasith Malinga's delivery and then took a single, inching closer to his much-awaited century. However, fate denied Tendulkar the opportunity to achieve his 46th ODI century, as Malinga bowled a delivery down the leg side to Karthik (32*), which ended up as five wides, and India won the game by 7 wickets with 45 balls to spare. Notably, Tendulkar had scored 96 runs off 104 balls laced with 13 fours against Sri Lanka in Cuttack.