Sachin Tendulkar Closed His Eyes To Bouncers From Shoaib Akhtar In 2006, Claims Mohammad Asif

India toured Pakistan for three-Test series with the finest line-ups which failed to produce the desired result. The first-two Tests between the arch-rivals in Lahore and Faisalabad respectively ended in a draw. While in the third Test Pakistan beat India by a massive 341-run margin to clinch the series 1-0.

Former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif had picked up seven wickets in the final Test with VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar failing to contribute to the their potential in both the innings. It was also the match where Irfan Pathan clinched a hat-trick in the first over of the first innings. In a recent interview Asif recalled how Pakistan clinched victory from the jaws of defeat.

Sachin Tendulkar closed his eyes while facing one or two bouncers bowled by Shoaib Akhtar: Mohammad Asif

Sachin Tendulkar scored 23 runs in the first innings and lost his wicket to Asif on 26 in the second innings. Asif claimed that he saw Tendulkar closing his eyes to a couple of bouncers from fast bowling legend Shoaib Akhtar. He also went on to say that India were playing on the backfoot in the final match.

“When the match started, Irfan Pathan claimed a hat-trick in the first over itself. Our morale was down. Kamran Akmal scored a century lower down the order. We scored around 240 runs. When we started bowling, Shoaib Akhtar bowled at express pace in that match. I was standing at square leg near the umpire and I myself saw that Tendulkar closed his eyes while facing one or two bouncers bowled by Shoaib. The Indians were playing on the back foot and we didn’t allow them to score even 240 in the first innings. We snatched victory from jaws of defeat,” Mohammad Asif who was banned for seven years for his role in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal during Pakistan’s tour of England, said on Pakistani show The Burgerz.

Asked to bat, Pakistan were bundled out for 245 runs in the first innings, with India managing to score 238 runs in their first essay. However, Pakistan came back strongly and scored 599 runs while India were all-out on 265 runs 2006 Karachi Test.