Sachin Tendulkar Recalls Sanjay Bangar's Headingley Heroics On His 46th Birthday

Sachin Tendulkar, on Thursday, wished his former India teammate and current India batting coach Sanjay Bangar on his 46th birthday.

Sanjay Bangar did not enjoy a very successful international career. A promising allrounder, he ended up playing only 12 Tests and 15 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) for India. But the limited appearances did not stop himself from making his own mark in the game.

In only his second Test, he scored 100 not out against Zimbabwe at Nagpur batting at number 7. But his finest moment came during the tour 2002 tour of England. The allrounder was promoted to open the innings at Headingley after some poor performances by Wasim Jaffer and he totally justified the decision.

The right-handed batsman made a patient 68 on the first day in an invaluable partnership with Rahul Dravid in difficult swinging and seaming conditions. Later on in the same match he also chipped in with two important wickets to set up a rare innings victory for India away from home.

And so when Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to hail him as ‘one of the calmest cricketers’, he made sure to mention his performance at Headingley.

“To one of the calmest cricketers I have ever come across. Can never forget your important contribution when we won the Headingley test match in 2002. Happy birthday, @ImSanjayBangar!,” wrote the Master Blaster.

To one of the calmest cricketers I have ever come across. Can never forget your important contribution when we won the Headingley test match in 2002. Happy birthday, @ImSanjayBangar! pic.twitter.com/a6GiEgBpHP

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 11, 2018

But soon after the Headingley heroics, Sanjay Bangar’s performance dipped. He made made his final appearance for his country in 2004. After his playing career, he took to coaching. He is currently the batting coach of Team India.