Ex-opener recalls ‘unhappy’ Tendulkar after India’s declaration vs Pakistan in 2004: ‘I never saw him lose temper’

The Test series opener between India and Pakistan in Multan back in 2004 witnessed a classic triple century from the then opener Virender Sehwag.
Sehwag scored 309 runs from 375 balls in India’s first innings after they opted to bat, but apart from that historic triple ton from Sehwag, that match would also produce one of the biggest controversial moments in the history of Indian cricket.

In the first innings, India’s score read 675/5 with Sachin Tendulkar not out on 194. However, the Master Blaster was denied an opportunity to score a double century, as the then stand-in captain Rahul Dravid declared India’s innings.

Aakash Chopra recalls declaration controversy

Fans and cricketing experts have since been divided on the incident, and former India opener Aakash Chopra, who was part of that team, recently spoke on the controversy. He recalled the moment when he saw Sachin unhappy for the first time ever.

“I was in the dressing room, but I wasn’t part of that conversation. To be very honest, I didn’t even try to get into it because I was too young. Yes, paaji wasn’t happy that day. I think I saw him unhappy for the first time. I never saw him lose temper, and he didn’t exactly lose temper that day but he was visibly unhappy. Something wasn’t right,” Aakash Chopra
said during an interaction on the 2 Sloggers YouTube channel.

‘It wasn’t captain’s decision alone’ 

According to the 46 year-old, it was not just Dravid’s decision, but the team’s decision to announce the declaration. Regular captain Sourav Ganguly was recovering from an injury, and he too was part of the think-tank that came up to this decision.

“Rahul did call, but Dada (Ganguly) was part of the dressing room that day too. He wasn’t playing in that game, but he was in dressing room and I’m sure he was part of the think-tank. It wasn’t the captain’s decision alone,” he added.

“After the game, Rahul did say that he wouldn’t have declared had he known the match would end within 4 days. With Rahul, it is possible that in heat of the moment, you agree or disagree. But you don’t doubt his decision. You know that even if he was at a similar position, he would’ve taken the same decision,” explained the former Delhi and Rajasthan cricketer.

Sehwag was eventually declared Player of the Match as India won the match by an innings and 52 runs. India would later clinch the three-match Test series 2-1.