Former cricketer Ajay Jadeja has recounted an anecdote related to a 24-year match between India and Zimbabwe (IND vs ZIM). This anecdote is from the Coco Cola Champions Trophy held in 1998. In the last match of the group stage of this tri-series, Zimbabwe defeated India by 13 runs. In that game, Sachin Tendulkar was out on a short-throw ball from Zimbabwe’s fast bowler Henry Olonga. Ajay Jadeja says that after this, Sachin Tendulkar could not sleep well for two days.
While interacting with Sony Six, Ajay Jadeja said: ‘That ball changed Sachin. We are very lucky to have the opportunity to play with him. He was not an arrogant person, but he took pride in his game. And when he came out like that, he couldn’t sleep for the next two days. He was very disappointed the whole night of the game. He had never seen him get disillusioned like this. His disappointment wasn’t just about leaving, he was also sad about the way we lost the match.
Henry Olonga took 4 wickets for 46 runs in that match. He uprooted the Indian superior order by taking the lands of Sachin, Sourav, Rahul and Ajay Jadeja. However, in the next match, India gave Zimbabwe a strong response. Sachin led India to a 10-wicket win by scoring an unbeaten century against Zimbabwe. Jadeja says: ‘He (Sachin) had to wait two days and you must have seen what he did in the final match.’
The Zimbabwe team used to be very strong at that time. In this team there used to be many legendary players like Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Heath Streak, Alister Campbell, Olonga and Pommie. In the 1998 Coco-Cola Champions Trophy, this team defeated Sri Lanka to reach the final, where they had to face defeat at the hands of India.