Cricket is hailed as a religion in India. Indian cricket fans adore their cricketing heroes as gods. The stories of these cricketers are always talked whenever cricket junkies meet at one place. Especially, the on-field stories.
Over the years, some stories have emerged out of nowhere, which are so spicy that fans cannot stop talking more about them. But these stories are far from being real.
We look at 4 such stories which you thought were true.
India lose when Sachin Tendulkar hits a ton
This is the most heard story revolving around Indian cricket fans. When Sachin Tendulkar played, there were many who wanted him to get out in the 90s and the belief was that whenever he hits a century, India goes on to lose the match. This story is nowhere close to being true. The fact is, out of the 49 instances when Tendulkar has hit a ton, India has gone on to win 33 times. This stat proves this story wrong. Isn’t it?
Sourav Ganguly has won massive number of Tests outside India as skipper
There is not an iota of doubt about Sourav Ganguly’s amazing Test record as captain. He was the one, in fact, who taught India how to win Test matches abroad. One story, though, which is associated with him is not at all true. The story that he has won a number of Test matches outside Asia. The truth is that Ganguly has won just one Test series outside Asia and that too against Zimbabwe in 2005.
The ‘Baap, Baap hota hai’ statement by Sehwag
Virender Sehwag’s most famous jibe at the Pakistan cricket team came during a cricket event. Sehwag narrated a story that when he was nearing a double ton, Shoaib Akhtar had challenged him to hit a six off his bowling. A relaxed Sehwag told Akhtar to challenge his ‘Baap’ (Father) who was standing at the non-striking end, pointing at Sachin Tendulkar. In the next Akhtar over, Tendulkar actually hit a six off Akhtar’s bowling and then Sehwag took a jibe at him, saying, “Baap- Baap hota hai aur beta, beta hota” (That a son should not argue with his father). Turns out, the story is fake.
When records were checked, it was found that on all the four occasions when Sehwag was close to scoring a double ton against Pakistan, Sachin has never hit a six off Shoaib Akhtar. Only Sehwag can solve this mystery.
Yuvraj scored 84 on his ODI debut
Yuvraj Singh marked his presence in international cricket when he scored a scintillating fifty against the mighty Australians in the year 2000. The myth is that it was Yuvraj’s debut ODI match, which is obviously not true. In reality, Yuvraj made his debut against Kenya in the same tournament but did not get a chance to bat.