Sachin Tendulkar, 51, gives Mumbai crowd goosebumps with vintage batting masterclass: 'Inject this shot into my veins'

Three days apart, two icons of the sport sent world cricket into a frenzy. If it was Virat Kohli with his masterclass of a knock in Dubai against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy on Sunday, which saw "the king add another jewel to his crown," his idol Sachin Tendulkar rolled back the years on Tuesday with a vintage knock in the International Masters League in Navi Mumbai. Sachin Tendulkar scored 34 off 21 against England Masters

In response to the chase of 133 at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Gurkeerat Singh Mann played the aggressor in the opening partnership, smashing five boundaries in the first two overs before Sachin broke free from the shackles with back-to-back boundaries, one punched through deep extra cover against Steven Finn in the third over, and the other, a pick-up shot over square leg.

The 51-year-old hit a third boundary in the following over against Chris Tremlett before taking Tim Bresnan to the cleaners in the penultimate over of the powerplay with three consecutive strikes. Tendulkar started with a six over deep square leg, before hitting back-to-back boundaries in his blazing 21-ball 34.

Chris Schofield dismissed him in the first ball of the seventh over, ending the 75-run opening stand.

36,000 people were in attendance at the Navi Mumbai crowd, who were left with goosebumps after Sachin produced a "vintage masterclass." But the moment to savour for the man they call the "God of cricket" surely was the iconic 'Sachin, Sachin' chants.

India Masters win two-in-two

Earlier in the evening, Dhawal Kulkarni and Pawan Negi's economical spell restricted England Masters to 132 for eight. The pacer finished with 3 for 21, while the latter took two wickets for 16 runs.

In response, the fiery opening stand from the Indian unit and an unbeaten 63 off 365 from Gurkeerat helped the home team cruise to the target with 8.2 overs to spare. Yuvraj Singha added the finishing touch to the chase with his 27 not out from 14 balls.

India Masters now have two wins in two games as they remain at the top of the points table. They will play their next match against South Africa Masters at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara.

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