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Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is regarded as one of the greatest names to have played the game of cricket. Apart from his enterprising batting skills, he was also known for his calm and composed demeanour even in toughest of situations. There could be a few incidents where Sachin Tendulkar lost his cool during his playing days, which might and might not have been caught on the camera. However, recently, one of Sachin Tendulkar’s former teammates revealed one incident when the cricketer lost his cool during the first Test against Pakistan in Multan.
During the high octane clash against Pakistan in 2004, India were in a commanding position at 356/2 at sumps on Day 1 with Tendulkar on 60*. India continued their dominance on Day 2 as India posted 675/4 in the 162nd over. When Tendulkar was batting on 194*, Rahul Dravid, India’s captain at that time made a shocking decision to declare the innings.
I saw him unhappy for the first time: Aakash Chopra about Sachin Tendulkar
Former Indian batter, Aakash Chopra, who was the part of Indian lineup for that game, revealed that the decision caused shockwaves as Tendulkar was denied to score his lone double hundred against Pakistan. Appearing on 2Sloggers podcast, Chopra was quoted by Hindustan Times, "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."
It wasn't the captain's decision alone: Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra revealed that it wasn’t the decision of then captain Rahul Dravid and defended him. Chopra said, "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. After the game, Rahul did say that he wouldn't have declared had he known the match would end within 4 days."
