<p>Sachin Tendulkar produced a fairytale run in the 2003 World Cup, which, in his own words, included the biggest match of his career, without facing a single ball in the nets, according to former team-mate Rahul Dravid, who says the iconic cricketer “defied imagination”.<br /><br /></p>.<p>No cricketer ever has scored more runs than the 673 recorded then by the Indian legend in a single edition of a World Cup. The highlight was the 98-run knock that saw him take on the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar with aplomb.<br /><br />“It (his preparation) changes from time to time. In the 2003 World Cup, Sachin Tendulkar didn’t bat a single ball in the nets, right through the tournament. He only got throw-downs. He just received hundreds of throw-downs through the whole tournament,” Dravid said.<br /><br />“All of us were wondering ‘Why is he doing that?’ When I asked him, he said, ‘I’m feeling good. I don’t want to go into the nets and waste the touch. I want to feel good about my batting. If I have that sort of feeling, I will score runs when I go in.’ And that’s what happened!”<br /><br />Calling the Mumbaikar the greatest player he has played with, Dravid said Tendulkar changed the landscape of Indian cricket.<br /><br />“He’s changed the landscape, both on and off the field, for Indian cricket over the last two decades. It’s almost mindboggling. A whole generation has grown up with Tendulkar. They’ve seen his ups and downs and lived their lives and dreams through his feats. So many people in India want to be a cricketer,” Dravid said on a cricinfo show.<br /><br />“For the last 24 years, there’s been a whole generation of people who’ve had this privilege and opportunity of claiming to say ‘We were there when Tendulkar was the best batsman in the world.’”<br /><br />The former India captain said Tendulkar defied imagination.<br /><br />“A legend. The greatest player that I’ve played with as a batsman. He’s been a huge inspiration. To see a 16-year old boy do what he did was unbelievable. It defied imagination and was a huge inspiration for me. I felt like if he could do it then I should also try to be a Test cricketer,” Dravid said. <br /><br />On Tendulkar being accused of selfishness, Dravid said: “I think it’s a little bit unfair. All of us want to score hundreds, all of us want to score runs and the team does benefit when you score runs.”</p>
<p>Sachin Tendulkar produced a fairytale run in the 2003 World Cup, which, in his own words, included the biggest match of his career, without facing a single ball in the nets, according to former team-mate Rahul Dravid, who says the iconic cricketer “defied imagination”.<br /><br /></p>.<p>No cricketer ever has scored more runs than the 673 recorded then by the Indian legend in a single edition of a World Cup. The highlight was the 98-run knock that saw him take on the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar with aplomb.<br /><br />“It (his preparation) changes from time to time. In the 2003 World Cup, Sachin Tendulkar didn’t bat a single ball in the nets, right through the tournament. He only got throw-downs. He just received hundreds of throw-downs through the whole tournament,” Dravid said.<br /><br />“All of us were wondering ‘Why is he doing that?’ When I asked him, he said, ‘I’m feeling good. I don’t want to go into the nets and waste the touch. I want to feel good about my batting. If I have that sort of feeling, I will score runs when I go in.’ And that’s what happened!”<br /><br />Calling the Mumbaikar the greatest player he has played with, Dravid said Tendulkar changed the landscape of Indian cricket.<br /><br />“He’s changed the landscape, both on and off the field, for Indian cricket over the last two decades. It’s almost mindboggling. A whole generation has grown up with Tendulkar. They’ve seen his ups and downs and lived their lives and dreams through his feats. So many people in India want to be a cricketer,” Dravid said on a cricinfo show.<br /><br />“For the last 24 years, there’s been a whole generation of people who’ve had this privilege and opportunity of claiming to say ‘We were there when Tendulkar was the best batsman in the world.’”<br /><br />The former India captain said Tendulkar defied imagination.<br /><br />“A legend. The greatest player that I’ve played with as a batsman. He’s been a huge inspiration. To see a 16-year old boy do what he did was unbelievable. It defied imagination and was a huge inspiration for me. I felt like if he could do it then I should also try to be a Test cricketer,” Dravid said. <br /><br />On Tendulkar being accused of selfishness, Dravid said: “I think it’s a little bit unfair. All of us want to score hundreds, all of us want to score runs and the team does benefit when you score runs.”</p>