It was a special day for cricket fans as some of the biggest legends came together for an exhibition match at Junction Oval in Melbourne. Legends and fan favourites Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara rewound the clock with their batting in a match which was also for a special occasion — to raise money for relief efforts for the bushfire damage in Australia. The 10-over match was played between Ponting XI and Gilchrist XI in which Tendulkar was just a coach for Ricky Ponting’s side, but he was the cynosure of all eyes when he stepped out to bat during the innings break to face an over from Ellyse Perry (including two balls from Annabel Sutherland). The challenge was thrown to Tendulkar on Twitter by Perry which Tendulkar accepted to raise “enough money for the cause”. Tendulkar hit the first ball of the over for a boundary with a pull shot to fine leg area. Last two balls of the over was bowled by Sutherland.
Apart from Tendulkar, other greats also mesemerised the crowd with exquisite shots which brought back a lot of memories. Lara made fans salivate with his trademark inside-out drive over long-off for a maximum.
Gilchrist XI batted second with the captain smashing Brett Lee for a massive six over mid-wicket.
Ponting XI posted a target of 104 in their allotted 10 overs batting first and won the match by one run.