Pak fan steals Sachin’s heart
NEW DELHI: For six-year-old Hamza, December 11 will be the biggest day of his life.
The Pakistani boy, who underwent a liver transplant on Monday at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, had made two wishes. The first was to see his icon Sachin Tendulkar score his record breaking 35th Test century at the Ferozeshah Kotla grounds. The wish came true on Saturday, the first day of the second India-Sri Lanka test match.
His second wish, however, was a dream he had harboured for years — a meeting with the master blaster.
On December 11, that also came true. Sachin and his wife Anjali, who is also a child specialist, after reading about Hamza, decided to meet the child at Taj Palace hotel at 8 pm, where both the Indian and Sri Lankan cricket teams are staying.
What ensued was a 20-minute meeting and a truly limited over match between Sachin and Hamza — a two over battle.
Played inside Tendulkar’s room, Hamza’s innings saw a couple of sixes.
Then came the congratulatory note from the world’s best batsman that Hamza will never forget. “You really bat well. You have great hand, eye coordination,” Tendulkar told Hamza.
Hamza also managed to get what the world’s best bowlers look forward to sometime during their career — Tendulkar’s prized wicket.
“After bowling for sometime, Tendulkar asked Hamza to bowl. In a great gesture, on the last ball, Tendulkar got out. Hamza was thrilled. It was a night he will never forget. He is still dazed. He also got an autograph from the master blaster on his bat,” said Apollo’s medical director Dr Anupam Sibal.
