‘Was told to target Sourav Ganguly’s ribs’, Shoaib Akhtar recalls Pakistan team’s strategy against Indian batsman

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India will face Pakistan on August 28 in a much-anticipated clash in the upcoming Asia Cup and the hype surrounding that match is through the roof. Before every India vs Pakistan clash, the buildup to the encounter reaches fever pitch and this time, it’s no different.

In a video shared by Star Sports, Shoaib Akhtar and Virender Sehwag were talking about memorable instances during the greatest rivalry between the two nations.

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Akhtar then talked about the incident when he hit Ganguly in the ribs during the 1999 Mohali ODI, sending the batter down in pain and bringing the game to a brief halt. This match was also Virender Sehwag’s ODI debut for India.

The former Pakistan pacer has now revealed that a team meeting had taken place before the match where Akhtar was clearly instructed to target the Indian batters with short-pitched deliveries and bowl at their body.

“It was Saleem Malik who told me that I will play in the Kolkata Test. He told me that the wicket was going to be fast and that I would play. I was always trying to target the head and the ribs of a batter. The first meeting that happened, what was being discussed was that ‘Shoaib tujhe marna kaise hai logo ko.’ I asked, ‘Should I not get them out?’ I was told, ‘No, you have good pace, aapne bas logo ko marna hai. Getting people out is our job.’ I told Sourav later that our plan was not to get you out but to hit you on the ribs,” Akhtar said in a video posted by Star Sports.’

Check out the video of the famous incident below:


In later years, Akhtar has always maintained that Sourav Ganguly was the bravest batsman he bowled to in international cricket because the India opener never backed away and managed to score runs against him despite having a limitation against the short ball.

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