Source :- Mid Day.
| By: Debasish Datta | Date: 2009-10-02 | Place: Johannesburg |
Sachin Tendulkar lucky to escape with two cuts on his face after a dizzy spell knocked him out in his hotel room on tuesday night.
There was more to Sachin Tendulkar's illness on the eve of India's Champions Trophy match against West Indies on Wednesday than plain food poisoning.
Going by what he told MiD DAY before flying out to Mumbai from South Africa yesterday, it could have been fatal. Tendulkar said that he lost consciousness and hurt himself when he fell down on the table in his room after returning from dinner at an Indian restaurant here. It is not known what exactly he ate but he is quite a foodie and enjoys non-vegetarian food especially fish.
A cut near his nose and another one below the left eye as a result of the fall was some indication of the impact of his face hitting the table.
On Tuesday night, Tendulkar had gone to an Indian restaurant in Johannesburg for dinner with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh.
When he returned to his room at the Sandton Sun hotel, he felt dizzy and collapsed. When this correspondent asked him to describe what exactly happened, he said all he could remember is feeling giddy and passing out.
In spite of feeling unwell, he went to the ground with the team but ultimately decided not to play. Yesterday, when seen at the team hotel, he looked down and exhausted. He cleared his bills before lunch; headed to his room and left for the airport.
When asked whether he had missed a match due to a similar illness, Tendulkar said, "No". "I am feeling much better than yesterday," he said. The batting star has been touring South Africa since 1992. Wonder what impact the news of Tendulkar's illness must have had on the India dressing room. Fortunately, his teammates were up against a second string West Indies team. Following Australia's win over Pakistan, the India vs West Indies game had turned inconsequential.
Such an incident on the eve of a game can unnerve the strongest of teams. An example of it was seen during the 1998 football World Cup final between Brazil and France. Brazil's star striker Ronaldo was stricken with convulsions just hours before the final played in Paris.
Confusion surrounded Ronaldo's status before the game. He was not among the 11 players initially picked by Coach Mario Zagallo in the starting line-up. But he was reinstated just before the game. Ronaldo played the final, but it was clear that his team was shaken by the sudden turn of events. It was not surprising that Brazil were listless to become easy pickings for a rampant France outfit.
Tendulkar has figured in six editions of the Champions Trophy (the 1998 and 2000 editions were known as the mini World Cup) but he will never forget this one.
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