In the space of three days, Sachin Tendulkar hit two centuries against Australia in Sharjah — one in a qualifying match against a desert sandstorm, one in the final — comprehensively destroying Shane Warne's aura and cementing his status as the world's greatest batsman.
Australia in 1998 were the dominant ODI force, with Shane Warne at the peak of his powers. Tendulkar was 24 and already one of the game's greats, but India had not beaten Australia consistently. The Sharjah tri-series featured India, Australia, and New Zealand, with both finalists progressing from the qualifying stage.
India needed to beat Australia in the qualifying game to reach the final — and needed to do so by a run margin that depended on the net run rate. A sandstorm swept across the Sharjah ground mid-innings, reducing visibility. Play was halted. When it resumed, India needed a near-impossible revised target. Tendulkar was at the crease.
April 22 — the qualifying match. Against a raging sandstorm and an Australian attack of Warne, McGrath, and Fleming, Tendulkar made 143 off 131 balls. India qualified for the final by the barest of margins. The innings included 9 sixes — an extraordinary ratio for 1998. Warne was taken apart across the ground.
April 24 — the final. Warne and McGrath tried again. Tendulkar made 134 off 131 balls. India beat Australia in the final by 6 wickets. Two centuries in three days, both against Australia, both defining India's right to beat the best team in the world.
Warne — who after 1993's Ball of the Century had been untouchable — admitted that Tendulkar was the only batsman who had made him question what he was doing. The Desert Storm series began a decade-long rivalry in which Warne and Tendulkar produced some of the greatest battles in ODI history.
Sandstorm halts play — India need near-impossible target to qualify
Tendulkar 143 off 131 — India qualify, Warne comprehensively dismantled
Tendulkar 134 off 131 in the final — India beat Australia to win the trophy
April 22, 1998
Qualifying match — sandstorm, Tendulkar 143*, India qualify
April 24, 1998
Final — Tendulkar 134, India beat Australia to win Coca-Cola Cup
The Desert Storm series transformed India's commercial relationship with cricket in the Middle East. Sharjah became synonymous with Tendulkar. Warne and Tendulkar became cricket's defining individual rivalry — Warne named Tendulkar his player of the century in retirement.
The greatest back-to-back ODI batting performance of the 1990s. Tendulkar's Desert Storm is the series that made neutral cricket fans globally acknowledge him as the greatest one-day batsman alive.
The Desert Storm is referenced whenever cricket fans debate the greatest ODI batting performances. The sandstorm game alone — Tendulkar batting in blinding conditions against the world's best bowler — is the kind of myth that, if it appeared in a novel, would be considered too dramatic to be credible.
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