Tendulkar shines in benefit match

Despite running high temperature, Sachin Tendulkar came up with a quickfire 117 to steer his team to an exciting 10-run victory over Rest of India in a benefit cricket match at Thane, near Bombay, on Saturday.

Batting first, in the benefit for former Bombay spinner Ravi Thakkar, Tendulkar XI scored 298 all out in 35 overs, with Jatin Paranjape getting 50 apart from Tendulkar's ton. Pace bowler Zaheer Khan picked three wickets for 42 runs for the Rest of India team, led by India vice-captain Rahul Dravid.

Despite a quickfire 73 by Sunil Joshi and patient knocks of 56 and 42 by Dravid and V V S Laxman respectively, Rest of India, fell short by 11 runs, with two overs to spare, getting all out for 288 off 33 overs.

Thakkar (2/16) and Vinod Kambli (2/24) were among the wickets for Tendulkar XI.

After the match, Thakkar expressed gratitude to all the players, especially Tendulkar, who was suffering from fever and sore throat, "for turning up despite their heavy schedules".

"The match was a big success with nearly 25,000 people turning out to watch it; the total collection was just over Rs six lakhs, Thakkar added.

Brief scores: Sachin Tendulkar XI 298 all out off 35 overs (S Tendulkar 117, J Paranjape 50, Z Khan 3/42) beat Rest of India (S Joshi 73, R Dravid 56, V V S Laxman 42, R Thakkar 2/16, V Kambli 2/24).

Mail Cricket Editor