#4 World Cup 2003: "That" cut shot
One of most iconic shots in ODI cricketOne of the much anticipated individual clashes in the 2003 World Cup, was that of Sachin Tendulkar and Shoaib Akhtar. On one side was Tendulkar - who by that time had established himself into one of the world’s best batsmen. On the other side, Akhtar was an exciting fast bowler who was touted to be the heir to the likes of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.
Fans across the globe wanted to see this battle of quick pace bowling of Akhtar against the elegant and majestic batting of Tendulkar.
Even though before this encounter, Akhtar had managed to trouble Sachin with his pace but things changed post this match. The Indian batsmen gained the bragging rights this time around as he conquered the challenge thrown at him and among all of this, he produced one of the most memorable moments of this arch-rivalry - the cut shot for six in the match's second over.
Akhtar’s short and wide delivery was sent into stands over the point region by Tendulkar. This was followed up by a couple of more boundaries in the next few balls and Sachin continued to dominate in that match and ended up scoring a match-winning knock of 98.