'After the almighty, it is probably Sachin Tendulkar who made me a star' - Shoaib Akhtar

Cricket in the late 90's was about rivalries between Sachin Tendulkar and his opponents. People flocked in numbers to witness box office cricket whenever India was in action as it saw Sachin take on the likes of Glenn McGrath, Allan Donald, Wasim Akram, Courtney Walsh, and Shane Warne.

Shoaib Akhtar, who was still finding his place in international cricket, announced himself on the global stage, uprooting Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid's stumps on consecutive deliveries in the famous 1999 Eden Gardens Test between India and Pakistan.

Akhtar, speaking to Sportskeeda, opened up about how he planned Sachin's wicket during the course of the over.

"Sachin was walking in very slow; his walk was not getting over. I turned around, went to the start of my run-up, and turned back, and even then, he wasn't ready. He was getting ready, and Wasim Akram (Pakistan captain) was telling me - 'Shebby don't miss the line at all. Make sure that your reverse swing is ending on the wickets and bowl with everything you have got.'

I was quite anxious about getting him out. I remember quite clearly that I thought what to bowl to him," recalled Akhtar.

Rawalpindi Express further dwelled on that particular ball, confessing it was this wicket of Sachin that gave him recognition.

"Finally, Sachin got ready. I started running in, and I was completely focused on him. If he moved even a little bit, I would have been able to catch that. The ball went all the way to the crease; I made no mistake in my run-up, jump or action. I released the ball, Sachin lifted his bat and then, gone. He had a very high lift, and the ball was reversing a lot.

"The ball that I bowled, I knew it would hit the stumps. I was not surprised, and you would see that. After the almighty, it is probably Sachin who made me a star because of that incident," the fastest bowler ever in the game concluded.

Both Tendulkar and Akhtar went on to feature in numerous encounters till the 2011 World Cup. The Master Blaster's upper-cut against Akhtar for a maximum at Centurion in the 2003 World Cup remains etched in the memory of fans across both nations.

Akhtar picked 178 Tests, 247 ODIs and 19 T20Is wickets for Pakistan from 1997 to 2011.