“Sachin, Sachin!” » Hashim Amla recalls his Test debut at the “buzzing” Eden Gardens; talks about Irfan Pathan’s absolute seed | Cricket News

Around 21 years ago, Hashim Amla, one of the modern-day greats, made his Test debut at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.The former South Africa captain vividly remembers his experience playing his first Test.“I remember that Test,” Amla said on the Beard Before Cricket podcast with a gleam in his eye.“I was completely relaxed. It was just fun and a surreal feeling to be with the South African team. Playing with Kallis, Pollock and whoever you were playing against… Sachin (Tendulkar), Sehwag (Virender), Ganguly (Sourav), Laxman (VVS), you are playing against crazy players, the guys we grew up watching for ten years. It was a totally enjoyable experience,” he recalls.Amla, who went on to play 124 Tests for South Africa, scoring 9,282 runs and 181 ODIs scoring 8,113 runs, managed just 24 and 2 on his Test debut.“I got 24 in the first innings. Irfan Pathan got me with a pretty good nut. The ball was swinging inside out and it somehow went past my legs. In the second innings, Harbhajan got me out. Sorry, I was out; if there was a DRS, I would have gone upstairs (laughs). Back then, the call was everything,” he said.Besides this, the South African legend also shared his experience of playing in front of a packed crowd when Sachin Tendulkar came out to bat.“It was a great experience. A packed crowd at Eden Gardens as well. Really lively. I remember being 15 or 20 yards from midfield. I was in cover, and you couldn’t hear a word the midfielder was saying. That’s how loud it was.

“That’s when Sachin comes in – Sachin, Sachin… the whole stadium was vibrating. The noise was just deafening.“I have immense respect for Indian cricketers because they have been playing with this for as long as probable cricket has existed. This type of atmosphere in the stadium makes the game much more intense,” he said.