Sachin Tendulkar bats for the first time five years after retirement

Batting great and former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar batted for the first time in five and a half years as he faced an over from Australian women cricketer Ellyse Perry during Bushfire Bash, a charity match at Junction Oval, Melbourne on Sunday (February 9).

The Bushfire Bash is a 10-over per side charity match between Ponting XI and Gilchrist XI, where a host of cricket legends are helping raise funds for the Australia bushfire relief effort. Tendulkar, who is coaching the Ponting XI, came out of retirement after a request from Ellyse Perry and faced her for an over during the innings break.

Tendulkar got off the mark with a boundary as Perry bowled an over to India legend with 10 of her Aussie teammates in the field.

Ellyse Perry had threw out the challenge to Sachin Tendulkar on social media on Saturday afternoon via a video message. Tendulkar accepted the challenge and said he would play against his doctor’s advice to face an over from the Australian women all-rounder.

“Hey Sachin, it’s awesome to have you out here in Australia supporting the Bushfire match. I know you’re coaching one of the teams but a few of us were sitting around last night chatting and we thought it would be absolutely amazing to see you potentially come out of retirement for one over in the innings break out here at Junction Oval,” she said.