Just the sight of them walking together would have given nightmares to many bowlers around the world. They were, undoubtedly, one of the best opening pairs in ODI cricket history. But five years back, on this very day, they walked together, not as a pair, but as the captains for the toss. While Sourav Ganguly walked out as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper, Sachin Tendulkar was the home captain at the Brabourne Stadium in IPL 2010.

In the IPL’s only season where a number of games were played in March, this was already game number 17 of the season. And although Ganguly didn’t have Tendulkar as his opening partner, Chris Gayle wasn’t a bad replacement by any stretch of imagination. Certainly not in this format, anyway. And the towering West Indian, playing a game after a frustrating wait, did what has become a norm since, batting right through the innings. It was creditable feat from the Mumbai Indians bowlers in fact, that despite batting right through, they didn’t allow Gayle to get into three figures. Malinga, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh all conceded seven or less runs per over, as KKR settled for 155 for 3. Gayle smacked 75 from 60 balls, including seven fours and two sixes, before getting out of the last ball of the innings.

On a track that was not an absolutely belter, KKR had posted a decent total, even though not quite imposing. Shikhar Dhawan began Mumbai Indians’ chase in emphatic style, hammering Shane Bond for three fours in the very first over. Master Blaster was not going to lag behind, and gave the same treatment to Ishant Sharma in the second over. And from there on, it was a Tendulkar show all the way.

Ganguly persisted with Sharma for one more over, and that meant three back to back fours from the Master Blaster. Tendulkar was, as usual, a treat to watch, hitting fours with what looked like minimum of effort. The openers took the steam out of the KKR bowling attack, smashing 61 off the first seven overs. Tendulkar’s second fifty-plus stand of the day, with Sourabh Tiwary, knocked KKR out of the game, before the legend completed the formalities in the company of R Sathish. His unbeaten 48-ball 71 was a perfect answer to Gayle’s 75, although Tendulkar’s effort was more valuable as it took the Paltan to a comfortable win.

A solid bowling performance, and a Tendulkar classic meant Mumbai Indians maintained their 100% record against KKR in the IPL.