England's left-arm spin sensation Monty Panesar says he almost lost his mind after trapping Sachin Tendulkar leg before wicket in the drawn Lord's Test.
Tendulkar had written 'once in a blue moon' on the ball with which Panesar dismissed him in the Nagpur Test last year for his maiden Test wicket. But the Sikh bowler did not have to wait that long to bag the master bastman's scalp again. He trapped his childhood hero plumb in front of the wicket in India's second innings and burst into his trademark celebration.
"It was as if I lost my mind. I honestly didn't know what was going on. I just started running and it felt like I was flying somewhere.
"The only thing I can remember is hugging everyone. Afterwards, all I could think to myself was: 'Did I really do that?' I haven't had the chance to see a replay of the celebration but my friends told me that I just went crazy," Monty wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.
Despite getting Tendulkar out for 16, Panesar is still in awe of the Mumbai batsman.
"I was just savouring the moment and the reason I reacted like that was because he is such a great player.
"That is the impact he has on people. I would not have run so far and jumped around like that if he was not so good."
Panesar recalled a drive Tendulkar played off him, saying, "Most batsmen would have defended the ball, but he just put it away. There was also a back-foot drive which was fantastic.
"Even though I am playing against him, I still think 'wow' when he does something like that."
Panesar said he is looking forward to renew the rivalry in the second Test, which gets underway at Trent Bridge on Friday, though conditions might not be as helpful as it was at Lord's.
"I am preparing myself to be very patient there, because you don't get the bounce as the wickets always seem quite flat.
"But I will keep plugging away and, hopefully, I'll get a bit more luck there," he added.
