“You’re a good umpire” - When Sachin Tendulkar reassured Simon Taufel after wrong lbw call on 91 in 2007 Trent Bridge Test

Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar has been known for getting out in the 90s quite often in his career. Many a time, the batter was also given out wrongly. One such instance also occurred during India's tour of England in 2007.

Tendulkar was batting on 91 in India's first innings of the second Test at Trent Bridge. Simon Taufel, who was the on-field umpire, wrongly adjudged Sachin out lbw. Thus, the batter was denied an opportunity to score a hundred.

In an episode of the 22 Yarns podcast hosted by Gaurav Kapur, Taufel opened up on the decision and how Sachin Tendulkar reassured him later on. While Taufel had given Tendulkar out, the ball-tracking showed that the ball would have missed the stumps.

"Well, I'm thinking, shouldered arms, so benefit of the doubt probably to the bowler, and I've given Sachin out after a bit of thought. Now, of course, Sachin's not happy with the decision. It's unusual for him to stand around, and he did stand there for a little bit of time, and then he went. I could see that he wasn't happy," Taufel recalled.

Taufel also recalled how he decided to stay away from reading newspapers after he knew the decision he had made was wrong.

"[…] Later on Hawkeye showed that the ball was predicted to miss the off stump by maybe an inch. And I just knew what the response was going to be like from world cricket; so I didn't open Cricinfo, I didn't read any newspapers, I knew that I was going to be... not the flavor of the month in the media," he said.

Simon then opened up about his face-off with Sachin Tendulkar the next morning. He revealed that while he admitted to Sachin about giving him out wrongly, the former Indian cricketer reassured him saying he is a good umpire.

"The following morning I happened to pass by Sachin on my normal morning walk out to the middle […] and I come across Sachin and I said, 'look, yesterday I got it wrong, you know? I've looked at it, I got it wrong.' He said, 'look, Simon, I know. You're a good umpire, you don't often get many wrong, it's okay, don't worry about it,'" he said.

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"That relationship bank account got a massive credit" - Simon Taufel on his relationship with Sachin Tendulkar

Simon Taufel also revealed how the incident bettered his relationship with Sachin Tendulkar. He stated that he wanted to let Sachin know that he knew that the batter was unhappy with the call.

However, Sachin's reassuring Simon only benefitted their relationship.

"[…] I'm a big believer that breakdowns lead to breakthroughs, and I think that was an example where Sachin and I had a moment that wasn't particularly pleasant, and I wanted him to know that I took my job seriously and I was going to make sure that that didn't happen again. And I think out of that exchange, that relationship bank account got a massive credit, because I think that breakdown moment did lead to a breakthrough," Taufel said.

He also added that while it was not the first time he got Sachin Tendulkar out wrong, the two have mutual respect for each other.

"We have an ongoing mutual respect for each other and our abilities, because I've got Sachin wrong a number of times, not just on that one occasion. I've got the best in the world wrong. And I've learned from all those examples, but one thing that will always be with me, apart from those mistakes, is the respect and the trust and the integrity of our relationships as we go forward," he said.