Sachin Tendulkar hit a boundary in the first ball he faced on the cricket field in five-and-a-half years after he came out to bat in a charity match for the Australian bushfire relief at the Junction Oval, Melbourne on Sunday.

Despite carrying a shoulder injury, the 46-year-old Sachin Tendulkar faced a special over bowled by Australia women's pace bowlers Ellyse Perry and Annabel Sutherland in the 10-over match.

"I think I was more nervous than (Perry) because I was not sure whether I was going to see the ball or not," Sachin Tendulkar, who is also League Ambassador for the T20 Mumbai league, said. "I told her that after last evening's net, I did one throwdown session and I said, 'I can see the ball but I cannot guarantee whether the ball is going to hit the bat,' at least I could see the ball and spend some time in the middle."

The Master Blaster, who last played in an exhibition match for MCC in 2014 and his final international match in 2013, got off the mark with a backfoot flick towards fine leg that sent the ball to the boundary after a misfield by one of the volunteer firefighters.

He next scored two runs with another flick with the remaining four balls, of which the final two were bowled by Annabel Sutherland, not producing any runs, as he left the field unbeaten on six in as many deliveries.

Loved seeing you back on the ground Master!

Wish you always keep batting 🏏 and we all get to keep watching you. @sachin_rt pic.twitter.com/QEqtqUzhuk

— VINOD KAMBLI (@vinodkambli349) February 9, 2020

The Bushfire Cricket Bash legends match had the likes of Brian Lara, Courtney Walsh, Yuvraj Singh, Matthew Hayden, Brett Lee, Shane Watson, and Wasim Akram turn up with their presence raising about $8 million as Ricky Ponting's team beat Adam Gilchrist's side by one run.

Ponting XI, for whom Sachin Tendulkar turned up, had scored 104/5 in their 10 overs with the Gilchrist XI unable to chase it down.