Legendary Indian cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar is regarded as one of the greatest cricketers to have ever played the game of cricket. Because of his batting heroics for team India, Sachin is fondly regarded as the ‘God of Cricket’.
Recently, the Master-Blaster talked about his first tour of Australia in 1991/1992, explaining how that tour changed him as a cricketer and taught him all the great things about cricket.
For the unversed, Sachin Tendulkar was only 18 years old when he went to Australia for a Test series, but he came out with flying colors, scoring two centuries in a forgettable series for India.
Sachin Tendulkar was up against a powerful bowling line-up consisting of cricketers like Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, Mike Whitney and Paul Reiffel. At that moment, Sachin made the world know that he wasn’t just a teenager. Though he started the series with scores of 16, 7, 15 and 40 before he notched up his second Test century – first in Australia – 148 in Sydney. In a video posted by Sachin on his YouTube channel, he revealed:
”They were going to do all possible things to get me out, to end me back to the dressing room. And I was ready to face those challenges. That particular tour changed me as a player. It taught me a lot. Not just technically, but mentally… how to approach a big game.”
Recalling his century at Perth, where Tendulkar scored a brilliant knock of 114 runs at the fiery WACA surface, the legendary cricketer revealed he discovered an interesting nuggest while batting that changed him forever. He said:
“People talk about steep bounce and pace. Steep bounce and pace mean that the good length area for the bowler becomes small.”
‘I looked at it that way. Early on, it was about getting on top of the ball, but as time went by, my thinking evolved. I thought why do you always have to get on top off the ball. When there is no third man, you can get under the ball and use their pace. If they falter on the shorter side, I would go over slips, or gully, and even if I don’t get it right because of the pace and bounce, it was going to carry.”
