Former Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar recently spoke about his first tour to Australia and how the tour changed him.
“They were top-class bowlers and I had grown up watching them. From being a ball boy in 1987-88, suddenly in 1991-92, I was playing against them. I knew that once I was out there competing, no one was going to look at my age,” Tendulkar said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
“They were going to do all possible things to get me out, to send 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.”
Tendulkar, who made his Test debut in 1989, had toured Australia for the first time in 1991 for the 5-match Test series. In the series, he went on to score two tons.
“People talk about steep bounce and pace. Steep bounce and pace mean that the good length area for the bowler becomes small. It becomes that much tougher for the bowler to find that ideal spot. So if the batter goes out to bat with a positive approach looking to score runs and just keep blocking, there are many scoring opportunities,” he explained.
“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 tip 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.”
Meanwhile, India will take on Australia in the 2nd Test soon. India went down to the hosts in the first Test and got out for just 36 in the 2nd innings.
