Not so long ago India and England concluded the inaugural edition of the Sachin-Anderson Trophy as a draw. It was thought England could have won the series but Mohammad Siraj had other plans as he stood tall and made sure that India wins the last Test to secure the series.
Talking about this Sachin Tendulkar, the former Indian player said his two cents on Reddit. The series saw a lot of ups and downs and one of those moments was when Risbah Pant went to bat with an injury. Pant played four Test matches in the series and scored two centuries and three half-centuries.
“The sweep shot that he played, he likes to get under the ball to scoop it with some elevation,” Tendulkar said on Reddit. “People think he has fallen, but it is intentional so that he can get under the ball. The secret to playing those shots is to be able to get under the ball. So it’s a planned fall, he doesn’t go off-balance. All that depends on the length of the ball.”
There were occasions where people felt he doesn’t have to play that shot, it’s not the right time, but someone like Rishabh should be left alone. But when he’s looking to save a match, he has to have a different approach, like in the last 15-20 overs of a match. But he has figured out [how to approach an innings] depending on the match situation.”
In that series, Gill and opener Rahul were India’s two batting mainstays, amassing 754 runs and 532 runs, respectively, with six hundreds between them. Tendulkar praised their footwork and classical shots they played during the series.
“He was extremely consistent as far as his thought process was concerned because it reflects on your footwork,” he said of Gill.
“If you’re not clear in your head, your body doesn’t respond accordingly, and his body responds brilliantly. He looked so much in control, he had so much time to play the ball. The most important thing I noticed was the respect to a good ball where the tendency sometimes is to push the ball on the front foot, even if it’s not close to your foot. He was able to defend there and consistently defend well on the front foot. His front-foot defence was solid.”
On Rahul, who scored more than one hundred in a series for the first time in a Test series, Tendulkar said:
“He was terrific, possibly one of the best I’ve seen him bat. The way he was defending close to the body, he was leaving in a completely organised manner, he knew exactly where his off stump was and which balls to leave. I got the feeling sometimes he was able to frustrate the bowler, that where should they bowl to him if he’s letting so many balls go. So he got the bowlers to come back to him, and when the ball was in striking range he played some magnificent shots. I thought he looked in that zone, calm and composed.”
Among the bowlers, Siraj impressed Tendulkar.
“Unbelievable. Superb approach. I love his attitude. I love the spring in his legs,” Tendulkar said. “For a fast bowler to be constantly in your face like that, no batsman will like it. And the approach he had till the end on the last day, I could hear commentators also saying he bowled around 90mph (145kph) on the last day after having bowled more than 1000 deliveries in the series. That shows his courage and big heart.
“The way he started on the last day was remarkable and he has always been instrumental, playing a key role whenever we need him, whenever we want him to deliver that knockout punch, he’s been able to do that consistently in the past, and so was the case in this series. The way he picked all those wickets and performed, he doesn’t get the credit he deserves.”
Last but not the least Tendulkar also praised Jaiswal the up and coming star of India.
“I was impressed with Yashasvi’s mindset. He’s a fearless batsman and he knows when to accelerate, when to see through a phase, and when to go to the non-striker’s end. He scored a hundred on a difficult track in the first Test where the ball moved around a bit, not as much and not for as long as we expected, but he played an important role there.
“In the last Test he scored a magnificent hundred on a difficult track. Before that the tracks weren’t as challenging, but the last one was a difficult one to bat on. He showed a lot of character, maturity and determination. The way he was guiding Akash Deep…a batter’s responsibility is not to score his own runs, it’s also how you build partnerships. He played a role in how to motivate Akash Deep. All in all, a fantastic series for Yashasvi, a treat to watch.”
