Sachin Tendulkar‘s versatile strokeplay made him one of the most complete batsmen of all time, but he had his fair share of roadblocks to deal with, including an apparent discomfort in taking on the short ball.
Tendulkar had, arguably, a great hook and pull – who can forget that six off Andrew Caddick at the 2003 World Cup – but former South Africa all-rounder Shaun Pollock has revealed how the there came a phase when the batsman wasn’t confident about taking on the short ball on the bouncy tracks of Australia.
“It was how well he understood his game and how he would adjust. He talked to me once about going to Australia and understanding he couldn’t take on the short-pitched deliveries anymore, so he would ramp the ball over the wicket-keeper and slip,” Pollock said in the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.
"Everyone was Sachin in the school playground. His stance in the middle was mimicked wholly, from the tapping of the bat on the pitch, to the adjusting of the crotch guard."
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— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) April 15, 2020
The ramp over the slip cordon wasn’t a Sachin special in the first half of his career, but turned into a useful weapon when the batsman adopted a conservative approach towards the end of the 2000s. On India’s tours of Australia in 2007/08 and 2011/12, Tendulkar noticeably increased the frequency of the stroke, tactfully guiding the pace of the ball over the slip cordon against quick bowlers, instead of meeting the ball with a horizontal blade.
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The ability to mould his batting style according to the surrounding conditions made Tendulkar a lasting success for over two decades. Pollock further spoke about how a well-set Tendulkar would invariably quash visiting teams’ plans on subcontinental tracks.
“There were times, especially in the subcontinent, where you thought, ‘I’m not sure we can knock this guy over’,” Pollock said. “We were hoping he would make a mistake, rather than had a genuine plan.”
