Former Australia captain Steve Waugh recalled India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar’s sensational hundred in the 1992 Perth Test. Tendulkar was only 18 years old at the time as he struck a memorable ton on a Perth track that had a lot of assistance for the fast bowlers as he went on to become the youngest batsman ever to register a Test hundred in Australia.
Speaking in a video uploaded on cricket.com.au, Waugh said that he knew Sachin was someone special after seeing his knock at Perth.
“I watch this 17-year-old (Sachin Tendulkar) score a century at Perth on a pitch with bounce and pace, which subcontinent players weren’t supposed to do well on.
{{/usCountry}}“I watch this 17-year-old (Sachin Tendulkar) score a century at Perth on a pitch with bounce and pace, which subcontinent players weren’t supposed to do well on.
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“This 17-year-old scored a century, so straight away you knew he was special, something different,” Waugh said.
Waugh then went on to recall how Australia felt they had an upper-hand over Sachin during the 2003-04 series, as they saw Sachin getting out repeatedly while playing his favourite cover drive shot.
But the Master Blaster thwarted Australia’s strategies as he curbed his instincts and did not play a single cover drive shot in the 2003 Sydney Test. Sachin went on to score 241 in the Test.
“We did think for a while that he had a weakness with the ball coming back in through the gate driving on the up. We got him out a couple of times so maybe we could get him out playing the cover drive.
“That was our plan in Sydney and he refused to play a cover drive and got 241 not out. So it just shows he can adapt his game and overcome the plans of the opposition,” Steve Waugh recalled.