Tendulkar was authoritative
Carl Hooper
It is not often that we, the West Indians, play against Sachin Tendulkar. I remember, he
came here in 1997, and though he had some decent scores, there
were not one of those big hundreds from the little man.
Earlier, in 1994 when we toured India, Tendulkar was
impressive without quite being the dominating batsman he is
known the world over these days.
Here, at the Bourda Oval, the little master played a very
authoritative innings. He was very severe on our fast bowlers
though I must say we didn't bowl that well to him as well. I
was very upset when a chance off him was not availed a
delivery before he was dismissed. Still, he gave every
evidence of why he is regarded as the best batsman in the
world. Well, one of the two best batsmen of the world, anyway.
Invariably, the topic in this series has veered towards
the Tendulkar-Lara confrontation. It's a kind of match-up which
even I am waiting to unfold. Both are devastating batsmen but
there is a difference.
Tendulkar is very compact and as in attack, his defence is
very strong too. Lara, on the other hand, is very attacking
from the word go and that's why he has played a few more
devastating innings than Tendulkar has, perhaps, in his career.
I know people point to how many matches Lara has won on
his own while Tendulkar has struggled in this area. If he is
trying to make up, I hope he doesn't do it in this series.
Is Tendulkar a better batsman than even Sir Viv Richards?
Well, I am going to disappoint my Indian readers on this
count. I think Richards was the most destructive batsman
of my era.
When you judge it, you also have to think the kind of
opposition bowling Richards played in his time. There were
Len Pascoe, Jeff Thomson, Dennis Lillee in Australia, Richard
Hadlee in New Zealand, Imran Khan in Pakistan and Kapil Dev in
India, not to forget Bob Willis and Ian Botham in England.
World bowling in those days was very strong. Yet, Richards
just not scored runs off them. He mastered them. Tendulkar, of
course, can't pick the bowlers for others but even though his
record is formidable, the quality of bowling in the world at
present is not what it used to be.
Ask me, I, as captain of the West Indies team, am
personally experiencing the difference of quality among
bowlers of today from those of the past!
Rahul Dravid made a very pleasing hundred but I must say
our bowlers gave him a lot of half volleys which he was good
enough to despatch to the straight boundary. He has a very
solid influence in the Indian line-up. I liked his courage and
commitment to the team after being hit on the face by Mervyn
Dillon.
The third century in this match was made by Shivnaraine
Chanderpaul. Again, a fellow-Guyanese like me, Chanderpaul
hasn't done enough justice to his talent. He also has been
injured. He has made a good start in this series, which is
good because we the seniors must show juniors the way
forward. He played a lot straighter and less across in this
innings and it seems the conditioning camp in Trinidad before
the series, where Sir Garfield Sobers came and gave us his
advice, has been of help.
Lastly, about me. I made a dream come true with a double
hundred for myself. I am unfailingly asked by everyone the reason why I am batting so well these days compared to the
first 80 Tests of my career. It is said I was careless, didn't
value my wicket and let down my team.
I was never careless, but may be I am more mature now. I
was never flippant but with my languid style, I might have
appeared casual to onlookers.
I disagree with it. Yes, I am playing less across these
days and perhaps there is a better shot selection but I never
took my cricket lightly.
Yes, practice of my Christianity has brought a new
serenity in my life. But I was born Christian and always was
religious-minded, but the way things have gone in the last two
years, mostly positive, I am turning more and more towards
God. When I bat in the middle, I feel as if God is there
batting it out for me. It composes me, stabilises me and
focuses me in the crease.
Hopefully, I would be able to bat in a similar vein in
coming weeks and for the rest of my career.
India's tour of West Indies - The complete coverage
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