In this ESPNcricinfo.com exclusive interview, Sachin Tendulkar recounts his epic battle with Dale Steyn in Cape Town that saw the Indian legend win ESPNcricinfo’s Test Batting award for 2011.
You’ve played for so long and seen a lot. After so many long years, what does it mean to be honoured by some of the most respected cricket pundits in the world?
It’s always a great feeling. Doesn’t matter how long you have played. When you are appreciated for something you have been able to achieve, it is a satisfying feeling. I remember the match in Cape Town. That morning session was an eventful one. I remember, I went in to bat on the second afternoon. I think just before tea I played an on drive to Dale Steyn, and the way I positioned myself to play that shot, I knew I was moving well. That one shot gave me a lot of – you know, you need that kick-start for a big innings. That was the one which sort of put me in a frame of mind that I was seeing the ball well and getting a lot of time to react. From there on I built that innings. That eventful session on the third morning was one of the best sessions of my life in Test cricket. Morne Morkel was bowling to Gautam [Gambhir] at one end and at the other, Dale Steyn was bowling to me, and for 56 minutes or so the strike was not rotated at all. We scored runs in boundaries. It was quality fast bowling, and we had to give due respect to the seam movement and play out the session. That first hour was really enjoyable and challenging – something I will always remember.
In terms of the challenge of conditions and bowling, Dale Steyn on that pitch, in that form – is that some of the toughest bowling you have faced?
It is definitely one of the best spells I have faced. There was good movement off the seam, in the air. Dale Steyn moves the ball consistently. Also something that was alarming was the off-the-wicket movement. Even if you felt the ball was coming straight to you, off the wicket it was moving significantly. That was something one had to be aware of.
Can you tell us a bit about the adjustments you had to make to get through the spell?
I don’t know, there is no one particular formula as such. I am a batsman who goes by the feel. If I feel like doing certain things, I just do them. In that particular innings, in the middle of my innings I felt I could stand outside the crease, and I did that. Just to cut the movement and bounce. And I felt comfortable doing that. Against any good, high-class seam or swing bowling, one needs to stay as still as possible and play as late as possible. Whatever the movements are, they need to be precise. Sometimes too many movements can complicate things, sometimes not moving enough can also get you in trouble. Whatever is needed to play the ball, only that much movement is important. That is what I was focusing on.
One thing we noticed, looking on from the outside, was that you were standing outside the crease, and you had just made up your mind that you were not going to play at anything outside the line of your head…
It is to do with sessions. There were certain shots which I felt I should not be playing in the first hour, and there were certain shots which I felt, maybe after that, I could go ahead and play them. If you observe that innings, there are certain shots I played around lunchtime, and the same length deliveries I let them go in the morning. It is the freshness of the wicket in the morning. Just the first spell, as you expect, at that stage I felt that first spell was going to be decisive in which direction the Test match goes. Both of us survived that first spell. The important hour, as we say, we won that, I felt. It was an eventful one. We were beaten on occasions, but to actually be there and play out that spell was really important, which put us in a decent position.
You were beaten on occasion, as you said. How important is to forget those balls?
It’s not one-way traffic. It’s not that only the batsmen are supposed to go out and score runs. The bowlers are also supposed to get wickets. Sometimes we end up hitting brilliant shots, sometimes bowlers bowl brilliant balls. We have to respect that and forget about it and focus on the next ball. But also remember what the wicket has done, or what the ball has done off the wicket or in the air. Keep that in mind and focus on the next ball.
India’s Sachin Tendulkar has been awarded top honours in Test batting at the ESPNcricinfo Awards 2011, which celebrate the best individual performances in the past year by batsmen and bowlers in Tests and one-day internationals. Visit www.espncricinfo.com to read the full interview with Sachin Tendulkar
