Sachin Tendulkar reveals how he tackled Allan Donald's short ball barrage
Sachin Tendulkar faced many iconic bowlers in his long career that spanned 24 years and among them was South Africa's Allan Donald.
Donald was known for his pace and aggression and Tendulkar recounted an instance when he was targeted by the Proteas star with some short balls from around the wicket in a Test match.
Speaking to Boria Majumdar on 'Backstage with Boria', Tendulkar revealed how he countered Donald's tactics.
"Allan Donald was known for his hostility, his aggression. Mind you, off the field he was a fabulous guy then also and we continue to be friends, and I value that friendship. With Donald, when not much was happening from over the wicket, the strategy was to go around the wicket and attack my rib cage, try and get me out there. So I thought sometimes, taller guys use their height to get on top of the ball, so why not shorter guys use their less height to get under the ball," Tendulkar said.
Inspirational as always. The master on batting, bowling, strategy and more in South Africa, nostalgia and storytelling that will make this Christmas memorable. Huge endorsement for the Indian team. @sachin on Backstage with Boria. Don’t miss it. twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…
He went on to elaborate:
"So that is what I started to do. I shifted my centre of gravity lower and started going under the ball. So anything around this area (signals to his face) or even this area (signals to his chest) for that matter, I started going under the ball and it became easier. Because Allan Donald bowled quick. He was called ‘White Lightning’. So, because of his pace and the bounce he was generating, I felt that even if I felt that the ball was just short of good length, I can duck under it."
Sachin Tendulkar changed his stance to duck better against short-pitched balling
Sachin Tendulkar went on to explain the adjustment he made in his batting stance to be able to duck out of the way when the South Africa pacer went short against him.
"To be able to do that consistently, if I widen my stance, I go even lower in my stance. So even before the ball is released, I’m much, much lower. And then it was all about picking the length. If I’ve picked the length, then I already had a huge gap between my legs and it was easier to go down," Tendulkar said.
Tendulkar is known for having made several tactical and technical adjustments in his career to face different bowlers and bowling lineups, which allowed him to be the prolific run-scorer that he was.
He is still the all-time leading run-getter in both Tests and ODIs.
Happy Birthday Chika! It was a privilege to make my India debut under your captaincy.
Wishing you the very best for the upcoming year. https://t.co/rkqFMtW24a