Sachin Tendulkar getting out is a very rare thing, notes Sanjay Manjrekar
Sachin Tendulkar was at his peak in 1998
|Sanjay Manjrekar has noted that throughout his career, Sachin Tendulkar getting out to was a very rare thing, adding that he brought in a batting revolution in the country. Manjrekar also revealed that the Indian team were dependant on the Mumbaikar to perform home and away in the mid-90s.
By mid-â90s, Indian cricket was hit by this influence or greater power, called Sachin Tendulkar, who had the ability to change the virtue of the game single-handedly. Since making his debut against arch-rivals Pakistan, the right-handerâs career slowly transgressed to legendary status, given his consistency against the top cricketing nations.Â
In 1996, Sachin elevated his batting statistics, with numbers never seen before in the cricketing world, scoring 1611 runs at an average of 53.70. Former cricket-now-turned-commentator, Sanjay Manjrekar noted that getting Sachin Tendulkar out was a very rare thing. Â
"Sachin's greatness at that time was that his failures were so rare and right through his career. That is a hallmark of a great batsman. Sachin getting out was a very rare thing," Manjrekar told Ashwin while discussing India's semi-final defeat to Sri Lanka in 1996 World Cup, reported TOI.Â
"Unfortunately, by 96/97, the team was really too dependent on Tendulkar. Because, you know, he was damn consistent. And he was India's first batsman who was able to dominate and hit good balls for runs.
Despite the sparkling numbers that the Mumbaikar had piled in 1996, Sachinâs career never stalled and he only bettered his numbers in the coming years. In 1998, the right-handed opening batsman set a benchmark, too high for even the modern-day batsmen, scoring 1894 runs in the calendar year just in ODIs.Â
"Until then, India was about defensive batting and putting the bad balls away, like Sunil Gavaskar. A couple of sessions of giving respect to the bowler and then, you know, as they tire out, you get a loose ball and you score off it. Sachin would hit a good ball from a quality bowler on the up for four," he concluded.
