India's star batsman Sachin Tendulkar was busy giving final touches to his preparation for the two Test matches and three one-day games, even as South African players were packing their bags for the India tour, reports Indian Express.
With the kind of form he has been in the 20th year of his career, not many are surprised Sachin Tendulkar has become the first batsman to score a double hundred. In fact, those who have seen him practising hard from close quarters recently could've even sensed it coming, the report says.
At the Mumbai Cricket Association's Indoor Academy, Tendulkar was undergoing intense training for four hours a day, focusing as hard as he had ever done.
In order to tackle the South African fast bowlers, Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn, Tendulkar practised with wet rubber balls for hours. “The good part of his training is that he knows what he has to do on that day. He always comes with a plan in mind and tries to execute that in the nets,” said academy director Chandrakant Pandit.
But that was not all. Pandit also revealed how Tendulkar used to ensure that all air-conditioners of the indoor area were switched off during the training and even asked bowlers to bowl from half-pitch length. “That is why he is great, a legend. His preparation is so solid that one will hardly get a chance against him. If you have your home work right then doing well in the exams is inevitable. The way Sachin has been batting at this age, we all know that records will keep coming,” Pandit said.
‘Took blows on the body'
Pradeep Sundaram, a former Mumbai pacer and bowling coach at the academy, had an intensive session with Tendulkar before the series. “Once he (Tendulkar) called me and asked me to bowl to him from short of the crease. And later he told me to use wet rubber balls. He was preparing ahead for pacers and he wanted to get his feet on time,” Sundaram said.
Tendulkar took several blows from the rubber ball but didn't give away his wicket even once. “He took blows on the body and head, I told him to let me bowl from 22 yards but he replied in a firm no,” said Sundaram.
“He didn't even want to take a break in between the sessions.”
Tendulkar later asked for a bowling machine and instructed the operator to not tell him what kind of ball is sent down. “He wanted to practise against the in-swinger but at the same time, he wanted to see how he tackles the outswing. He just wanted to get behind the ball,” Pandit added.
