Impossible is 99.94

On the birth centenary of Bradman Sachin Tendulkar tells Nihal Koshie that the Don’s batting average can never be overhauled

Sachin Tendulkar remembers with great fondness the hour or so he spent with Don Bradman on this 90th birthday in Adelaide in 1998. Along with Shane Warne, Tendulkar was a special invitee of Bradman. On the eve of the birth centenary of the great Australian that falls today, Tendulkar recalled to DNA on Tuesday that the chance to meet Bradman was a ‘fabulous experience’.

“Warne and I didn’t really know for a while what to speak when we met Bradman. He did not meet anyone else and we were privileged to have got an invitation. It was the first time I was meeting him and I was really looking forward to the occasion. I had a wonderful time as we spoke for an hour or so,” Tendulkar said.

“Bradman said that he would catch a game or two of cricket on the television whenever he got time and it was great to know that he still followed the game though he was turning 90. It was an absolutely fantastic and fabulous experience,” Tendulkar added. “I was at a BCCI-camp when the invitation came and I was allowed to travel to Adelaide for a couple of days to meet Bradman.”

Incidentally, Sir Don was left impressed when he watched Tendulkar score 90 against Australia in a 1996 World Cup. According to the book ‘Bradman’s Best’ authored by Roland Perry, the Australian legend never missed a Tendulkar innings from that World Cup match till the 1999 Test series in Australia.

Most famously, Bradman had remarked to his wife at his Adelaide home, after watching Tendulkar play that ‘I never saw myself play, but this player (Tendulkar) is playing much the same way I used to play’.

Tendulkar gives those words by Bradman the highest value. “It is the greatest compliment that I have ever received and I treasure it. It came from none other than the man himself and not from anyone else. It feels good when people pay compliments about the way you play, but when it comes from the greatest batsman to have played the game then it becomes really special,” Tendulkar said.

Asked if there was an aspect of Bradman’s batting that he would have loved to have possessed, Tendulkar said that it would be difficult to pick one strength of the greatest batsman. “His batting average of 99.94 is something extraordinary. But I don’t think I or any other batsman would be able to get close to that now. It’s something that cannot be achieved,” Tendulkar, who has scored most Test and ODI centuries in the history of the game, said.

Incidentally, Tendulkar a darling of the Australian crowds, has scored 664 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground at an average of 221.33. He scored his 39th Test century at the Adelaide Oval, Don Bradman’s home ground, during India’s last tour of Australia. Six of his 39 Test centuries have come in Australia, including a 114 at the WACA in 1992 considered one of his best innings.

Tendulkar is enamoured with the adulation he has received in Don’s country.
“Obviously, playing against Australia in Australia is very special. The atmosphere at the grounds is very unique and special in Australia. The conditions are very tough for visiting teams and the Australian side has been the best team of this era. I am happy that I have been able to put up a good performance in Australia. The reception I have received in Australia has always been good, but this time it was very, very special,” he added.
However, Tendulkar admitted that Bradman wasn’t someone he idolised in his early cricketing years. “He was from a different cricketing era. I grew up watching someone like Sunil Gavaskar play. But like most school boys who play cricket, I had heard about Don Bradman and knew that he was the best to have played the game.”