The legendary duo - with 27,790 and 85 Test tons and 329 Tests between them - took a quick ride through a 22-yard memory lane.
Lara, his boyish voice still betraying the added on years, graciously pointed out the Indian's huge legacy. "I've been gone from the sport six years now. That he is still going, with 200 Tests round the bend, speaks for his longevity," he said.
As the packed stadium chanted their names, Lara put the Sachin phenomenon in perspective. "Earlier, batsmen from the subcontinent were not really known for playing in conditions other than home. But I'd like to think Sachin changed all that with batting well and scoring wherever he played abroad, be it South Africa, Australia, the West Indies and England," he said.
"Sure, you had (VVS) Laxman and (Rahul) Dravid later who batted exceptionally all over the cricket world, but it was Sachin first. That is huge," he added.
Tendulkar remembered the first time the two met. "It was in Toronto in 1990," he recalled, "I was playing for the World XI and Brian for the West Indies. We almost immediately hit it off and have been in touch ever since - and not necessarily to just talk about cricket but other things as well."
Asked which innings of Lara which the West Indian played against him he thought was special, the Indian chose to pick out a little-known meeting in Malaysia in 2006.
"It was a difficult track to bat on and it stands out in my memory how he kept playing so late, kept beating the three fielders backward of point and finding the gaps.
"Harbhajan pointed out to me later how it is almost impossible to bat like that on such a track," Tendulkar added. Coming in at 96/7, Lara scored an unbeaten 56-ball 40.
For Lara, it was Tendulkar's masterpiece at Sydney in 2003-04 where he scored an unbeaten 241 that stands out. "We all knew he had been struggling. That innings, the guy didn't play a single cover drive till the time he reached the double century. It just showed his discipline and mental strength."
The 44-year-old is here as ambassador for Trinidad and Tobago. "Hey, but no, I would have struggled," he laughed when it was pointed out that this was a format probably best suited for his swashbuckling ways. "But you know Sachin, he was always different."
0 comments:
Post a Comment