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A Buzz About Sachin

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A Buzz About Sachin
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WHEN I played Sunny in Australia in the late '70s during the World Series, he got three hundreds against us. I think I bowled well at him but, obviously, not as well as I would have liked. He used my pace to score runs and left alone so many outside the off-stump that it frustrated me. The tougher batsmen are the ones who play to their limitations. Sunny was one of them. He wouldn't do something that could get him out and in that sense gave you a less of a chance.

Sachin, on the other hand, is an attacker. He has much more power than Sunny. He wants to be the one to set the pace. He has to be on top. That's the buzz about him. What bowlers have got to do is try and contain him. If they bowl a tight line outside the off-stump, it is fine even if he hits you, for it is he who is taking the risks. Michael Kasprowicz bowled many beautiful deliveries and beat him in Bangalore but in the same overs he also bowled bad ones which Sachin scored off.

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You can't afford to do that with a player like Sachin. Kasprowicz didn't make him come to him. Most of the time he kept going to him. With great batsmen you can't afford going into second gear. It has to be the top gear all the time. That's why he is so tough to bowl to.

Sachin is up there with Barry Richards, Clive Lloyd and Javed Miandad among others. But strangely, I don't think he is bigger than those guys. Sachin, I think, stands out more because there aren't many great players around except Brian Lara and Mark Waugh. And because the quality of bowling has slipped in the West Indies. Even Australia.

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Having said that, I think if Sachin keeps on going like he is doing at the moment, he is going to be very high up in the hall of fame once he retires from the game. Also, what he has achieved at such a young age is unparalleled.

This current Indian batting line-up, I think, is good though it still has to prove itself abroad and on hard, bouncy wickets. They are, of course, potentially the best in the world. Sidhu hits the off-spinners so well. Dravid and Saurav are consistent; Saurav can be developed as a bowler as well.

I don't remember Gundappa Vishwanath's game that well. So it's difficult for me to compare the current batting line-up with the one that I played against. Lots of people say that Vishy was good but I remember only Sunny and Jimmy Amarnath from that series.

In this series the Australians haven't been able to handle the extra bounce of Kumble. Only Mark and Steve Waugh can play spin with any degree of confidence because they come from Sydney, and since the wicket there takes to spin, they have more practice against that type of bowling.

Australia will have their task cut out if they plan on beating India at home. It will take a lot of hard work. But Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad should do well there. Unfortunately, one-dayers are proliferating and I don't think bowlers enjoy them too much. All countries will need to develop more back-up bowlers because main bowlers aren't going to last long. The game could become even more batsman-dominated.

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