Playing in his penultimate Test, Tendulkar made the Eden Gardens erupt after having West Indies’ Shane Shillingford trapped in front for his 46th Test wicket in Kolkata on Wednesday.
‘Sachin is an under-rated bowler. I called him a man with a golden arm. He is a wicket-taking bowler, when he bowls you can expect something to happen. He has lots of variation. He can bowl medium pace, googly and leg-spin. He can turn the ball in a big way. His most potent delivery is leg-spin and if the length is right he can extract bounce from the pitch and that is very dangerous for any batsman,’ Laxman said of Tendulkar.
Laxman cited two Tests against Australia, India’s famous win after following on at Eden in 2001 (remembered for the Hyderabadi’s epic 281) and another equally famous win in Adelaide in 2003 when Rahul Dravid made a match-winning 233, in which Tendulkar played a part as a bowler.
‘In 2001 at Eden, time was running out and he took three crucial wickets (including those of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist) and along with Harbhajan bowled out Australia in second innings. Then in Adelaide, he took two crucial wickets (of Damien Martyn and Steve Waugh) to hasten Australia’s fall in second innings. So, he contributes for the team both with the bat as well as the ball,’ Laxman said.
‘Sachin is an under-rated bowler. I called him a man with a golden arm. He is a wicket-taking bowler, when he bowls you can expect something to happen. He has lots of variation. He can bowl medium pace, googly and leg-spin. He can turn the ball in a big way. His most potent delivery is leg-spin and if the length is right he can extract bounce from the pitch and that is very dangerous for any batsman,’ Laxman said of Tendulkar.
Laxman cited two Tests against Australia, India’s famous win after following on at Eden in 2001 (remembered for the Hyderabadi’s epic 281) and another equally famous win in Adelaide in 2003 when Rahul Dravid made a match-winning 233, in which Tendulkar played a part as a bowler.
‘In 2001 at Eden, time was running out and he took three crucial wickets (including those of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist) and along with Harbhajan bowled out Australia in second innings. Then in Adelaide, he took two crucial wickets (of Damien Martyn and Steve Waugh) to hasten Australia’s fall in second innings. So, he contributes for the team both with the bat as well as the ball,’ Laxman said.