Bengaluru: The Bengaluru Test will long be remembered by the youngsters who played in this match. It was indeed a great sight to watch the experienced players helping up and coming players produce their best.
Sachin Tendulkar guided 26-year-old M. Vijay in the first innings and 22-year-old Cheteshwar Pujara in the second innings. Similarly, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting was seen encouraging 23-year-old pacer Peter George. Even Mitchelle Johnson was seen correcting George’s grip and approach to the wicket.
While this was going on, Tendulkar showed the art of picking the right ball to hit a sparkling straight drive off Watson. The timing was so perfect that it left Pujara at the non strikers end stunned in admiration.
For Pujara, Tendulkar's arrival at the other end was a relief. Every shot he played, he looked for confirmation from Tendulkar. When Pujara pulled Watson to the boundary to bring in his half century, Tendulkar hugged him.
Undoubtedly that must have been a great moment for the lad who was just a year old when Tendulkar made his Test debut.
Vijay, who idolises Tendulkar, was a totally changed batsman in the second innings after his long partnership with Tendulkar in the first innings. Though he got out for 37, the six boundaries he hit were immaculately timed and the concentration with which he batted revealed his renewed confidence.
The interesting thing is that all these youngsters now want to perform like their role models. After his century, Vijay's confident remark was, “One day I want to bat like Tendulkar and Sehwag.”
Similarly when someone reminded George that his bowling could be compared to Glenn McGrath, he said: “To be compared with McGrath is a great honour for me. I guess the comparison is because of a similar bowling action. I have watched him bowl a lot while growing up and kids generally resemble their favourite cricketers when they bowl or bat. Obviously there is some similarity in the action. If I can be half as successful as he was, I will be a very happy man.”
