Sportstar Aces Awards | McGrath recalls his duels with Tendulkar

McGrath recalls his duels with Tendulkar

Few bowlers embodied the edge of the India-Australia rivalry at the turn of the century quite like Glenn McGrath. His contests with Sachin Tendulkar were among the defining duels of that period, battles shaped as much by calculation and patience as by pace and precision.

One of the more curious episodes in that long rivalry unfolded during the 1999 Test at Adelaide Oval.

Tendulkar had only just arrived at the crease when McGrath decided to test him with the short ball. What followed became one of the stranger dismissals the two would produce across years of competition.

“I think Sachin had faced about four balls,” McGrath recalled in a freewheeling chat with Suresh Balakrishna, Chief Revenue Officer of The Hindu Group, and Sunil Gavaskar, who presented him with the International Icon award at the Sportstar Aces Awards in Taj Mahal Palace on Friday. “I thought it was time to give him a bouncer. He saw it was short and ducked, turning side-on and crouching low.”

The ball, however, did not behave as expected.

“The ball didn’t bounce as much as expected and hit him on the shoulder. From where I was standing I could see the bails over the top of his head. I thought the ball was hitting the stumps.”