Former South Africa pace bowler Allan Donald said that Indian legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar was the best batsman he played against during his 11 years of international cricket.
Allan Donald Praises Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar is the leading run-scorer in Tests and ODIs with 15921 and 18426 runs respectively. He is the only batsman to have scored 100 international centuries- 51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs. Check out Sachin Tendulkar’s List of 100 Centuries with Full Details Across All Formats.
And hence, Allan Donald has picked him as the toughest opponent he has ever bowled to. “There were undoubtedly three players that I categorised in different ways. It’s like a pub quiz. I get this question a lot. The guy I played who was technically the best I ever faced was Sachin Tendulkar because I found out that he could adapt his technique to conditions in South Africa better than any other Indian in those days,” Donald said in a video uploaded on YouTube.
Donald said that Sachin played the ball later than almost any batsmen he has bowled to and if he has managed to get to 20s and 30s, the opponents knew that they were in for a long and arduous day out on the field.
Donald then went on to say why Brian Lara and Steve Waugh were the other batters that challenged him the most during his playing days.
He said that Lara’s flamboyant back lift and stroke play and Steve Waugh’s resilience and the ability to turn the match in his side’s favour made the batsmen unique and extremely challenging.
Allan Donald has played 72 Test matches for South Africa where he has picked up 330 wickets at an average of 22. In 164 ODIs, Donald picked up 272 wickets at an average of 21.8 and with an economy rate of 4.15.
Sachin Tendulkar Stats in South Africa
In 15 Tests, the India batting legend garnered 1,161 runs at an average of 46.44 in South Africa throughout his career. If that was not all, Sachin also scored 1,453 runs in South Africa in 40 ODIs, at an average of 38.23 throughout his career.
