The only batter who ever comes close to Sir Don Bradman in terms of comparison for the all-time great, is the legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar.
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Unarguably the greatest leg-spinner in the world, late Shane Warne was gobsmacked by the ability Tendulkar possessed when he had single-handedly managed to break Australia’s 14-match winning streak in Tests, during the first Test match of Australia’s tour to India in 1997/98 at Chennai.
The ‘Master Blaster’ had scored 155 runs off mere 191 deliveries, smashing Warne in particular across all parts of the ground against the spin. Post the match, Warne went on to say that he’s proud of being an Australian if Sir Bradman was constantly better than Tendulkar.
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“Although my statistics in that series don’t make happy reading, I am still prepared to say that it was a pleasure to bowl to him. Obviously I never bowled to the Don, but if he was consistently superior to Tendulkar, then I am glad I’m an Australian,” Warne had remarked.
Sachin Tendulkar once stated Sir Don Bradman’s compliment for him were the best ever he’d received
Tendulkar and Warne were the guest of honour at Sir Bradman’s house in Adelaide, on the occasion of his 90th birthday in the year 1998.
Bradman himself was the one who would draw similarities between Tendulkar and him with respect to their playing styles.
Referring to Tendulkar as ‘The Little Bonzer’, Sir Bradman once went about with his observation of watching him bat for the first time by stating that, “I felt this fellow was playing much the same way I used to. It was his compactness, his stroke production and his technique – it all seemed to gel, and that was how I felt.”
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On the occasion of the birth centenary of Sir Bradman in 2008, Tendulkar, while humbly disagreeing with all the comparisons made between him and the Aussie great, did concede that the best compliment he had ever received had come from the man himself.
“All the talk about similarity between him and me and our style of play came from him and it obviously was a great compliment. It makes it even bigger coming from him. But that compliment was by far the best I’ve got,” Tendulkar had remarked.
