India vs South Africa: “His Bat Was Very Big That Day,” Recalls Morne Morkel About Sachin Tendulkar’s 50th Test Ton

Sachin Tendulkar played several memorable knocks in Test cricket and his greatness can be gauged from the fact that his performance went up a notch higher every time he faced tough conditions and a good bowling attack. Throughout the 1990s and the 2000s, Sachin dominated against top quality bowling attacks of Australia and South Africa. Among the many classy knocks he played in the Rainbow Nation, the one that stands out is his century on the 2010 in the second innings of the first Test against South Africa in Centurion.

It was a special knock as his innings of 111 was his 50th century in Test cricket, a feat no other batter has achieved in the longest format. Star Sports aired the footage of Tendulkar’s century on the first day of the ongoing Test match at the same venue between India and South Africa and asked former South African paceman Morne Morkel, who was part of the South African team that day in 2010, to speak about the innings.

Morkel, whose five-wicket haul in the first innings set up South Africa’s eventual victory in the match, lauded Tendulkar for his flawless batting and also admitted that the hosts failed to execute their bowling plans.

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“His bat was very big that day. As you saw in the video clip, it was almost like a faultless innings. Again the way he played the ball nice and late. When I see the footage, I don’t think we stuck to our bowling plan and gave him a lot of width. But again, to achieve that and on a wicket that offered a lot to the seamers shows that it was a spectacular knock,” Morkel said.

India lost the match by an innings and 25 runs, but came back to win the next Test in Durban while the third match of the series ended in a thrilling draw. This remains the only series till date that India has managed to draw on South African soil.