Straight drive is my favourite shot, says Tendulkar

Bowlers never like batsmen hitting them past their follow through and this is exactly what Indian veteran Sachin Tendulkar likes as his favourite stroke is the straight driven boundary.

"My favourite shot is the straight drive, opening up the face of the bat...no bowler likes to see the face of the bat," Tendulkar said in reply to a query by a cricket lover during a special programe on a news channel.

Answering questions ranging from why he failed to score in the recently-concluded England series to his shot selection, Tendulkar revealed how he avoids reading newspapers to cut out pressure.

"I can't do what millions of people have had to say as one should always focus on one's game as ultimately it is you who have to do it," he said replying to a query on how he handled pressure.

Tendulkar advised the kids avoid thinking about the past. "If you think of the past, you will tend to think of all negative things. If you think of the future you will worry whether you could score or not. What is important is to focus on the job at hand," said Tendulkar as he appealed to all to contribute in his " Support My School Campaign".

"We do 80 per cent positive things and only 20 per cent negative things in the past. Only negative things come to our mind, building up the pressure. Always think positive, sort out the mistakes (made in the past) and don't think of them anymore," Tendulkar said.

On why he could not score in the recently concluded India-England Test series, Tendulkar said the game should be seen in its totality.

"Sometimes a batsman gets out to a good ball or falls to a mistake," he said.

Sachin Tendulkar praise Rahul Dravid

Indian cricket greats, including star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, have richly praised Rahul Dravid as he prepares to play the final one-day game of his illustrious career.

"He has had a fabulous career as a one-day player and has contributed so much to Indian cricket," Tendulkar told a national daily on Friday. "I have no doubt that he is and will continue to be a role model for all of us."

Tendulkar said Dravid's natural game was not suited for the quick scoring of one-dayers, but had worked hard to improve and excelled in his "finishing role."

"He may not give you a quick start, but he will surely make his innings count in terms of time spent at the crease. You need such players in the team, and he was the best man for the job," he added.

"Rahul also had that ability to finish a game, and I remember he played the same role at No. 5, or for that matter at any other spot in the batting order. And that was one of the main reasons he sustained his role as an important member in the side."

Tendulkar also praised Dravid for adjusting according to the team's needs and helping the team gain depth in batting by agreeing to keep wickets.

"He is the perfect team man; when he was asked to keep wickets we all knew that he will do well because he was initially a wicketkeeper. It later helped him, and came as a big help to all of us in the Indian team during the 2003 World Cup."

Sachin Tendulkar - Rahul Dravid pair most successful in Tests

Most runs partnership in test cricket.

Most successful test pair in test cricket.

The duo surpassed the previous record of West Indies legendary pair of Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes who have together shared 6482 runs in partnerships in test cricket

Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar put on 55 for the third wicket at The Oval (2011) to become test cricket's most prolific partnership

Tendulkar-Dravid have amassed 19 centuries in tandem, also the highest for any Test partnership.

After Sachin and Darvid here are the most successful pairs in Test

1. G Greenidge and D Haynes (WI) - 6482 runs
2. Matthew Hayden & Justin Langer (AUS) - 6081 runs
3. Mahela Jayawardene & Kumar Sangakkara (SL) - 5261 runs
4. Matthew Hayden & Ricky Ponting (AUS) - 4765 runs
5. Alistair Cook & Andrew Strauss (ENG) - 4635 runs
6. Marvan Atapattu & Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) - 4533 runs
7. Sourav Ganguly & Sachin Tendulkar (IND) - 4173 runs
8. Rahul Dravid & VVS Laxman (IND) - 3902 runs
9. Michael Slater & Mark Taylor (AUS) - 3887 runs

Tendulkar's ton of tons will come in ODIs: Ganguly

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has backed Sachin Tendulkar to complete his elusive hundredth international hundred in the forthcoming five-match ODI series against England.

Tendulkar was dismissed lbw by Tim Bresnan for 91 on the final day of the fourth Test on Monday. "His dismissal (by Bresnan) proved that cricket is a one-ball game. It doesn't matter how much you have your eye in, one good ball can get you out,"

Indeed! Tendulkar had concentrated for 235 minutes in India's pursuit to draw the Test: "I know the entire nation is disappointed. A century from his blade would have at least given some respite to them since it has been a forgettable tour."

Ganguly expressed confidence that Tendulkar will score heavily in the ODIs. "I am pretty confident that his hundred will come in the one-dayers. Let's not foget Tendulkar is only human after all. He has reached 99 hundreds, so obviously he will get to the 100 mark. I cannot stop being proud of him," said Ganguly, a close friend of the Little Master.

Ganguly got nostalgic while recalling his first meeting with Tendulkar. "When I went to England for the first time with Kailash Gattani's Star Cricket Club as a teenager, Sachin was part of that team too. I observed him and had no doubts that he would blossom into a great player. It's been an incredible journey," said Ganguly, before defending Tendulkar's performance in the four Tests (273 runs from 8 innings). "In fact, he has not had a bad Test series in England. He started batting well at Lord's itself. It's just one those series when things don't click," said Dada admitting he was fortunate to have seen Tendulkar's greatest efforts first hand. "According to me, his best knocks have been Perth (1991-92), Cape Town (1996-97), Chennai (1998-99 & 2008-09) and Headingley (2002). I was fortunate to witness them from close quarters. He still has some great knocks left in him," concluded Ganguly.

England PM David Cameron salutes Sachin Tendulkar, terms meeting with the legend as an honour

England Prime Minister, David Cameron, recently visited the Oval Cricket Stadium in order to enjoy the ongoing fourth Test between England and India.

Despite the fact that Cameron was extremely delighted over a fantastic performance by his side, his meeting with the legendary batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, doubled his joy.

Cameron ‘s meeting with the Master Blaster came as a result of PM’s special request, as he disclosed that he is huge of fan of Tendulkar.

After embracing the Little Master, Cameron expressed his delight and said that it is an honour to see Tendulkar, who has a number of International records under his belt.

“It’s an honour to have met with and spoken to (Sachin) Tendulkar... I’ve been his fan,” said Cameron.

Meanwhile, he disclosed that he is huge fan of cricket and has been following the ongoing series keenly.
Tendulkar was also grateful to the English Prime Minister and expressed gratitude for the given respect.

“The Prime Minister had just come to say hello... He said that I was welcome in the UK anytime,” shared the batting maestro who is just a hundred away from completing his ton of International centuries.