London, April 16: Former South Africa skipper Shaun Pollock has said that with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, there were times when one would wonder as a bowler if the maestro can actually be dismissed on the sub-continent wickets.
"There were times, especially in the subcontinent, where you thought, ‘I'm not sure we can knock this guy over'. We were hoping he would make a mistake, rather than had a genuine plan," Pollock said in a podcast with Sky Sports.
In fact, Pollock — one of South Africa's most successful pacers — believes that Tendulkar's strength was how he could assess his own strengths and weaknesses even as he went on to play 200 Test matches for India.
"It was how well he understood his game and how he would adjust. He talked to me once about going to Australia and understanding he couldn't take on the short-pitched deliveries anymore so he would ramp the ball over the wicketkeeper and slip," Pollock said.
Tendulkar has often been considered one of the best to have played the game in modern times and spin wizard Shane Warne believes that the little master was the best when it came to handling tough conditions.
"If I have to choose any batsman to bat in any conditions, it is a real toss-up between Tendulkar and Lara, but I would just choose Tendulkar," he said.
"If we have to chase 400 runs on the last day, I would definitely pick Lara," he added.