Former Australian cricketer, Brad Hogg, recently had to make a choice between two of the fascinating contests the game of cricket has ever seen.
One of the fans on Twitter asked about Hogg’s opinion on ‘Sachin Tendulkar vs Glenn McGrath’ and ‘Sachin vs Shoaib Akhtar’ duel. To which Hogg preferred the second one ahead of the Sachin-McGrath face-off.
Reason being – the additional flavour of Indo-Pak rivalry. And, Akhtar relentlessly after Tendulkar’s wicket with sheer pace. With Sachin and McGrath, according to Hogg, it is a game of who blinks first in a war of patience.
“Sachin v McGrath a war of attrition McGrath trying to win the patience game, your in for the long haul. Sachin v Akhtar more erratic, with Akhtar trying to blast him out with sheer pace + it’s India v Pak, which adds a little more spice to the contest,” Hogg replied.
Sachin vs McGrath
or
Sachin vs AkhtarWhich one is your favourite rivalry ?#Hoggytime
— Nitin Rawat 🇮🇳 (@Rawat_Nitin7) April 3, 2020
Sachin v McGrath a war of attrition McGrath trying to win the patience game, your in for the long haul.
Sachin v Akhtar more erratic, with Akhtar trying to blast the him out with sheer pace + it's India v Pak, which adds a little more spice to the contest.
2nd one. #Hoggytime https://t.co/wiLrqpJVpO— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) April 4, 2020
During various interviews, Sachin conceded the difficulties in dealing with the naggingly accurate line and length of Glenn McGrath.
In the 2000 Champions Trophy, Sachin decided to take on McGrath by taking an aggressive approach, after the latter was causing havoc with his movement off the deck in Nairobi. The two often clashed in Test cricket riveting spectators in their bid to dominate each other.
However, with Akhtar, Sachin looked at ease, using his pace to score several glamourous boundaries. His cut over third-man in the 2003 ODI World Cup remains one of the highlights of his two and half decade long career.
Albeit, Akhtar once silenced the Eden Garden crowd by dislodging the middle stump of Sachin. The master blaster was facing Akhtar’s very first delivery and was castled by a ferocious yorker.
