On the occasion of India’s 500th Test at Kanpur, the veteran broadcaster Ravi Shastri interviewed the legend Sachin Tendulkar. He started by complimenting him on having played 200 Tests which is exactly 40% of the 500 Tests that India have played.

Sachin replied that it was a great moment for Indian cricket and that were so many heroes that he watched growing up and that he felt that even the players of his generation and Sachin himself would have influenced the next generation. He also reminisced about a couple of matches that India played at Kanpur.

One was the deciding Test of a 3 Test series between India and South Africa in December 1996 in which Tendulkar was the skipper of the side. It was a low scoring match in which India batted first and scored 237 and then bowled out South Africa for 177. In their second innings India scored 400/7 declared and set South Africa a target of 461. They then skittled the Proteas for 180, winning the match by a mammoth 280 runs. Tendulkar scored 61 and 36 in the two innings in that match.

The second match he talked about was an ODI in the Pepsi Triangular series against Australia in April 1998 which he said was the highlight of his matches at this ground. Australia won the toss and took first strike. However, India bowled well and restricted them to 222/9 off their 50 overs. In reply, India coasted to the target of 223 for the loss of just 4 wickets in 44.3 overs. Sachin scored a magnificent 100 off just 89 balls studded with 5 fours and 7 sixes. He felt that was one occasion where they dominated Australia.

Shastri further quizzed Tendulkar on passing on the baton to the next generation and how he felt to see the Indian team doing well in all 3 formats of the game. Sachin replied that it was a young team and that they were capable of dominating the game for the next 8 to 10 years. He mentioned that they should stick to the same group of players and just make the odd change when necessary. He said that there are bright days ahead for Indian cricket.

When Shastri asked him about the future of Test cricket he said that there should be an ideal balance between bat and ball and nowadays sometimes it was too skewed in favour of the batsmen. He said that while T20 was a batsman’s game and in ODIs, 300 was no longer a safe score, he felt that in Tests, bowlers should dominate a bit.

He further stressed that in Test cricket one had to pace oneself and be switched on for the full 5 days and take it session by session. It was not just a matter of concentrating for just 3 overs but to be in for the long haul.

Shastri concluded the interview by thanking Sachin and asked him to enjoy his retired life.