As Team India gear up to take on Australia in the four-Test series from December 17, legendary Sachin Tendulkar revisited his first tour Down Under in 1991-92.
In an exclusive chat with India Today, Tendulkar recalled an incident involving former Australia skipper Allan Border.
Sharing the anecdote, the batting maestro said it was a "big" lesson for him.
"I was playing in Perth and I played a back foot defence. The fielders were standing far from me and we were not taking singles because bowler was on his follow through. I saw Allan Border running to get the ball and I thought of just picking the ball and giving it to the senior player (Border). But he said, "don't you touch the ball'. That was a big lesson to me. Then I thought that whenever I play a dead defence let them come and pick the ball," Tendulkar quoted while talking to India Today's Consulting Editor Boria Majumdar.
Talking about his preparations for the maiden Australia tour, Sachin Tendulkar said he was mentally prepared for every challenge at the highest level ever since his Test debut versus Pakistan in 1989.
The 47-year-old also gave an insight about his preparations with rubber ball on wet concrete surfaces ahead of his first Australian tour.
"Before going to Australia I was practicing with a rubber ball on a wet surface, a concrete surface. So those wet rubber balls will really take off and they would go at a reasonable pace. I would ask my friends to even throw from 70 yards, they were supposed to hit me and those were the sessions I felt was a little out of the box because you do normal things in the nets.
"I was prepared to do whatever gave me satisfaction, enjoyment and simultaneously I was preparing and learning to deal with different things. When it comes to Australia everyone talks about how steep the bounce is, how hard the surfaces are. So I had to prepare myself for that but I would say I was mentally prepared right from Pakistan to New Zealand (series'). When John Wright became our coach I used to teasingly tell him that, 'You sledged me when I came in to bat'. School kid comes out to bat and all those things and that started from Pakistan, did not stop. When I went to Australia I knew that players are going to say something but then you choose to ignore and when you want to respond you respond. I learnt that from that tour," Tendulkar remarked.
