“It was important, especially because after Ireland, we didn't play cricket at all. It's almost a couple of weeks now. It puts you in a different frame of mind, and it was important that I get back to reality with the first Test just 4-5 days away. Scoring runs in Ireland really helped. The conditions were adverse, the South African attack was quite good and I managed to score runs there. I had a couple of big sessions at Hove and, practising indoors also helped,” he said.
The Mumbaikar revealed he had been a little apprehensive before entering the field. "I was a little apprehensive, I wanted to go out and spend some time in the middle. I had reasonable net practice, but in the match situation, I wanted to be out there. Conditions are going to be different. I'm relieved I managed to play more than 200 balls," he said.
One of the most notable aspects of his batting was the way he paced his innings. "Having been around for a reasonable time, I know when to accelerate and when to hold back and be patient. I read the situation and it's a lot to do with the way my body is moving, the way I'm thinking as well. You can't go out everyday and try bang, bang, bang, and say it's my natural game," he explained.
Tendulkar had encouraging words for Adil Rashid, the leg-spinner whom he carted all over the park. "I think he is a good bowler. He surely has it in him. The conditions were difficult for a leg-spinner, especially to grip the ball. I am sure he needs a little more time to bowl against top quality teams and good players who can play some big shots. I have no doubt that he will be knocking on the doors of selection sooner than later. As for not allowing him to settle down, well, he was playing against me, not with me," he said.