'His bat was very big that day' - Morne Morkel recalls Sachin Tendulkar's 50th Test ton

Amongst all the hundreds Sachin Tendulkar has hit in his Test career, his unbeaten 111, which also happened to be his 50th Test ton, is undoubtedly one of his best. It came during the three-match Test series against South Africa in the 2010-11 series.

The fact that it was against a world-class Proteas bowling attack, and that too in their den, made this knock even more memorable. Morne Morkel recalled this special innings from Sachin, and went on to appreciate it. As a matter of fact, the former Proteas pacer had picked seven wickets in this match, which ultimately set up his team’s eventual victory.

While speaking about the knock, the 37-year-old heaped praises on the master. He went on to say that it was almost a “faultless innings”. However, he also admitted that his side failed to execute their bowling plans.

It was almost like a faultless innings – Morne Morkel

“His bat was very big that day. As you saw in the video clip, it was almost like a faultless innings. Again the way he played the ball nice and late. When I see the footage, I don’t think we stuck to our bowling plan and gave him a lot of width. But again, to achieve that and on a wicket that offered a lot to the seamers shows that it was a spectacular knock,” said Morne Morkel while speaking to Star Sports.

Despite this sensational knock by the master blaster, India ended up losing the game by an innings and 25 runs. The damage had unfortunately been done in the first innings, which saw the visitors being bundled out for 136. Ironically, it was Morne Morkel who took a fifer in the first innings.

Nevertheless, India managed to win the second Test by 87 runs at Durban. The third and final Test then ended in a draw and thus, the visitors went on to draw the series. Even today, this is the only series in the rainbow nation which India had managed to draw. Much of that credit goes to Tendulkar, who scored the most number of runs for India during this 2010-11 series in South Africa.