There was a certain excitement visible on his face after the morning nets; Sachin Tendulkar skipped the team bus, which was on the way back to the hotel, changed into a new T-shirt and jeans, and walked towards the SCG museum with his cricket bat in hand. Tomorrow is obviously a big day for all young guns in Team India, but for its senior statesman, Saturday was equally special. For a few moments on Saturday, Tendulkar got as close to Sir Don Bradman as one can. Invited by the Museum officials for a special programme, Tendulkar was allowed to take Bradman's closely preserved bat out of the glass cabinet to get a feel of his legend. He played a few shadow-shots and smiled in satisfaction. Wearing his batting gloves, for reasons of preservation, he looked at it with childlike fascination. Tendulkar went on to compare his bat with Bradman’s, holding one in each hand, then keeping them side by side. He looked closely at the straight grains of the Don’s blade, closely examined the old willow and thin handle of the bat. Incidentally, it weighs 2.3lb, the sweet spot just a few centimeters up from the toe. He then had a little swing with his top hand — to feel the balance of the bat. His own bat lies at the other end of the spectrum — a heavy piece of wood with thick edges, 30mm compared to Bradman’s 8mm; a protruding curve at the meat, but the weight evenly spread. Lately, given his tennis elbow and back problems, Tendulkar has cut down on the weight of his bat but it still records an impressive 3.5lbs on a scale.Ever wondered what would have happened if Tendulkar and Bradman had swapped bats? Tendulkar tried to find out, playing a few imaginary shots but gave it up. “This bat is too light for me to play,” he laughed, gently keeping the Don’s bat back in the cabinet.
