What more can I say that has not been already said about this man:- a child prodigy, a genius, master blaster, the master, etc.. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has almost become a synonym for Indian cricket, but as he himself would agree no one is greater than the game. He is revered to as God by his hardcore fans, but time and again he has proved that he is not. For him suits the phrase "born genius", "born to play cricket". There is no question of what Sachin Tendular would be if he is not a cricketer... there never was a question like this in his mind and of course, in his journey of life. I am too small to speak about his shots and technique, so I will leave them at that. He has been a ray of hope for millions for the 20 years he has played cricket (and still going strong). Has tried to stray away from controversies, but has at times surprised with sudden and instinctive expression of passion like coming down the wicket to Glenn McGrath in Nairobi in Champions trophy and giving him an earful, then supporting Sourav Ganguly in his meeting with Sharad Pawar (resulting in a historic comeback by the southpaw) and his tremendous support to Harbhajan Singh during the infamous Monkeygate episode. He will always have a few small question marks, although for me it is only his 4th Innings performance in a Test match... I did not observe the consistency that would be expected from the world's greatest batsman ever (move over Don Bradman although I give it to you for playing without a helmet and on uncovered pitches but we will never know how you would adapt to conditions in different countries and different bowlers like Sachin has over his career). There are so many great innings he has played, but if there is any I have to pick up as his greatest, it will be the one after the Sandstorm in Sharjah, period.
To speak about Sachin, the player... his greatness lies in his utmost dedication and love to the game of cricket. We can see it from the way he approaches his batting, bowling and fielding. A man with undoubtable integrity (a walker except for a couple of times I can remember). When he goes out to bat, you can see.... there is no arrogance or under-estimation as he knows that all it needs is a very good delivery to get out. It does not matter who the bowler is, it just a matter of 1 ball. Hence, you will never see him disrepecting anyone on the field. But again, it does not mean he does not mark a bowler as such. Ask Henry Olonga (Zimbabwe). Henry Olonga got Sachin out of a short delivery in Sharjah, which was just a customary last match of the round-robind round as Zim and Ind were already in finals. Rumour has it that Ajay Jadeja even mocked Sachin for the way he got out an Sachin's reply was "Just wait till the next match". Sachin was certainly awaiting. Zimbabwe batted first and scored 196 runs. All eyes were on Henry Olonga as everyone were keen to see if he can repeat the last match's magic again. But that was it. Henry Olonga had no idea what hit him as Sachin went full guns blazing. I still remember how furious Sachin was when Saurav refused to take the second run once during the innings and the way he glared at Saurav and Saurav was just trying to pacify him from the strikers end (with hand gestures a small smile on his face). Saching went on to hit a century (more than run a ball innings) and India won the match and yes, Henry Olonga was never the same afterwards. Everyone remembers his Sandstorm innings, Ravi Shastri yelling out "He does not only want to qualify the innings, he wants to win the match", Tony Greig yelling out "The little fellow has hit the tall fellow for a six" and then after cracking a match winning century in the Finals, Steve Waugh (Australian Captain) stating in a press conference "We were not defeated by a better team, but by a better player".
For Sachin, cricket was everything. The nets was his laboratory. He would practise playing a leg spinner bowling around the wickets before the Australian tour of India of 1998 in preparation to facing Shane Warne. The first ball that Shane bowled around the wicket was hit back over his head for a Six and that set about the duel. Shane would never get the better of Sachin. The field was where Sachin would execute his practise and knowledge. The lofted late cut off Shoaib Akhtat laid down the momentum for him makin 93 runs and India winning the 2003 World Cup match against Pakistan which he himself has admitted that he had been playing that innings for a year (as the draws were out and India knew when they will face Pak).
Just as that, Sachin the man... Something that all the brash and over-confident younsters of the current team needs to follow. Sachin has never pulled any star tantrums, been very dignified and respectful in the public and always respected the opponents on the field. Not for him any shenanigans or terms like sledging (which does not have a place in the field). It was always his game that showed how aggressive and competitive he was. Just as in the cricket field he has been able to uphold his middle-class values in his public life. No scandals, no link-ups, no party animal ; Just his game, his family and his very secretive charity work. Love the man you are Sachin, hope the current crop and the future crop learn humility from you (sadly I dont see in them at all though except for Dhoni).
To sum it up, one of my friends had put this in his status after Sachin became the 1st Batsman to hit an ODI double century in Mens format (remember it was a lady cricketer from Australia who hit the 1st ODI double century ever helping her team to score the first ever 400+ runs in an ODI innings) - People would have missed their breakfast, been late to the office, missed the bus, forgot something... But we all would have gone to bed with a smile, as Sachin hit this double century... that is what he means to almost all of us.
Nice article... :)
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