When was the last time Sachin scored a ton in the 2nd innings??

[fineleg]

sandtest, And what abt the numerous other 2nd Inn, when he looked good but still got out? Do you have an excuse (great fielding, great catch, great ball, poor shot selection etc) for each of those dismissals? Pls. accept that this 2nd Inn failures is a big blotch on his otherwise great record.

[Ram]

Man, I could see the pain in Sachin's eyes, as he walked off. He really wanted to be there today. One lapse of concentration and he was gone. Thats how its been for him this series really, one mistake, and he was off. What a pity !

[suraj]

sandtest, And what abt the numerous other 2nd Inn, when he looked good but still got out? Do you have an excuse (great fielding, great catch, great ball, poor shot selection etc) for each of those dismissals? Pls. accept that this 2nd Inn failures is a big blotch on his otherwise great record.

It is indeed a blot and very frustrating for those who worship him I still hope he gets one big one before retiring

[sandtest]

Pls. accept that this 2nd Inn failures is a big blotch on his otherwise great record.

That's a knee jerk reaction emnating from decades of Sachin hatred. A quick overall stats search at CI will reveal you that he is still decent here, even though you can't judge Boss based on innings. Boss has 9 hundreds, 14 fifties, averaging more than 41 runs....if that can give you some peace.

SR Tendulkar Test matches - Batting analysis Tests (1989/90 - 2007/08) Records type: batting analysis View: career summary Innings in match: 3rd innings or 4th innings Ordered by: default (reverse) Return to query menu|Cleared query menu Career averages Span Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 0 4s 6s filtered 1989-2008 105 94 17 3191 176 41.44 5781 55.19 9 14 5 415 14 http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/player/35320.html?class=1;filter=advanced;innings_number=3;innings_number=4;orderby=default;orderbyad=reverse;template=results;type=batting

[Online]

That's a knee jerk reaction emnating from decades of Sachin hatred. A quick overall stats search at CI will reveal you that he is still decent here, even though you can't judge Boss based on innings. Boss has 9 hundreds, 14 fifties, averaging more than 41 runs....if that can give you some peace.

well put

[Deleted_User_1]

That's a knee jerk reaction emnating from decades of Sachin hatred. A quick overall stats search at CI will reveal you that he is still decent here, even though you can't judge Boss based on innings. Boss has 9 hundreds, 14 fifties, averaging more than 41 runs....if that can give you some peace.

I am big fan of sachin, not a hater. Just because you idolize someone does not mean you can point out any negatives or weaknesses. Considering his stature in Indian and world cricket (I mean he is the only one mentioned in the same breath as Bradman), it is a fact that his 2nd innings performance has been less than stellar. In fact that is the only chink in his armor at this point.

[fineleg]

dandaroy, People see threads and assume we hate SRT (or whoever else u want to replace here). They will not accept any explanation on how approaches and frustration of higher expectation can be different, and those who think that way of us ( Hater) wont change their impression.

[THX_1138]

A lot is often made of trivial things such as these. A second innings statistic is not an adequate indicator of an individual's contribution in a test match. For instance, i recall the 1996-97 home series against Australia, where in the third test, tendulkar made a stunning century in the first innings but practically threw his wicket away to Kasprowicz in the second thus surrendering a golden opportunity to give australia its first shut out in a long time... yet in the same series, in the first test, he smalled a brilliant 150 to guide us to victory. in both these instances, a second innings average is a good indicator. but not always. consider his performance in this last test match. He was instrumental in our first innings score of 500 odd but the third innings (second for the reference of this subject), given it was day 5 was rather irrelevant. and save for an incredible collapse would not have changed the game's outcome. in such a situation, a second innings average does not really reflect how good the batsman is. tendulkar has often come good and yes, at times he has failed, like every batsmen under the sun does. so get off his back!

[CC1981]

I think one big thing people are discounting is Sachin's stamina/fitness. This criticism is actually quite old, because even back in his glory-days of the 90s, there were the occasional criticism of Tendulkar lacking a huge ton or tons in both innings of a match,etc. Ofcourse, back then, one oft-cited (and very plausable at that time) reference was to Tendulkar being still fairly young (early-mid 20s). Ofcourse, it is important i think to realize about Sachin's fitness/physique. He is a fairly small guy and not the best built guy either. People also forget that Sachin played a TON of cricket, mostly ODIs, for 6-7 years before injuries finally caught up with him. When i see him (rarely as it is), his second innings knock looks distinctly like that of a man near the edge of his physical capabilities. Remember, Sachin in his 20s used to play the game very hard- he used to be lightning between wickets(though sometimes misjudged a few). Though he is reticient on this topic ( no sportsman likes the idea that they are diminishing because their bodies are diminishing), he's already stated that he's had severe back problems- so much so that he almost totally cut off the 'step out and loft' shot he used to decimate spinners with. He's also mentioned that one of his big toes is broken & fused in several places etc. It is not that Sachin is a 'choker' or mentally weak- it is however, also a fact, as glaring as daylight that Sachin is not as fit as most batsmen in his era that've been compared to him. Ponting is easily Tendulkar's superior in fitness, Dravid is easily fitter, Kallis is this ginormous meat-wad, so is Hayden and Lara, even though he often battled weight problems, always was extraordinary in stamina. Sachin is also soon to be 35. That is definitely not the best time for your 'stamina' to sustain or excel in. Throw in a few aches & pains ( i call them 'battle-scars') and almost 20 years of cricket, its simply a matter of body simply not capable of the demands put on it. On a slightly different note, i don't see it as a strike against Tendulkar but in many ways, capable of inspiring respect. I used to take sports pretty seriously in my teens/early 20s and i know what it is like to be injured/held back by aches & pains of even the temporary nature. To continue playing on at the highest level and succeeding well is simply incredible. This is one major reason i respect Steffi Graf above so many of the past & present champions- she too played with incredible amounts of pain all the time and succeeded.( her back and her knee was fairly messed up and its blinding pain when your knee seizes up on you) One important thing to realize is that Sachin is not a perfect batsman. He is a great batsman, in my eyes, the greatest of his era and possibly the second greatest ever, but he isn't without his flaws. His flaw, in my opinion, has never been his ability to handle pressure or play stunningly, it is his stamina/ability to bat on energeticly for days. Bear in mind that not many batsmen have tremendous records in the second match innings, except maybe #5s/6s in excellent/great teams, so in context, Tendulkar's performance in second innings isn't too bad. Infact, his healthy average despite a very long run of consist failures in the second team innings, is perhaps a testimony in this fitness-related angle. His last century was against WI in 2002(kolkata). Keep in mind that till then, Tendu had almost 50 average in the 2nd match innings and after 2002, he got injured and we all remember his injury-laden post world-cup 2003. It is simply idiotic to expect Tendu to be the same old #1 batsman after 20 years of wear-n-tear, not even your state-of-the-art military hardware keeps up with pristine maintanance, so why expect that of a much more fragile human being ? Yes, Tendu will still play the amazing knock, the critical knock or be very consistent, but if you are expecting doubles or 200-250 runs in a match from Tendy, it is not very likely. He does fairly well in the first innings, when he is at his freshest and that is a fair enough job to expect from Tendulkar at this stage.