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Celebrating Sachin Tendulkar's 20 glorious years [Update: 28th year]

Chandan

By Chandan
in Cricket Talk

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Holysmoke Newbie

Holysmoke

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The real Mr. Cricket - By Javagal Srinath

It was a chilly winter morning in 1989. The Karnataka team was alighting at the porch of the Patiala cricket ground to face Bombay in the quarterfinals of the Wills Trophy, at that time the premier domestic one-day tournament. Suddenly we heard cries from the back benchers of our bus, "Hey that must be Kambli…". "No, no HE is Sachin." That was my first glimpse of the famous Bombay duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli. In fact at that time it was Kambli who was the more conspicuous of the two, with his flashy attire and overwhelming enthusiasm. Even before the match began, and definitely while it was on, it was amply clear to all of us that these twowere treated as the two "special" Bombay boys, even by the established seniors, Dilip Vengsarkar and Ravi Shastri. Without a doubt they were the cynosure of all eyes in the match. Kambli played a bigger role in sealing a win for the Bombay team and Sachin was just impressive with his batting technique. Eighteen months down the line, I found myself sharing the same dressing room with the boywho was to become the Little Master. Always in the company of Sanjay Manjrekar, it appeared as if Manjrekar had been given the duty of grooming this prodigy and making him at home. Sachin somehow remained by himself. He did not belong to the group of rookies like us and at the same time kept a measured distance from the seniors like Kapil Dev, Vengsarkar and Srikkanth. That year, in the season of 1991-92, he produced two 100s-one at the world's fastest wicket, the Perth WACA, and the other against Allan Donald and co, the fastest bowler in the world. It was a stunning statement of intent and arrival. I can still vividly remember the crack on the Perth wicket from where the ball was deviating dangerously off the track. The rest of the Indian batsmen struggled for survival at the centre and Sachin stood tall not just negotiating the awkward bounce but belting the bowlers disdainfully. Under the shadow of Sachin, it honestly looked as if the batsmen at the other end had been sent into oblivion. The common chorus that often rang in the dressing room was, "why can't he give the strike to Sachin"? On many other occasions, and the fans will remember this, if Sachin was dismissed, it seemed to us as if the match was over. It was his extraordinary brilliance which led to what I could only think of as the diminishing value for the other performers around him. Sachin's dismissal often brought back the lost confidence of the opposing bowlers; there was a spring in their step, suddenly all the fielders perked up. Their attack looked more penetrative, the wicket looked more difficult to bat on. That's how it affected our own team. After a run of very successful seasons in international cricket, he was put in charge of the team. It was obvious to us that the crown of captaincy did not fit him perfectly. Under Sachin's leadership for the first time in 1996, many of us found it difficult to match his expectations. His demands and anticipation of his teammates' performances originated from his own talent. Lesser mortals found the going tough even to understand their roles, never mind the whole business of taking on the pressure of international cricket. Everytime he was in charge, a curious pattern of a slump in form followed. To others it may not have been a slump, but by his standards it was. Sachin took some time to realise that it's not practical to expect others to emulate his feats. Basically, his talent was inborn and those skills cannot be acquired or transferred to anyone. The loss of any game under him his captaincy worked him up so much that it preyed on his batting abilities. The genius then realised very soon that detaching from the top seat was the way forward in his career. Unlike many other captains who stand down, the fact that Sachin was not leading the team made no difference. Players knew very soon who the true leader was in the dressing room and on the field. Things changed in the late 1990s with emergence of Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and then shortly after that, Virender Sehwag. The reliance on Sachin lessened, but the importance of his presence in the side remains. Today, that presence could best be described as an ancient cricketer whose legendary skills are still on display and are still contemporary.People wonder whatkeeps him going even today.The runs, records, wins and accolades under his belt can weigh anybody down with a great sinking sense of achievement. Once an athlete achieves what he dreams of, he asks himself the next question, "What do I do now?" It is like Sachin has always known and he is the kind of sportsman whom sports psychologists and pundits want to analyse constantly to discover the answers for sustained motivation. While his achievements are both weighty and numerous, he could have been bogged down by many things-the pain, expectations, disappointments, pressure. Adulation and public stress caused by the media are two sides of the same coin in Indian cricket. The constant media glare and public attention imposes high discipline and demands great sacrifices of cricketers in their personal life too. It can often give rise to the dark side of sportsmen of the highest calibre. As far as I know, this exemplary cricketer has no dark side to worry about. To spend more than two decades under the glare of a focused spotlight and to steer clear of any controversy is, frankly, twice as tough as scoring tens of thousand of runs. He has faced a different set of problems, particularly the longer he has played. Injuries, the fatigue syndrome and loss of form can make a cricketer, even of the most immense achievements, run into a wall. During such tough times, Sachin has always said that his brother Ajit has been the source of strength and a sounding board. But many close to him know for a fact that Sachin wages his own battles within, before making some adjustments and bouncing back stronger. I believe his response has much to do with his very strong nuclear family upbringing. Whenever doubts were raised about his future during injury layoffs, Sachin has been able to strike back with his familiar rhythm. The champion in him has defied time and age again and again. All that is what everyone sees in the public eye. As his teammate, we have shared times both good and bad and been entertained not just by his batting on the field. I have to say that it has been tough to argue with Sachin on any issue related to cricket. Be it batting or bowling (swing, spin or fast), the logic he applies is unique which is drawn from his own abilities. As a talented bowler, he can turn and spin the ball either ways. This creative of idea of swing and spin came from his hours of bowling in the nets. He is one man who is either batting or bowling in the nets all the time and he has had to be stopped from over-working himself. I knowother people have that nickname, but having played with him for more than a decade, I think of Sachin, teammate, friend, as the real Mr Cricket.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/111356/the-real-mr-cricket.html?page=0
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Holysmoke Newbie

Holysmoke

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Making the singles count

Sachin Tendulkar is the complete batsman. Neither fast bowlers nor mystery spinners nor hard pitches nor damp decks nor dust bowls nor heat nor cold nor dusk nor dawn nor razzmatazz have found him wanting. Ten thousand questions have been asked and all have been answered, most of them in the affirmative. Half-a-dozen downturns have been endured and all have proved temporary. Injuries have laid him low and none has crushed him. Thirty dubious decisions have been suffered and all have been accepted. It has not only been the runs or the brilliance of their making that have set him apart. It's a mistake to regard him as an ordinary man and outstanding cricketer. There is nothing ordinary about him. He is cricket's second miracle. Durability and equanimity count amongst his strengths. His longevity and continuity tell that tale. Harmony has also been important to success. It's not just that he loves batting as another man relishes beer. Was ever a sportsman so lacking torment? Cricket has never been an ordeal to him, merely a game, his game, India's game. He has sacrificed privacy for his talent and considered it a small concession. Although India speaks loudly in his cricket-he can only be fully appreciated once its turbulence adulation and exhaustion have been taken into account -he is not an especially Indian batsman. He has soaked up local and imported, past and present, and taken the guts out of them. He is at peace with himself and has been able to absorb the influences around him. It's too easy to cast him as a genius, as if that provided the entire explanation. He is an independent and intelligent cricketer with a profound understanding of the game. Another quality can be added to the list. Tendulkar's enthusiasm for cricket is beyond quenching. Through it all he conveys pleasure, retains vitality as others wilt. Crucially he loves the game, and serves it well. How many masters can truly say that? Tendulkar is no innocent, yet there is simplicity in his batting and impishness in his manner. At the crease he looks happy, a man in his element. He does not need to goad himself. Nor can any strut be detected in him. Never mind that he dominates the statistics, is widely admired, or that his play has seldom been equalled; he still respects colleagues and foes and the game itself. He does not take liberties. It is the unchanging approach of an unchanging man. His appetite for the game is evident in the length of his career and in every innings he plays. Tendulkar's batting is illuminated but not defined byresounding drives, flicks off the pads or cuts as savage as any treasurer dare contemplate. Of course, these provide satisfaction but they are a gift from the gods. His character is revealed in another, less captivating part of his repertoire. He is a magnificent stroke player but he is also a master of the manufactured single. Sachin's singles illustrate the workings of his mind. The humble run has never been neglected. It's hard to think of another batsman of his stature as keen to tuck the ball into a gap and scurry. Of course, the bowling does not hold any fears. Just that his job is to score runs, and a single is better than a dot. Apparently Bradman sought a single off his first ball. Tendulkar is like that every ball. To watch him at the crease is to observe a batsman aware of every peril and the location of every fieldsman. Has any batsman the game has known collected as many runs with mild taps into the perennial gap behind square leg? Opponents have studied the charts and observed the tactic and still cannot stop him. Captains cannot find a man to fill the hole without weakening their defences. Bowlers suffer as their prey politely guides their best offerings into a convenient gap and trots a single. Nor is the off side is neglected. Tendulkar is as calculating player adept at opening the face of the bat and encouraging the ball to speed away behind point. Another run, another small victory, another blow landed in the enduring and cut-throat battle between bat and ball. Opponents cannot build pressure on so elusive a batsman, and cricket is a game of pressure, of canny and rash decisions taken in the hot moment. Bowlers are frustrated to find their most lethal offerings, the summation of all their knowledge, experience and power, pushed away for a simple run. What is the point? It is this ability to create runs from thin air that sets Tendulkar apart. Ordinarily stolen singles are the work of the humdrum practitioner. Tendulkar has turned them into an art form. Consider the manner of their taking, the modesty, skill and anticipation required, and then the genial dash towards the other end. Radio commentators insist they once heard him call a single before the ball had even arrived. Tendulkar is ahead of the game. Nor does he forget about anxious partners. He wants the run not to fill his own account- though like all batsmen he is mindful of that-but because it is good cricket and improves the team's position. He is not selfish. He is also a superb judge of a run. In 169 Test matches he has only been run out seven times. His partners have been caught short on 13 occasions. How many of them have been his fault? He has batted with Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and others of that ilk. Doubtless some of them were bunnies whose judgement in these matters is notoriously unreliable. Considering all the singles scampered, it is a remarkable record. Despite all the passing years and the vast tally, Tendulkar's high regard for quick singles tells of discipline, hunger and a willingness to serve. His spirit does not tolerate rebellion or ego. Throughout he has uplifted team and country with deeds. Indians scared of pace? Ask Brett Lee or Wasim Akram. Cannot score runs overseas? Check the books. Dare not defy the Australians? The deed was most thrillingly done. He was not slaying dragons or dismantling demons; he did it because he could, because he wanted to score runs and to win. Still he is there, looking fresh and alert, still a player of pedigree, still humble, still wary but then suddenly fascinating about batting. And he's not done yet. Still he is scoring hundreds, talking sense in that curiously high pitched voiced, driving the ball past the bowler or pinching a single and looking as pleased as a child who has found a plum, always he is absorbed. How many runs has be scored. Has he once appeared bored? Has he thrown his wicket away? Has he let the team down? Once? He has taken guard a thousand times for his country alone and always looked keen. Still, all good things come to an end. Fleetingness is part of it. It's the same for the players, the knowledge that soon it will be over, this childhood dream taken into adulthood, this acquaintance with excellence. Tendulkar has been around so long it's hard to imagine the game without him. Eventually another talent will appear. Let them outlast him. Let them outscore him. Let them surpass him in one formof the game let alone in three. And let them do it in India.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/111355/making-the-singles-count.html?page=0
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saneindian Enthusiast

saneindian

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Eighteen months down the line, I found myself sharing the same dressing room with the boywho was to become the Little Master. Always in the company of Sanjay Manjrekar, it appeared as if Manjrekar had been given the duty of grooming this prodigy and making him at home. And lookat what moron Manjrekar has been saying since he retired from the game.

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Roshanrocks Newbie

Roshanrocks

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That innings was not about showing off his repertoire for a couple of hours to keep the crowd happy, that was just another piece of Tendulkar genius, of being able to control the mental side of his game and the big runs. I lost count of the number of times commentators and the like used to say he's on the wane, he's not same player he was. To them Iwanted to say, "just look in the scorebook". Today I want to ask them, he's been a long time waning, hasn't he?
:sniffle:
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