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

[Jersey #10]

God's Top 20 MOMENTS in 20 years, described by God him self! 1. The first time I put on my India cap It was a great moment for me. If I am not mistaken, Chandu Borde, our team manager, handed me my cap. But there was no presentation ceremony like they have today. 2. My first Test hundred It came at Old Trafford in 1990. Manoj Prabhakar helped me with some determined batting at the other end. I was not at all surprised by what he did that day because I had played with him earlier and I knew that he was a terrific competitor. We prevented England from winning. 3. The counter-attacking 114 at Perth This ton is a favourite of mine. Australia had four quick bowlers (Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, Mike Whitney and Paul Reiffel) but I thought McDermott was the most challenging to face in Perth. Throughout the series he was their main bowler. 4. Bowling the last over against SA in the 1993 Hero Cup South Africa needed six runs to win in the last over. There was no plan for me to bowl that over but I said I was very confident of bowling it successfully. I conceded just three and we won. 5. 82 (off 49 balls) against NZ as opener in 1994 I was the vice-captain then and our regular opener Navjot Singh Sidhu woke up with a stiff neck. I requested Azhar (Mohammad Azharuddin) and Ajit Wadekar (coach) to "just give me one opportunity and I am very confident of playing some big shots. And if I fail, I'll never ever come to you again". 6. Winning the Titan Cup in 1996 South Africa were playing terrific cricket right through the tournament. We adopted a different strategy. As captain I chose to have five fielders on the on side. I told Robin Singh not to bowl seam but cutters into the body and make them score everything on the on side. Maybe that came as a surprise for them.. This was one low-scoring game that I can never forget. 7. 1997 Sahara Cup win over Pakistan We were without our top three bowlers for this tournament, which I led India in. We were without Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad and Anil Kumble, but we had Abey Kuruvilla, Harvinder Singh, Debasish Mohanty and Nilesh Kulkarni as newcomers. It was a fantastic effort and we beat Pakistan 4-1. Incredible! 8. Scoring 155 against Australia in the 1998 Chennai Test I thought getting used to that angle from Shane Warne was important. Before the Test I not only practiced with Laxman Sivaramakrishnan but Nilesh Kulkarni and Sairaj Bahutule in Mumbai too. They gave me a lot of practice. I clearly remember saying to my friends after I scored a double hundred for Mumbai against Australia that Warne has not bowled a single ball round the wicket and I know that he will do it in the Test series. 9. 1998's sandstorm hundred in Sharjah against Australia The first of the two back-to-back hundreds in Sharjah, 1998. Tendulkar highlighted the similarities between his Sharjah efforts and the two special knocks in the 2008 tri-series finals in Australia in terms of how small a gap there was between the two matches of each of these series, which made it so difficult on the body. Shane Warne greets Sachin Tendulkar after India's victory in the final, Australia v India, Sharjah, April 24, 1998 Shane Warne greets Tendulkar after India's victory in the Sharjah final © AFP 10. Meeting Don Bradman in Adelaide Without doubt, the most riveting moment in my off-field career. The trip to Adelaide in 1998 with Shane Warne was truly special and to meet him on his 90th birthday made it even more memorable. It was great to spend 45 minutes to an hour talking cricket with him. 11. Beating England at Leeds, 2002 Sanjay Bangar played beautifully for his 68 and he put on a good partnership with Rahul Dravid, who played superbly. I remember going to bat after tea and Andrew Flintoff was bowling a lot of short-pitched stuff round the wicket. I moved pretty well the next day and I remember leaving deliveries off Matthew Hoggard, who bowled a few overs outside the off stump. I paced my innings well (193) and went past Sir Don's tally of 29 Test hundreds. 12. Match-winning 98 against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup There was that six off Shoaib (Akhtar) but there were other shots which I felt good about in that match. I was playing with a finger injury and the finger wouldn't straighten. I avoided fielding practice through the tournament because I was experiencing a lot of pain while catching. I gave fielding practice though. 13. First series win in Pakistan, 2003-04 Undoubtedly one of the top series wins in my career. Remember, Pakistan had a good side and we went there and won convincingly. 14. 35th Test hundred, v Sri Lanka in Delhi, 2005 There was this pressure which was building up to go past Sunil Gavaskar in the Test century tally. The room service and housekeeping people in my hotel only spoke about me getting century No 35. I was glad and relieved when it happened because I could then start enjoying the game again. 15. Beating England in Nottingham in 2007 We have always managed to come back well after a defeat or saving a match. This is a classic example. We escaped defeat in the opening Test at Lord's but came back to win in Trent Bridge. 16. Beating Australia in Perth in 2008 We were determined to win this Test after what happened in Sydney. We shouldn't have lost in Sydney considering we were in a good position on the first day, but then the world has seen what happened (referring to the umpiring). 17. The CB Series triumph in Australia in 2008 Not only India, but all other sides found Australia too hard to beat. My hundred in the first final at Sydney was satisfying but the second match in Brisbane was tough. We went to bed at 3 am in Sydney after a day-night game. I just could not sleep and woke up at 8 am to catch a morning flight. I was trying every possible thing to be fresh for the next day's match. The next day we won the toss and batted. It was quite humid so the conditions were tough. We knew that the first half hour was crucial. I thought even if I don't get runs quickly, it's fine because if we don't lose early wickets, the big strokeplayers can always capitalise on the start and that's what happened. Sachin Tendulkar picks up a souvenir, India v England, 1st Test, Chennai, 5th day, December 15, 2008 Tendulkar picks up a souvenir after steering India to victory in Chennai, 2008 © AFP 18. Going past Brian Lara's Test run tally in Mohali, 2008 Becoming the highest run-getter in world cricket doesn't happen overnight. Lara is a special player and a guy who is a good friend. We respect each other immensely. To go past his tally meant that I have contributed something to cricket. 19. Second-innings Test hundred against England in Chennai, 2008 Awesome feeling to get that hundred, which I dedicated to the people of Mumbai. It was a very emotional time. It was important to stay there till the end and I remember telling my batting partner, Yuvraj Singh, that it's still not over so don't relax. I recalled that close game against Pakistan in 1999 when we lost by 12 runs. 20. 175 against Australia in Hyderabad, 2009 I know my body well and I know how much I can push so I was not surprised to score a 175 at the age of 36. Even if I had to complete those 20 runs by running them, I was absolutely fine. I was a few runs short of completing 17,000 ODI runs before the match, but that wasn't playing on my mind. However, every now and again it appeared on the scoreboard. That's not important to me. The important thing was to go out and win. courtesy CRICINFO

[Holysmoke]

Kapil paaji... lol

[DomainK]

once u do that' date=' please link me a copy[/quote']

Can I also get a copy?

Sure. I think all the articles will come in within the next two days. I will make a PDF after that and will definitely send you copies.:two_thumbs_up:

[Jersey #10]

THIS IS THE REASON WHY A MAN HAS GONE SO FAR! GOD PLAYS FOR THE TEAM NOT FOR HIM SELF! Do you feeling lonely when you do well and the team still loses? I have never been asked this question before. But, actually, yes you feel bad because I've done well but the team hasn't well. But I play for the team and it is not about individuals. You got to win as a team. So you are not excited and you cannot share that wonderful moment with people because you've lost the game. It is a difficult thing. But on the brighter side when you have one billion people to share your joy there is no better than that. But when that doesn't happen you look forward to the next game, and try and make sure that you perform better as a team and do something special which can make all of us smile.

[Jersey #10]

Balls faced in ODI in 20 years = 20 thousand (20022)

[Holysmoke]

GOD LIES

I am not god: Tendulkar New Delhi, Mon, Nov 16 2009 Legions of fans may adore him as god of cricket but Sachin Tendulkar insists that he is only a mortal who loves playing for his country. "I'm glad so many people follow my career. But I am not a god. I just love cricket, playing for India," said Tendulkar, who completed 20 years in international cricket today. India opener Virender Sehwag had said Tendulkar was not just a legend of the game but was actually the god of cricket. Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden also once famously said, "I have seen god, he bats at number four for India." Tendulkar said he was just a cricketer, who happened to enjoy the support of a sea of humanity. "I'm an individual but there is a huge force behind me, a big team. My teammates, family, kids, friends and fans. When I go out to bat, I play on their behalf," he said. "I had not thought of playing for so long for the country but thanks to the support from all quarters I could play for 20 years for my country," he told NDTV. In an illustrious career of 20 years of international cricket, Tendulkar said that only twice has he thought that his career was over. "The first one was on my first Test against Pakistan. I scored just 15 and I thought whether I would get the chance to play the next match but I got. When I scored 58 or 59 in the second Test I was relieved," he said, recollecting that match in Karachi on November 15, 1989. "The second one was when I had my tennis elbow injury. It was a tough time till I had my surgery. I could not sleep at night. I could not hit a cricket ball and I thought my career was over," Tendulkar said. Tendulkar would rate his match-winning 103 not out against England last year in the Chennai Test ahead of his 114 against a fiery Australian pace attack in Perth in his first tour Down Under in 1991, as it had come after the Mumbai terror attack. "I would say the Perth innings was one of my top innings. But the innings I played last year in Chennai would be ahead of all because of the horrible incident that happened in Mumbai just before that match. "So many people lost their near and dear ones and nothing could have compensated for that. But by that win we were able to divert for a fraction of a second their attention from their sorrow and that was our credit," he said. Asked whether he would like his son follow his footsteps and play cricket, Tendulkar said he would not force Arjun take up the game. "He is just 10 years old and he should be left alone. But I won't force him (to play cricket). If he is to play cricket it has to find way in his heart first and then go up to his head. This is not only for Arjun but for all the youngsters," Tendulkar said. "At the moment he (Arjun) likes to hit a lot of sixes. Twenty20 ka jamana hai (Twenty20 is the current flavour)," he quipped. His two captaincy stints have been a grey area of sorts in his otherwise illustrious career, but Tendulkar insists he enjoyed the experience "as a package". "I did not feel that captaincy was too much of a burden. Obviously, it was an honour to captain my country. It was a different experience. We won a Test against Australia, won the Titan Cup, beat Pakistan in Toronto but failed to win against West Indies chasing 120 at Barbados. "As a package I enjoyed it. It was about learning and I learnt from it," he said. Tendulkar rued he could not be part of the history-making Indian team under Rahul Dravid that won a Test series in West Indies in 2006. "That was a fantastic moment for Indian cricket. I would have loved to have been part of that team. I called up Rahul Dravid after the victory and congratulated the team," he said. Asked what legacy he thinks he would have left for the future generation, Tendullkar said, "I want to be remembered as somebody who is unselfish, a team man, who always thinks for the team first." © PTI

[Dravid]

hayden's quote "i have seen god bat, he bats at #4 for india"

[sunit224]

The God of all things - by Saurabh Somani In 1989, during the selection of the Indian team for the tour to Pakistan, the selectors - led by the late Raj Singh Dungarpur - were faced with a tricky question. They had in their minds an outrageously talented young boy, who they were sure would represent India with distinction. The question they wrestled with was whether the boy should be thrust into the lion's den so soon. And the den couldn't have been more hostile than a tour of Pakistan, facing the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Imran Khan in their backyard, with crowds everywhere baying for the blood of the Indians. Would selecting the boy for the tour be the right decision? Would it leave him with mental scars that would retard his development? Would they be risking a potentially world-beating future for a tenuous present? The selectors then were each nominated from different zones in the country. As they debated the question - so the story goes - two of the selectors thought the boy was ready, and two of them wanted to wait. The ones who wanted to wait had the valid question: "What if the tour proves to be too much? What if he fails?" On hearing this, another selector turned to the fifth man in the room, who had not expressed his opinion yet. This was the West Zone selector who had seen the boy blitz all comers across all playing divisions. The words he is supposed to have said sealed the deal in favour of selection, though none of the five men could have known just what they were about to unleash into the cricket world. The selector from the West Zone simply said: "Gentlemen, Sachin Tendulkar does not fail." And he hasn't - for twenty years and counting. Batman puts on a cape, Spiderman wears a costume, Superman sheds his normal clothes to reveal his true self - Sachin Tendulkar needs only to pick up a bat in hand to be a superhero. This is not an attempt to dissect the man statistically. It is not an attempt to provide expert views on his cricket. It is not an attempt to add to the paeans being sung about him as the cricketing world celebrates twenty years of excellence. This is simply an intensely personal view by a fan of a man who remained a hero from boyhood to adolescence and beyond. What do twenty years mean to a fan? It means a vignette of images that Tendulkar has left us with. From running around in a playground during the 1992 World Cup and yelling, "India beat Pakistan. Tendulkar is the man of the match!" to remembering the headline that announced that Tendulkar had scored his second ODI century after taking an inordinate amount of time to score his first - a headline that said, "Rutherford Ruthless, Parore Roars, but Tendulkar, Prabhakar steal the limelight." From getting excited in 1994 when he made his then-highest Test score of 179 to feeling cheated when he was not awarded the Man-of-the-series in the 1996 World Cup for being the highest and classiest scorer in the tournament. From remembering the painful struggle he went through as captain in 1997 - when he had to battle not only opponents but officials as well - to feeling exhilarated throughout much of 1998, as the destroyer in Tendulkar returned to quell not just Australians but sandstorms too on an unforgettable night in Sharjah. From having our hearts broken along with his when he miscued a Saqlain doosra in the Chennai Test of 1999 to having our faith in the game restored during the match-fixing scandal, when it was revealed that bookies would take bets on Indian matches only after he got out. From remembering the 2003 World Cup as an image forever frozen of Tendulkar cutting Shoaib Akhtar over third-man for maximum to shaking our heads in disbelief in 2004 at the amazing self-control and discipline of a man who did not play a single cover drive in an innings of 241 not out. From exulting with him at burying the ghost of 'finishing' matches for India in the CB series in 2008 to the sharing his solemn joy and humility at bringing a Test victory to the nation immediately after his city had been ravaged by scum towards the end of the year. As the years rolled by, we got used to a different Tendulkar, and his 2003 heroics seemed the last time he would throw back the years and bat as he had in his youth. His average and strike rates didn't suffer, but he had made a subtle shift from run-plunderer to intelligent accumulator. And then, as he so often has in the past, he showed us that the plunderer still remained in a knock that was as inspiring as it was heart-breaking. Through proxy-wars and floods, through terrorist attacks and droughts, through living under corrupt politicians and battling for survival at work or school - through it all, it was one man that brought us hope. One man who needed only to wield a bat to unite the most diverse country in the world. A hero who did not need a script, arc-lights and endless retakes to have the audience gasping in awe, but played out his dramas in real-time. And yet, even he has fallen short of universal acclaim. His knock of 175, and others like it in his career when he led India to the doorstep of victory but fell short of actually marching in only to see his team-mates fail around him, has been the catalyst for re-igniting the debate about whether he has won enough matches for India. The analyst in me wants to examine the question using all kinds of criteria and statistics, but for today he has been banished by the fan. And a good thing too, because it is with a fan's eyes that I can see what I wouldn't otherwise. It is his failures as much as his success that brings him closer to us. Without them, he would have been the perfect man - so perfect that we would have been forced to admire him from afar. But when he perishes at the doorstep of victory, we bleed with him. And we are reminded that even though he performs superhero-like deeds, he is still human. The sages who seek silence to meditate go to the loneliest reaches of the planet to achieve it. But if they were looking for that unreal moment when there is a silence so pervading that you could hear a feather drop, they need to attend a match in India when Sachin Tendulkar plays. Most of the time, when he bats the noise will be deafening. But when gets out, as he must because he is mortal, they will hear the most deafening silence that it is possible to hear. And they will hear it in a stadium jam-packed with frenzied fans who have all come to pay homage to their God. Even in defeat, Sachin Tendulkar weaves miracles.

[SachDan]

A comment from cricinfo..

Posted by insightfulcricketer on (November 15 2009, 22:47 PM GMT) On Sachin I can only tell this anecdote. "An avid cricket fan went into coma twenty years ago. When he awoke from his coma in Hyderabad he woke up to people carrying Ipods which were powerful than the biggest computers in his time. India was out of Foreign Exchange rut but is buying Gold to bailout the IMF. World is rocked by by the vicious kind of terrosim not seen before.An African American is a US President. World had changed totally for him. But being an avid cricket fan asked the excited nurse about the game tonight. She said India is in a tight corner fighting for win ,entire top order is gone but as always there is still chance if this guy is around. Excitedly the guy asked who the batsman is . She said Sachin Tendulkar and I am told the whole staff ran back to revive him again. Everything changed but something never changed . That is Sachin for you. The patient was last heard yelling the whole 20 years is nothing but an elaborate joke on him." Ok I have the patent on this

Good one :haha:

[CSK Fan]

Youngsters have trouble in understanding the reason why Sachin is so admired by Indians. The stats don’t tell them the story, they find weaknesses, glitches, mistakes in them. The stats make him look good but is that all there is to Sachin? I have been following him ever since I was hooked by his performance in the an exhibition 20/20 between Pak and India. With Sachin it was not only about his batting. I won’t be wrong if I say that he is THE most famous and well known cricketer in the world ever. Kids look up to him even in third world countries. Only Sachin could have done an AD for milk in Saudi Arabia where there is no cricket. He has been the face of cricket for a long time, he was the one who brought money to cricket and big sponsorship deals. He made Indians watch cricket and this was the beginning of BCCI being rich. He was a major factor in propagating ODI cricket in India. Big media houses and companies started their interest in cricket because of him. He was the First big and the greatest cricket icon. Bradman was revered but Sachin was a real cricket celebrity. In a poll conducted in 98, only 40% of people in India (particularly rural) knew Vajpayee(the then Prime Minister) but 99% knew about Sachin. He was above Mahatma Gandhi in the popularity charts. Even ones without access to TV/newspapers knew about Sachin and when their children bunked studies to play, would say “Sachin samjha hai kya khud ko?” He was a revolution in cricket. In the late 80s cricket was a snobbish game in India watched by intellectuals in a group in one’s drawing room. By the late 90s, and 2000s common labourers on the street left their jobs in which they were payed by the hour to stand and stare at TV screens in a showroom window or stay glued to the radio (remember AakashVaani?) till the time he was at the crease. Never before had one man brought such hopes to a whole nation. India was rife in corruption. Rajiv Gandhi was killed. Sycophancy was everywhere. Bribe was the way of life. People had given up hope of India achieving much as a nation. Sachin was that bright ray which made people forget for a while their day to day trouble. Unlike today when we have the luxury, Sachin was never cursed even when he failed. Who curses their idol? It was always the other players, umpires, the world. Every four/six from his bat was a victory in itself. We enjoyed him making great bowlers look ordinary, though at the other end the procession had started and we probably lost by an innings. The result was never discussed, that was something un-necessary. People watched cricket for Sachin and not the other way around. TVs where switched off as soon as he was out. If India batted second, the TV would be given a ‘rest’(a very Indian phrase) till the big event. We would have time to finish off our pending work before Sachin came to open. Every praise which a contempory player/ex-player sang about Sachin made the blood rush to our face as if the compliment was meant for us and the whole country. Through it all his humble demeanor elevated him to legendary status which no brashness or arrogance would have achieved. Stats do not tell the whole picture always. Society has become result oriented now. For us, the journey was worth the experience. A lost match was just like a great Bollywood movie with a sad end where the hero died saving everyone. Despite his defeat, he still remained for us, a hero. Sachin Tendulkar is much more than mere stats. For a long time he carried the mantle of a billion hopes successfully, he provided them a few moments of relief from their wretched life, all this while remaining the same humble chap from Mumbai. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An old article I had written here

[punjabi_khota]

hayden's quote "i have seen god bat' date=' he bats at #4 for india"[/quote'] He was talking abt ODIs. :finger:

[vvvslaxman]

http://cricket-online.tv/india-vs-sri-lanka-1st-test-highlights-day-1/ Shastri interviews Sachin (1st part of the video)

[Jersey #10]

thanks for the interview...I had watched it yesterday but still worth watching it again...

[goose]

Youngsters have trouble in understanding the reason why Sachin is so admired by Indians. The stats don’t tell them the story, they find weaknesses, glitches, mistakes in them. The stats make him look good but is that all there is to Sachin? I have been following him ever since I was hooked by his performance in the an exhibition 20/20 between Pak and India. With Sachin it was not only about his batting. I won’t be wrong if I say that he is THE most famous and well known cricketer in the world ever. Kids look up to him even in third world countries. Only Sachin could have done an AD for milk in Saudi Arabia where there is no cricket. He has been the face of cricket for a long time, he was the one who brought money to cricket and big sponsorship deals. He made Indians watch cricket and this was the beginning of BCCI being rich. He was a major factor in propagating ODI cricket in India. Big media houses and companies started their interest in cricket because of him. He was the First big and the greatest cricket icon. Bradman was revered but Sachin was a real cricket celebrity. In a poll conducted in 98, only 40% of people in India (particularly rural) knew Vajpayee(the then Prime Minister) but 99% knew about Sachin. He was above Mahatma Gandhi in the popularity charts. Even ones without access to TV/newspapers knew about Sachin and when their children bunked studies to play, would say “Sachin samjha hai kya khud ko?†He was a revolution in cricket. In the late 80s cricket was a snobbish game in India watched by intellectuals in a group in one’s drawing room. By the late 90s, and 2000s common labourers on the street left their jobs in which they were payed by the hour to stand and stare at TV screens in a showroom window or stay glued to the radio (remember AakashVaani?) till the time he was at the crease. Never before had one man brought such hopes to a whole nation. India was rife in corruption. Rajiv Gandhi was killed. Sycophancy was everywhere. Bribe was the way of life. People had given up hope of India achieving much as a nation. Sachin was that bright ray which made people forget for a while their day to day trouble. Unlike today when we have the luxury, Sachin was never cursed even when he failed. Who curses their idol? It was always the other players, umpires, the world. Every four/six from his bat was a victory in itself. We enjoyed him making great bowlers look ordinary, though at the other end the procession had started and we probably lost by an innings. The result was never discussed, that was something un-necessary. People watched cricket for Sachin and not the other way around. TVs where switched off as soon as he was out. If India batted second, the TV would be given a ‘rest’(a very Indian phrase) till the big event. We would have time to finish off our pending work before Sachin came to open. Every praise which a contempory player/ex-player sang about Sachin made the blood rush to our face as if the compliment was meant for us and the whole country. Through it all his humble demeanor elevated him to legendary status which no brashness or arrogance would have achieved. Stats do not tell the whole picture always. Society has become result oriented now. For us, the journey was worth the experience. A lost match was just like a great Bollywood movie with a sad end where the hero died saving everyone. Despite his defeat, he still remained for us, a hero. Sachin Tendulkar is much more than mere stats. For a long time he carried the mantle of a billion hopes successfully, he provided them a few moments of relief from their wretched life, all this while remaining the same humble chap from Mumbai. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An old article I had written here

Well said. No amount of pouring over stats will uncover the the hero that was Tendulkar.

[DomainK]

As promised, here is the PDF of this thread. http://rapidshare.com/files/308819066/Celebrating_Sachin_Tendulkar_s_20_glorious_years-_Indian_Cricket_Fans.pdf

[Sachinism]

^^ Thnx will get once I get home. Nearly finished all the particles, close to the end of page 7

[nospam]

As promised, here is the PDF of this thread. http://rapidshare.com/files/308819066/Celebrating_Sachin_Tendulkar_s_20_glorious_years-_Indian_Cricket_Fans.pdf

http://www.indiancricketfans.com/printthread.php?t=190798

[Sachinism]

could you host the file elsewhere, rapidshare sucks ass

[DomainK]

could you host the file elsewhere' date=' rapidshare sucks ass[/quote'] Okay, here is the megaupload link: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3UPHX5D4

[Sachinism]

wooo finally finished reading them all the articles MTC's article is awesome :adore: