News articles, newspaper clippings, etc of Sachin's 200

[EnterTheVoid]

[Prudent]

Dawn's editorial on Sachin's feat :two_thumbs_up: Terrific Tendulkar All cricketers, but particularly some on this side of the border, would do well to learn from that. Swiss watchmakers might have struggled to create a more consistent, longer-lasting and elegant model. In all likelihood there will be more double hundreds now that Twenty20 has further liberated batsmen — not that they needed it. But few will come from a man such as Tendulkar. We have been fortunate in the subcontinent to have Little Masters aplenty, in Hanif Mohammad and Sunil Gavaskar. But Tendulkar is the biggest of them all. Remember him and appreciate him, for there may never be another like him. More >> http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/editorial/16-terrific-tendulkar-hs-04

[SachDan]

All cricketers, but particularly some on this side of the border, would do well to learn from that. Swiss watchmakers might have struggled to create a more consistent, longer-lasting and elegant model. In all likelihood there will be more double hundreds now that Twenty20 has further liberated batsmen — not that they needed it. But few will come from a man such as Tendulkar. We have been fortunate in the subcontinent to have Little Masters aplenty, in Hanif Mohammad and Sunil Gavaskar. But Tendulkar is the biggest of them all. Remember him and appreciate him, for there may never be another like him.

:two_thumbs_up:

[SachDan]

Sachin Tendulkar's ODI Budget for the coming financial year http://www.mid-day.com/sports/2010/feb/260210-Sachin-Tendulkar-ODI-Budget.htm LOL

[Chandan]

From Line and Length

Ageless Tendulkar notches fifth hundred in 2010 Patrick Kidd All kneel down and praise whatever god you fancy for the mighty Sachin Tendulkar. This could just be turning into the greatest year of his international career, more than 20 years after it began. Already he has four hundreds in Test cricket in 2010, only one shy of his most in a calendar year, but today he has also set a new world record for one-day cricket, making 200 for India in the second ODI vs South Africa in Gwalior. Ten years after he made 186 against New Zealand, he still has the appetite for a big score. How big could this innings have been if he hadn't been suffering from cramp and if MS Dhoni hadn't kept nicking the strike? Tendulkar passed the record of 194, held jointly by Charles Coventry and Saeed Anwar, with more than four overs remaining in India's innings as they trotted to 401, but it wasn't until the third ball of the final over that Tendulkar got to 200. Tendulkar now has 93 hundreds in international cricket - 47 in Tests and 46 in ODIs - which is 25 more than the next best man, Ricky Ponting. At the age of 36 and in such great form, he could reach 100 hundreds by the end of the year. If he did, it would mean that he made 12 international hundreds in 2010, equalling his own world record set in 1998. Still a fair bit of cricket to go, of course, but certainly 100 hundreds is now a realistic goal for him to achieve before retiring. By why should he ever retire when he is scoring runs so easily? Sanath Jayasuriya hit ten ODI hundreds for Sri Lanka after his 36th birthday. Graham Gooch had the best year of his Test career when he was 37 and reached a World Cup final at 39. Jack Hobbs scored 100 first-class hundreds after his 40th birthday. As long as Tendulkar is enjoying his cricket and playing so well, he could go on and on and on and... India's total of 401, sealed with a four down the ground off the last ball by Dhoni, also shattered the record for the magnificently named Captain Roop Singh stadium in this city in Madhya Pradesh in central India. The previous best in Gwalior's 12 ODIs since 1988 was 289 by Pakistan 13 years ago. It will be some ask for South Africa to chase this down, but having come within two runs of making 299 to win the first ODI on Sunday, this game may have some life in it.

From Nasser Hussain :

NASSER HUSSAIN: Mighty Sachin Tendulkar even tops Lara, Ponting and The Don! By NASSER HUSSAIN on 25th February 2010 I have never liked comparisons between great players, but after Wednesday’s incredible game it must be said — Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest batsman of all time. Better than Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting, the other two great players of my era. Better than Sir Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border. And I would even say better than Sir Don Bradman himself. Now he has the first double hundred in a one-day international — hitting 25 fours and three sixes as India beat South Africa by 153 runs — he has swung it for me. SACHIN BY NUMBERS 46 One-day international hundreds 47 Test hundreds 166 Test matches played 240 Sixes in all international cricket 442 One-day internationals 13,447 Test runs scored 17,598 one-day international runs 45.12 One-day international batting average 55.56 Test batting average I played against Tendulkar on my first England tour, the Nehru Cup in India in 1989, and I could still see that excited boy in big pads in Gwalior. That extraordinary drive and enthusiasm are what make Tendulkar so special. He has been playing international cricket for 20 years under the intense scrutiny being an Indian superstar brings, so it is remarkable he still loves holding a bat as much as ever. Halfway through the Indian innings on Wednesday, Tendulkar was already on more than a hundred. It’s almost a given that he will reach three figures. But even he had not turned it into a double in a 50-over international before, and this was not against a lowly side but South Africa, one of the most formidable bowling attacks in the world. There was no slogging — just pure, attacking strokeplay. Tendulkar has gone back to being the fluent, almost flamboyant, batsman he used to be. In recent years his innings had become a bit mechanical, but I think he has remembered what made him great. I interviewed Sachin for Sportsmail when he was touring England a couple of years ago — one of the highlights of my career since I stopped playing, and it was noticeable that he is not driven by money. He has become a very wealthy man, but that has been as a result of doing what he does best and enjoying it. It has not been the be all and end all for him. What else is left for Tendulkar now? Well, it is sometimes said that he has not played enough match-winning innings on the really big occasion for India. What better, then, than to score a hundred in the World Cup final against Australia — or maybe even England — on home soil this time next year. That would be the full stop that would enable Tendulkar to ride off into the sunset with everything achieved in his career. My admiration for him is total. To steal the nickname of a certain football coach who led Inter Milan against Chelsea on Wednesday, Sachin Tendulkar truly is The Special One.

From Anil Kumble:

SACHIN CLIMBS ODI PEAK NEVER SCALED BEFORE - 200 NOT OUT ANIL KUMBLE Former India Captain What does one say about something that has never been seen before? That it is special? Yes it is, incredibly so. That it is incredible? It is that too. That it could not have happened to someone who deserved it more? Absolutely. Two hundred not out in a one-day international, 2961 matches gone by before this. And then, given that Sachin Tendulkar is the first man in history to get to the mark in his 21st year of international cricket, with mind and body intact through astonishing pressure and responsibility, makes the feat all the more laudable. He’s shown and proved time and again that age is absolutely no criteria to judge a player, it’s what someone does on the field of play that matters. The statistics show that this has been Sachin’s best ever international season, in Tests and one-day internationals combined. He’s been on some sort of golden run-getting spree, notching up the hundreds and more importantly, setting up wins and then winning matches for India. It’s been fascinating to watch. Twenty years of cricket takes a huge toll on the body and Sachin’s had every injury in the book. But he’s come back from each one, stronger, fitter and mentally, as sure of himself as he’s always been. I thought the way he celebrated when he reached his 200 epitomised the man’s persona. There was no running laps around the field, no aggressive gestures, nothing over-the-top. He did what he always does, raised both his arms, closed his eyes for a moment and quietly acknowledged that it had been done. Of this innings itself, it wasn’t easy. South Africa have a very good all-round attack. They have quality fast bowlers and yet, he just toyed with them. You could almost see him think, ‘where do I play the next ball?’ It was fascinating stuff. He clearly enjoyed himself on the day, is enjoying this team, and it’s all showing. But watching Sachin play as he’s been doing, taking pleasure in the various roles he has within the set-up, that of competitor, senior professional, mentor, match-winner; watching him mesh them seamlessly, as always with rare grace, is a learning experience. If the youngsters in the team can take even 10 per cent of what he does, they’ll be better cricketers for it. It’s nice to see an Indian on top of the one-day performances, really nice. And at this point, the only thing left for Sachin really is Brian Lara’s mark. But I’m sure that 401* in Tests is not far around the corner. With Sachin, nothing really is impossible. Even now, at 37, his best is yet ahead.

From Sachin Tendulkar:

I Want an Indian to Break My Record: Tendulkar Gwalior | Feb 25, 2010 Master batsman Sachin Tendulkar said records are meant to be broken and he would be glad to see an Indian eclipsing his epic unbeaten 200 that he smashed against South Africa here on Tuesday. Tendulkar became the first cricketer to hit a double century in the four-decade-long history of one day cricket but the Indian reckoned even this record would be bettered some day. "No record is unbreakable. Records are made to be broken and I would like to see an Indian break this record," Tendulkar said, dedicating the knock to all his fans. The greatest accumulator of runs in the history of cricket, Tendulkar possesses nearly all major batting records even though he insists he never chased milestones. "I do not play for records. I play for enjoyment and for my passion for the game. I did not start playing cricket for breaking records. It has happened over the time. But it feels great," Tendulkar said at the post-match press conference. Asked what he felt like getting that double hundred, he said, "After reaching 175-200, I thought I might be able to go beyond. But it's not that only double hundred was there on my mind. The ball was coming nicely and I was striking the ball well." Tendulkar has been in brilliant form since the 2007 World Cup and the batsman attributed his success to coach Gary Kirsten. "I have enjoyed challenges. I have enjoyed the game 2007 onwards and credit goes to Gary. He has held the team beautifully, it's about holding the team together. Even at the practice, he has worked as hard as players and probably harder than anyone else. Things have been good," he said. Asked if the presence of more match-winners in the side had eased his pressure and allowed him to play freely, Tendulkar said, "Not really. I have done well in the last 20 years. It's not that I have done well in the last one year." Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan announced that a road would be named after the batting great, a gesture Tendulkar acknowledged with smile and gratitude. "I respect the sentiment. These things help during tough times and when you go to the field," he said.

[HowardRoark]

"I thought the way he celebrated when he reached his 200 epitomised the man's persona. There was no running laps around the field, no aggressive gestures, nothing over-the-top. He did what he always does, raised both his arms, closed his eyes for a moment and quietly acknowledged that it had been done." Anil Kumble applauds a long-time team-mate

Name of a certain perennial underacheiver in our team springs to the top of my mind :cantstop:

[EnterTheVoid]

Happy he broke my record can be translated into Sad he broke my heart:winky:

He broke Coventry' record, not Anwar's :winky:

[Sachinism]

Like The Don, in a league of his own - Ayaz Memon Cricket lovers are obsessed with records and stats - Indian fans notoriously so - which perhaps explains why the entire country went into paroxysms of delight when Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to score 200 runs in a 50-over match. The penny seemed to have suddenly dropped. What had been discussed for almost a half a decade in muted tones for fear of blasphemy, had acquired a brazen overtone: Move over Sir Donald Bradman, Tendulkar is now the greatest batsman of all time. Tendulkar's spectacular run over the past two years has obviously given a fillip to this argument. I suspect that the despair arising out of the 2007 World Cup disaster has something to do with him getting a second wind and batting with the energy, ambition, competitive edge and run hunger that had defined his cricket in the first decade of his career. At 36, in his 21st year in the game, he has been playing with the enthusiasm of a 16-year-old again. I reckon he wanted to prove something to himself, and his performances of the last two years show he has done this mind-bogglingly. I am chary of statistics leading to outrageous conclusions, but unlike Mark Twain I don't damn them. I find them fascinating and infuriating, but at all times stimulating, and have found profuse use for them in writing on cricket. Stats play a big and useful role because they provide significant tangible value to a player's worth. But they can also be quirky and deceptive, often giving misleading clues about a player's true qualitative worth. And yet, paradoxically, Bradman's perceived greatness stems almost entirely from statistics, in particular his dazzling Test average of 99.94, which has remained unassailable for more than 60 years. Looked at every which way, it is a numbing, humbling statistic. No batsman, either before Bradman or since, has come remotely close to it. Every effort to rationalise it for contemporary evaluation has come a cropper. So while it would be fair to say that superior fielding and better opposition would reduce Bradman's prolific run-getting to say 70-odd per innings, if you consider that batsmen today play on covered wickets with all kinds of protective gear, it would climb back into the 90s again and bring the debate back to square one. The assessment, ergo, must use other parameters. Let's revisit the Gwalior match. Suppose Tendulkar had somehow not got the strike in the last over and remained unbeaten on 199, would he have been a lesser player? Suppose Virender Sehwag had got his third triple-century in Mumbai against Sri Lanka, would he have hurdled over Lara and become a greater batsman than Bradman? These are impossible questions to settle purely in statistical terms. A large body of work is, of course, essential to eliminate those who flicker very brightly but very briefly. But the more compelling argument according to me is to assess the impact a sportsperson has on the consciousness of his era, how he has shaped the milieu of his times, what he has meant not just to his sport but also his country and the world. That's where the twain - Bradman and Tendulkar - meet, despite the vast statistical difference that will remain when Tendulkar retires. For, like Bradman, Tendulkar has not merely been a cricketer but a symbol of sustained excellence, not just a role model but a metaphor for his country's aspirations; not just a sporting genius but a sociological phenomenon. The pressure, the burden of expectations they have had to endure throughout their careers, finds no parallel in their sport, or their country's ethos. It is almost impossible to compare greats from different eras. In my opinion, purely from a sporting point of view Tendulkar today stands on par with Roger Federer, Tiger Woods and Michael Schumacher. If that still doesn't resolve the issue, let me approach it differently. If Tendulkar were to retire tomorrow, a long queue of the game's greatest batsmen would await him near the dressing room: Hammond, Hobbs, Hutton, the three Ws, Richards, Gavaskar, Dravid, Sehwag, Ponting, Lara, Chappell, Miandad, et al. And at the head of this queue would be Bradman, first to shake his hand and say, "Gosh, you little bonzer, I would have loved to play an innings like that!"

Tendulkar's glory untouched by fame - Harsha Bhogle Sachin Tendulkar sugar-coated the recent reality of India and gave its people something to cheer about. It is not easy to possess the mandate to lift the spirits of such a large nation, but he has done that consistently. The comparison with Sir Donald Bradman is not restricted to his batting alone. Like the great man who brought cheer to post-war Australia, Tendulkar allowed India to momentarily forget fires and bombs and inflation and terrorist threats. It was like that with the century he made after England so graciously agreed to tour after the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. It has been like that for a long time. For better or worse cricket is more than a sport in India; Tendulkar is more than just a cricketer. Where our elected representatives callously fritter away the mandate people give them, Tendulkar has stayed true to it. And he has never forgotten why he started playing the game in the first place. The best have lofty ambitions when they begin but soon commerce, like a tenacious worm, gnaws into them. Fame surrounds them and prevents the fresh air of reason from breaking through. They acquire sycophants, that great curse of success. Playing the game becomes a means to a seemingly superior, but in reality hollower, end. Tendulkar has kept those demons at bay. He has made more money than anyone else in the game, acquired greater fame than is imaginable, but you could never guess that from the way he plays his cricket. He remains the servant, pursues the game with purity. Through the last decade India have been well-served by like-minded giants. And he works as hard as anybody has. Lance Armstrong once said that he wins the Tour de France not when he is cycling down the Champs Elysees but when he is out in the mountains facing icy winds while others are cosying in their blankets for an extra hour. Two years ago Tendulkar realised that his future lay in the way his body coped; that eventually his body rather than a bowler would get him. During the first IPL, as he struggled with a groin injury, he admitted that he found continuous rehab very difficult to live with. Once fit, he was like the child again, able to do what he wanted without worrying about whether his body was accomplice or traitor. And so he trained harder and rested well. You could see the effect as he scampered between wickets. Tendulkar's delightful second wind is the result of what you and I have not seen: hours in the gym and in training. As a result, Tendulkar's endgame is nowhere in sight. He is peeling off centuries like he did in his prime. The old air of predictability is still around; he is grinding his way through when needed, clobbering the ball when required. In this extraordinary long-distance race he is running, this looks like a mid-race burst rather than the finishing kick his age suggests it should be. So why has no one else scored a double-century in limited-overs cricket so far? Well, because it is very difficult for a start. Assuming 300 balls, you should expect to get no more than 150, which means you need to bat at a strike-rate of 133. You need to be mentally alert, because one casual shot, one moment of disrespect, could be your undoing. But, let's admit, the combination of pitches, outfields and boundary ropes has rarely tilted the balance so much in the batsman's favour. In Gwalior the groundsman told one half of the class they were not wanted. The bowlers were the extras in a movie, seeking, at best, a talking part. The stage had been prepared for Tendulkar but he still had to deliver an unforgettable performance. Inevitably the question will be asked: what next? I know there is only one thing he genuinely covets, and that is not in his hands. In 12 months Tendulkar hopes to play his sixth and last World Cup. So far his relationship with the World Cup has been like that of a child who scurries to the rossogulla shop only to find it shut every time. If he was a golfer seeking a Masters win or a tennis player hoping to win another Grand Slam, he could plan for it but he doesn't hold the key to a win in a team sport. It must happen, he cannot make it happen. But what else? Frankly, I don't care. Tendulkar's journey is about joy and purity and a landmark is merely a comfort stop.

[Guest Gunner]

Oh man I am so touched by all these articles. He really does belong to us, doesn't he? Sachin is ours and no one else may lay claim to him!!

[IKnowU]

God breaks Cricinfo Records

Sachin Tendulkar’s record-breaking didn’t stop on the field on February 24. He shattered many on Cricinfo. We recorded 45 million page views that day, and our highest number of unique users in India and the United States. The match report for the Gwalior ODI became Cricinfo's single most read piece of content. It has always been so. If evidence was ever needed to confirm Tendulkar’s status as the world’s most-adored cricketer, it can be found in our logs. Month after month, year after year, he remains the most-searched cricketer on Cricinfo; by a huge margin, his profile page is the most visited player page on the site; and in any given month, headlines (often more than one) featuring his name are among the top 10 on the site. Among other things, he also broke a couple of our servers that day. Trust me, we make serious contingency plans for peak moments, and certainly we have never underestimated your love for Tendulkar. But obviously, there is no accounting for it. As he stood a couple of runs away from making history, so many of you logged in together that our servers blinked. It was a desperate few minutes, but in a sense, it was also a moment of vindication of your faith in us. Many of you got on Twitter to vent your frustration, and there was one post that stood out: “You know you are large when you crash Cricinfo.” We hope to be ready for the next peak. We have just ordered some Tendulkar servers.

He truly is god.:icflove: What a cunning way for cricinfo to apologise for the crashes??

[Sachinism]

Tendulkar's irresistible second coming - S Rajesh The last 34 months have been quite extraordinary for Sachin Tendulkar. In the couple of years preceding them, there had been serious questions asked about his form, his reflexes, and his appetite for the game. There was the acknowledgement, with more than a tinge of sadness, that Tendulkar's mind and body were inevitably giving in to years of constant wear and tear, and that the kind of innings we witnessed during his glory days would only rarely, if ever, be repeated. How wrong we were. Quite magically Tendulkar has turned back the clock, displaying the intensity and hunger many thought had been lost forever. The result has been a stunning sequence of scores: 10 centuries in the last 12 months in international cricket, including three of his four highest ODI hundreds, and the first double-century in 2962 one-day internationals. His last eight innings in all international cricket read as follows: 105*, 16, 143, 7, 100, 106, 4, 200. Among other things, it shows his all-consuming desire to convert his starts - every time he has topped 20, he has gone on to a century. The table below shows just how incredible his revival has been. In 14 Tests from the beginning of 2005 to the end of 2006, he scored one hundred from 22 innings, and the average had dropped to less than 34. His ODI form was equally disappointing during this period: an average similar to his Test number, and a strike rate of less than 80. Since the 2007 World Cup, though, the numbers present a far more cheerful picture: in 58 ODIs the average has zoomed past 50, with the strike rate touching 90. His Test form has been equally delightful - an average of almost 60, with 12 centuries from 34 matches. Since the end of the 2007 World Cup, Tendulkar is one of only two batsmen to average more than 50 in ODIs; MS Dhoni is the other. Combining the average with a strike rate of 89.20, Tendulkar's ODI batting index (average multiplied by runs per ball) is 46.29, with only Virender Sehwag and Dhoni having a better index. Tendulkar's Test average puts him in sixth place in a list dominated by Sri Lankans and Indians. Three Indian batsmen have a higher average than his, which indicates how good the going has been for India during this period. And while plenty has been written about Gambhir, Sehwag and Tendulkar, the performances of VVS Laxman have gone relatively unnoticed, even though he averages a touch higher than Tendulkar. Even more than the averages, what's been stunning is the rate at which Tendulkar has been adding to his century tally. Not so long ago, Ricky Ponting was closing in on Tendulkar's mark, especially in Tests. However, Tendulkar has opened up a handy lead once again, scoring six Test centuries in the last year even as Ponting's form has dipped. The gap between their Test hundreds is now eight, while the overall difference is an unbridgeable 25. Since that 2007 World Cup, Tendulkar has scored a century every 6.53 innings (combining all international cricket). Only Thilan Samaraweera, with six Test centuries in 32 innings and two ODI hundreds in 15, has a better rate. Tendulkar's Test rate of 4.50 innings per hundred has been bettered by just three batsmen during this period (among those with at least six Test hundreds): Mahela Jayawardene (3.82; 11 hundreds in 42 innings), Gambhir (4.25; eight in 34) and Kumar Sangakkara (4.44; nine in 40). So impressive has Tendulkar's run been recently that it's been suggested this is his best streak ever. It isn't, but it's very close to his best. In both ODIs and Tests he has had at least a couple of such passages when he was unstoppable. Between January 1998 and December 1999, he averaged more than 55 at a strike rate of nearly 100; that was the period when he scored those two incredible centuries against Australia in Sharjah, which remain among his best ODI innings. Again, between 2001 and 2003, he had similar stats. Both these passages included the World Cup, in England in 1999 and in South Africa in 2003. In Tests, the whole period from the beginning of 1997 to the end of 2002 was exceptional. Breaking it up into two passages, so that the number of matches is similar to the current period, it's clear that the 1997 to 1999 phase was his best, with 12 centuries in 27 Tests, bookended by outstanding hundreds in Cape Town and Melbourne. The three years immediately after that were pretty good too, with an average of almost 60, including nine centuries in 32 Tests. Tendulkar's revival isn't dissimilar to Brian Lara's stunning run in his last four years in international cricket. (Though this isn't to suggest Tendulkar will quit international cricket anytime soon.) After 2003, Lara averaged 60 in 41 Tests, with 16 centuries, including hundreds in two of his last three Tests. Clive Lloyd's last 32 Tests were equally productive, fetching him 2342 runs at 61.63, well above his career average of 46.67. Steve Waugh and Graham Thorpe went out with a bang too, but these players have been exceptions. If Tendulkar continues in similar vein over the next few years, he'll join that select group as well. More than that, it'll mean we'll be in for several more special innings of the kind that he has conjured up over the last three years.

[SachDan]

Sachin Tendulkar’s record-breaking didn’t stop on the field on February 24. He shattered many on Cricinfo. We recorded 45 million page views that day, and our highest number of unique users in India and the United States. The match report for the Gwalior ODI became Cricinfo's single most read piece of content. It has always been so. If evidence was ever needed to confirm Tendulkar’s status as the world’s most-adored cricketer, it can be found in our logs. Month after month, year after year, he remains the most-searched cricketer on Cricinfo; by a huge margin, his profile page is the most visited player page on the site; and in any given month, headlines (often more than one) featuring his name are among the top 10 on the site. Among other things, he also broke a couple of our servers that day. Trust me, we make serious contingency plans for peak moments, and certainly we have never underestimated your love for Tendulkar. But obviously, there is no accounting for it. As he stood a couple of runs away from making history, so many of you logged in together that our servers blinked. It was a desperate few minutes, but in a sense, it was also a moment of vindication of your faith in us. Many of you got on Twitter to vent your frustration, and there was one post that stood out: “You know you are large when you crash Cricinfo.†We hope to be ready for the next peak. We have just ordered some Tendulkar servers.

:hail::hail::hail::hail::hail:

[goose]

[Sachinism]

^^ Awesome pic

[vvvslaxman]

Don't want to create another thread Adam Parore: Tendulkar is the finest of our era

Adam Parore: Tendulkar is the finest of our era0comments Add By Adam Parore, Saturday Feb 27, 2010 Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar scores the first double-century in the history of one-day international cricket, against South Africa, on Wednesday. Photo / APWhen Sachin Tendulkar busted the double-hundred ceiling this week I was surprised in one respect; but not in another. I doubted anyone would get to 200, as Tendulkar did against South Africa. It seemed insurmountable, considering all the factors which must work in the batsman's favour. That said, if anyone was going to do it, the Indian master was the obvious person to climb that mountain. Let's face it, that's pretty fair going in 50 overs. You have to be about 100 after 25 overs, and then keep your mind on the job, and make sure your technique stays strong. Two players have reached 194. I didn't see Charles Coventry's effort for Zimbabwe against Bangladesh, but I saw Saeed Anwar get there for Pakistan against India 13 years ago. Anwar, a little lefthand opener, was brilliant and that day he was off the planet. He accelerated towards the end of his innings, but Tendulkar seems to have been on the pace the whole way. And he timed it to perfection, reaching 200 in the final over of the innings. Of the others who might have got there before Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist is the one who stood out for me. I thought he might have made it one day. There are certain things you need to get to 200. For starters you have to open the batting, and get off to a strong start. Second, you need to be a pretty complete player. You need to cope with the changing circumstances of the innings and you need to have help from your partners. That is, it's pretty easy for your mates at the other end to stuff things up, either by batting slowly or hogging the strike and preventing you keeping up your momentum. You also have a lot of hurdles to get through not only to bat 50 overs, but consider that Tendulkar had to average four runs an over for over three hours on his own. You battle tiredness, fatigue in both body and mind. But as we've known for a long time, Tendulkar is an exceptional athlete with remarkable powers of concentration to go with his talent. His appetite remains undiminished. Plenty of players produce formidable numbers in mid-career before tailing off towards the end, but Tendulkar is still churning out hundreds with the same efficiency he has throughout his career. How to compare the three modern greats, Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting? In ODIs, Tendulkar is The Man, simply the best of all time, by some distance, and that's saying something given the class of the other two. But numbers shout out his case. This was his 46th ODI ton in 442 games; Ponting's made 29 in 340 while Lara got 19 in 299 matches. And his test record is pretty hard to argue with, having accumulated most hundreds and most runs. That said, Lara's record was pretty tasty too. Anyone who can score 500 in a first-class innings, 400 in a test innings, to go with a 375 to claim the world record for the first time, has to be special. Lara lacked the consistency of Tendulkar, but he could seriously hurt you once he got in. So I have plenty of respect for the achievements of Lara and Ponting, but right now it's hard to argue against Tendulkar as the most dominant of the three. In my book the next target for the game's finest will be passing 100 with regularity in Twenty20 internationals. Chris Gayle is the only batsman to have done it so far, but that won't last long. My pick is that in four or five years they'll be as common as ODI hundreds. But another 200 in an ODI? It's hard to see that happening again.

[vvvslaxman]

http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/pdfs/sport/sachin_makemineadouble.pdf This pdf file looks nice.

[Sachinism]

"I will pay anything, even go to the theatre, to watch the innings 100 times. I have already reserved a CD to watch it any time I want." Virender Sehwag is ready to stake everything for a replay of Sachin Tendulkar's epochal double ton Someone get a copy of that disc

[Chandan]

From The Time

February 25, 2010 Sachin Tendulkar shows destructive appetite to set one-day record Patrick Kidd It took 2,961 one-day internationals before one of the great frontiers in cricket was crossed yesterday when Sachin Tendulkar became the first man to score 200 in a limited-overs game for his country. In doing so against South Africa in Gwalior, in central India, he passed the record that had been held jointly by Saeed Anwar, who made 194 for Pakistan against India in 1997, and Charles Coventry, of Zimbabwe, against Bangladesh last year. If it had not been for severe cramp and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the India captain, hogging the strike near the end, who knows how many Tendulkar could have scored. He had reached 191 by the end of the 45th over, but faced only nine of the last 30 balls, reaching 200 off the third ball of the final over. Hashim Amla made a fine diving stop on the deep mid-wicket boundary the previous ball to give Tendulkar that chance as Dhoni, who had scored 23 off the previous six balls, came within feet of another boundary. Tendulkar steered the next ball from Charl Langeveldt behind point to spark jubilation in the crowd and around the world. His 200 came off 147 balls, the second fastest strike-rate of his 46 one-day hundreds for India, and laid the platform for a team total of 401 for three that proved beyond the visiting side. Having slipped to 103 for six in the fifteenth over, A. B. de Villiers made an unbeaten 114 but South Africa, who lost the first match of the three-game series by one run on Sunday, were dismissed for 248 in the 43rd over. Is it possible that after 20 years in international cricket, Tendulkar, the darling of Mumbai and scorer of more than 30,000 runs for India, is just getting the hang of the game? Since entering his third decade at the top in November, Tendulkar has a batting average of more than 90 from 13 international matches. His purple patch includes five Test hundreds in the past nine innings and 96 not out in a one-day match against Sri Lanka. The 36-year-old batsman also made 175 against Australia in early November, ten days before the twentieth anniversary of his India debut, but that is merely the third highest of his one-day hundreds. In 1999 he made 189 not out against New Zealand. South Africa could have felt confident after four overs yesterday, having dismissed Virender Sehwag for nine. It was the first of two wickets for Wayne Parnell, but the 20-year-old fast bowler’s figures were ruined by Tendulkar, who took 46 off 24 of his balls, to leave him nursing a return of two for 95 in ten overs. Tendulkar had nine fours in his first fifty, which came off 37 balls, and needed 53 more balls to get to 100, before taking advantage of the tiring bowlers’ waywardness. He added 194 for the second wicket with Dinesh Karthik, who made 79, and 101 in nine overs with Dhoni, who reached 68 off 35 balls. By hitting two of the last three balls for four, Dhoni took India past 400, the ninth-highest total by any country. South Africa had made 438 batting second to beat Australia four years ago, but once the in-form Amla became the third wicket to fall in the first eight overs, the chase was never on. Tendulkar, who dedicated his innings to “all the people of India who stood with me for the last 20 years” said that he only felt in with a chance of getting the record when he had reached 175 and realised there were still eight overs left. “I thought I was stroking the ball well,” he said. “The ball was coming nicely on to the bat. Every over a big shot was being played and was being played consistently.” Tendulkar has 93 hundreds in international cricket and while Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain, is only eight behind his 47 Test centuries, the aggregate will surely never be caught. Reaching 100 international hundreds is a realistic goal for Tendulkar, as well as making a first Test triple-hundred — his best, somewhat surprisingly, is only 248 — and winning the World Cup for India next year. That would not be enough for Sunil Gavaskar, the former India captain. “He should aim for more,” Gavaskar said. “Maybe a Test innings of 450 or an ODI knock of 250. There is a little boy in Tendulkar who wants to keep playing. That spirit keeps him going.” While Tendulkar has set a benchmark in international cricket, his innings was only the tenth highest in List A cricket. Alistair Brown, the Nottinghamshire and Surrey batsman, leads the way with 268 against Glamorgan at the Oval in 2002 and also made 203 against Hampshire in 1997.

From Forbes Media

Tendulkar Achieves One Of Cricket's Unreachable Records February 24, 2010 Paul Maidment Paul Maidment is Editor, Forbes Media India's Sachin Tendulkar -- the Little Master (above) -- has confirmed himself as one of the greatest cricketers of the modern era by breaking what was thought to be one of the game's unreachable records, an innings of 200 in a one-day international (ODI). A double century in any form of international cricket is uncommon. Hitting one within the 50 overs limit of an ODI had never been done before in the four decades this form of the game has been played. Doing so is up there with some of the greatest individual athletic achievements such as Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, Jessie Owens' four world records in 70 minutes or Don Larsen's perfect World Series game. The previous record was 194 set by Pakistan's Saeed Anwar against India in 1996-97 and matched in 2009 by Charles Coventry for Zimbabwe against Bangladesh. Tendulkar's own previous best ODI score was 186 not out against New Zealand in 1999, His undefeated double century led India to a 153 run win over a strong South Africa side in Gwalior, also sealing a series victory. Spectators described the innings as a flawless display of Tendulkar's characteristic wristy stokes, powerful boundary shots and unflagging concentration. Other batsmen hit the ball with more brutal power or bat with more elan and dash. Tendulkar, like the man many reckon to have been the greatest batsman of all, Australia's late Sir Donald Bradman, is a relentlessly efficient run-machine. The 36-year-old, who is a sporting idol in India on a Michael Jordan or Pele level, has scored more runs than anyone in both ODIs (17,598) and Test matches (13,447). He is experiencing something of a golden autumn to a distinguished 20-year career after injuries and a run of bad form had seemed to cut it off in its prime. The record score was his 46th century in 442 ODIs. He has also scored 47 hundreds in 166 Tests, giving him a total of 93 -- 10 hit in just 34 innings in the past 12 months. In an era which has seen great batsmen such as Australia's Ricky Ponting and the West Indies' Brian Lara, Tendulkar has again staked a claim to be the best of them all. Success has bought not just fame but fortune. In August, we ranked him as the second highest earning cricketer, with total earnings of $8 million over the previous 12 months, including a $1.1 million salary from his Indian Premier League team, Mumbai Indians. Aptly, the top earning cricketer, India's captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was at the other end of the Gwalior pitch as Tendulkar struck his record-breaking 200th run.

From Mirror

TWO-TONDULKAR THE GENIUS By Dean Wilson 25/02/2010 CRICKET INDIAN STAR SETS RECORD India superstar Sachin Tendulkar superbly smashed one-day cricket's first 50-over double ton. Finishing yesterday's innings against South Africa on 200 not out, the little master guided India to a mammoth 401-3 and an easy 153-run over South Africa. Tendulkar, 36, walloped 25 fours and three sixes in India's third-highest one day total, with Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni adding half-centuries. After one of the best innings ever seen, he said: "I would like to dedicate this double hundred to all the people of India who stood with me for the last 20 years. "I really appreciate their support. "Probably when I had 175-plus and there were 42 overs gone I thought 'now there is a chance.' It feels good I lasted for 50 overs, a good test of my fitness." The victory also secured India an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. But it was only the individual success and brilliance of Tendulkar that mattered to the packed crowd in Gwalior. Indian fans' devotion to a player treated almost like a God is continually rewarded - and this was the 46th time he had reached three figures in a one-day international. And when he flicked Wayne Parnell behind square for two he went past the joint record of 194 held by Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry and Pakistan's Saeed Anwar as the highest one-day score to be out on his own again. With 47 Test tons to his name, Tendulkar's next target must be 50 in each form to become the only man to claim 100 international hundreds.

From PETER ROEBUCK

Sizzling Sachin powers PETER ROEBUCK February 26, 2010 It was the Boxing Day Test of 1999. India were showcasing their champion batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, no longer a brilliant stripling, already acknowledged as one of the masters of the age. Australia had summoned a brash young fast bowler with a toothpaste smile going by the name of Brett Lee. Their confrontation was compelling, a match within a match. Eleven years later, they shared the headlines again, Tendulkar for becoming the first batsman to score 200 in a one-day international, Lee for announcing his retirement from Test cricket. Such are the cruel ironies and sweet pleasures of sport. Lee was magnificent in that MCG Test. Bowling at roughly the speed of light, he pounded the Indians with bumpers, tormented them with outswingers, demolished them with late inswing. The debutant took 5-47 as Australia secured a large and eventually decisive lead of 167 runs. It was a searing start from a superb athlete destined to become his country's fourth-highest wicket taker. But Tendulkar was his equal. Defiant and courageous, he refused to give second best to the surging speedster. Countering with thrusts of his own - cuts, pulls and glides off his pads - the maestro scored 116 of India's 238. Tendulkar collected 52 in the second dig but could not stop the visitors losing by 180 runs. As far as Test cricket is concerned, Lee's fire has been extinguished. He's had a wonderful career, and everyone will wish him well, but it's hard to see him regaining his place in any form of the game. His best hope is to join the emerging brigade of ageing speedsters able to focus entirely on the shorter format. Hitherto, cricketers eager to secure national selection were obliged to play Shield cricket. As Dirk Nannes and Shaun Tait have shown, shortcuts are now possible. Even so, Lee must fear for his prospects. Once his greatest asset, his body is not to be trusted. Contrastingly, Tendulkar continues to go from strength to strength. His dazzling double century in Gwalior reinforced his reputation as the finest batsman to appear in the past 60 years. After two decades of intense scrutiny and hard campaigns, he was fresh enough to bat an entire innings and collar all sorts of bowling. He has been sustained by a simple love of the game and, especially, batting. As Andre Agassi has confirmed, it's not as easy as it sounds. A lot can be lost once sport becomes a job. Nor was Tendulkar playing against mugs. The might of South Africa was arrayed against him. Certainly the pitch was amiable and the outfield fast, but that has often been the case and the mark had remained intact. Moreover, he conquered not with brute force but with the purity of style that has been his hallmark since first he arrived as a child at Shivaji Park, a young boy seeking opportunity and competition. His ability to combine classical and virtuoso has been unique. No batsman has been as rewarding to watch in the past decades, and none has been superior. Among past masters, Viv Richards and Sunil Gavaskar stand out. Gavaskar ruled with meticulous technique. Often he played within himself, relying on patience and precision to build his score. As much was the duty of the stoical opening batsman. Not that he was always cautious. Indeed, he played some of the most breath-taking innings the game has known. Then his range of shots was extraordinary and the execution vibrant. Before him, too, Indian batsmen were regarded as frail. After him the word was never again spoken. That is the measure of his triumph. Richards dictated with relish. He was a majestic batsman who thrived in the heat of the hottest battle. But he was moody. In his pomp, from 1976 to 1983 or thereabouts, he imposed himself by force of stroke and character. For all his magnificence, though, he averaged 50 in Test cricket, a modest return for a batsman of his stature not called upon to face the West Indies pace machine. The figures tell of a batsman at the mercy of his temper. Longevity has a part to play in the assessment. Among the moderns, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Brian Lara stand apart. Ponting's greatness is an established fact. Over a long period, he has scored heavily in all forms of the game and against all types of bowling. Kallis has been underestimated. In part it is because he often ends up in the all-rounder section. As a batsman he is a colossus. The figures speak for themselves. Lara has been the genius of the age. His best has been the best. On his day, no one could touch him, not even Tendulkar. Almost single-handed he has won Test matches, even series. But he was fitful, endured too many bad patches. Lara has acknowledged the merits of his rival, an opinion at once humble and accurate. Tendulkar is not flawless. Of all modern batsmen, though, he has been the most complete. And he's not finished yet. Alas, it's not possible to be as sanguine about his foe and friend from that epic confrontation in Melbourne, the popular paceman from the southern beaches, Brett Lee.

From Harbhajan Singh

Sachin is better than Bradman, reckons Harbhajan Singh Jalandhar, February 27, 2010 Eulogising milestone man Sachin Tendulkar for his historic ODI double hundred, India's star off-spinner Harbhajan Singh reckons his illustrious teammate is better than Australian great Sir Don Bradman. Harbhajan could not witness the record-breaking double century as he skipped the first two matches of the series due to his sister's wedding. "I am short of words to praise Sachin. Some players compared him with Don Bradman. Although I have not seen Bradman playing but I am confident, he (Sachin) is better than him for which his records speak," Harbhajan told PTI today. The off-spinner said Tendulkar's hunger for runs and amazing focus makes him an altogether different cricketer. "Even after scoring 150 in the ODI, Sachin never looks tired and keeps his focus on the game. I have learnt a lot from him, be it on ground or in dressing room. I always observe how he prepares himself for every match," he said. The temperamental spinner was disappointed that he could not witness Tendulkar's achievement in Gwalior due to prior family commitments. "I am unfortunate, as I was not there on the ground to witness one of the historic moments. But Sachin's performance definitely added to my happiness during the family function. "I was busy in the family function, when one of my relatives came with the news of Sachin's double century and I could not stop myself from dancing," he said.

[SachDan]

In today's 'Independent' UK, there is a nicely written article by Mihir Bose.

[SachDan]

Sachin Tendulkar's story is the story of modern India, the India that 60 years after independence is emerging as a major power and producing iconic figures for whom the tag Indian is no longer a burden but an advertisement. It is not without significance that, when Tendulkar became the first man to score a double 100 in a 50-over match this week, he dedicated his achievements to India. He did the same when, just over a year ago, his century in the Chennai Test helped to defeat England. The Test had come just weeks after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. For some time it was not certain whether the England team would travel to India. Tendulkar had not only fashioned an unlikely Indian victory but he also saw his innings as providing some balm to the terrible wounds suffered by his home town. It was the clearest sign of how much he identified with his country and his country with him. The gesture he makes after achieving a landmark score always sees him raising his face to the skies. He has been doing that ever since the World Cup of 1999 when he lost his father and is meant to acknowledge his homage. This combination of filial piety and patriotism makes him so appealing to the Indians. A sporting figure has not symbolised a country in this way since Australia before the war with Donald Bradman. Appropriately, shortly before his death, the Don, still considered the greatest batsman in the game, anointed Tendulkar as his successor. In a country where public figures are held in little regard, and almost always considered venal and corrupt, Tendulkar has a god-like status. Not even the most cynical Indian, a breed of which there are many, questions his integrity and probity. The most remarkable proof of this came at the height of the cricket corruption crisis at the turn of the century when many leading Indian cricketers were suspected of having been in collusion with bookies to fix matches. I was talking to Raj Singh, then head of Indian cricket, who had given Tendulkar his first break in the international game at the tender age of 16. His words could not have been more emphatic: "You know why I believe nobody can fix a cricket match? Because there is only one man good enough to influence a match on his own. That man is Sachin and he would never even consider doing it. No other cricketer is quite as good and no other cricketer quite as honest." Indeed, such is Tendulkar's status in India that, on the two occasions that his probity has been questioned, India has been ready to forfeit a Test series. The first was on a tour of South Africa in the winter of 2001 when he was punished for cleaning the ball without an umpire's supervision. India exploded with such wrath that it became the subject of debate in the Indian parliament, the burden of the MPs' argument being if a man as spotless as Tendulkar could be doubted, then India's honour had been stained. For a time it seemed that India would not only abandon the tour but also sever its ties with world cricket. Then, early in 2008 on a tour of Australia, the Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was accused of calling the Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds a "monkey". Tendulkar, who was batting with Singh at the time, testified he had not heard Singh utter such words. For the Indians that was the end of the argument. Tendulkar had spoken, so Singh must be innocent. They were so indignant that the Australians would not take Tendulkar's word that, after Singh was punished, the Indians threatened to pull the plug on the tour. This identification with the country has been assisted by the fact that Tendulkar's emergence on the world stage has coincided with wider changes in Indian society. In 1991, two years after he made his debut against Pakistan at the age of 16, India, under pressure from the IMF, was forced to open up its economy, providing the launch pad for the country's growth. If that meant India broke free from its historically sluggish growth rate, then Tendulkar, barely 19 at the time, had also become a mould breaker. 1992 was the year he broke through a historic barrier in English cricket by becoming the first non-white ever to play for Yorkshire. That season in England he displayed to the full the adult that was emerging. English cricket correspondents were astonished to find how polite and deferential young Tendulkar was, always addressing older cricketers such Geoffrey Boycott as Mr. When Boycott, showing him round his beloved Yorkshire, suggested he chat up the young secretaries by taking them out for curry meals, Tendulkar just smiled. But, later in the season while I was writing a feature on him, I was struck by the fact that he would not let my photographer take pictures of his bat which did not have any endorsements. He was eager to publicise cricket gear which carried sponsor logos, showing that even at 18 he knew the value of sponsorship. Since then, India has emerged as the economic powerhouse of cricket providing more than 80 per cent of all world cricket's income. Tendulkar has become one of the highest-paid sportsmen in the world, with an income reputed to be $15m a year. In India, a Tendulkar endorsement of a product is almost certain to make it a success, and nobody who visits the country can miss the huge billboards displaying his image. Yet during all this time Tendulkar, while accumulating runs and riches, has remained a soft-spoken, very correct public man who has never courted scandal. He is happily married with two kids and, unlike many of his contemporaries, has never allowed his public image to distract him from his job of making runs. There could never remotely be a John Terry scandal with Tendulkar. If this suggests remarkable dedication, then that was instilled very early on in his life. His parents decided to send him to a school in Mumbai some distance from his home. But, given how impossible the traffic congestion is in that city and aware that travel time could eat into his desire to play cricket during the school week, he lived with his uncle near the school, coming home only at weekends. The dedication soon bore fruit and Tendulkar was only 14 when he made 326 not out, as it happens against my old Mumbai school, in the process setting a then world record of a third-wicket stand of 664. Tendulkar, despite being brought up in the Mumbai school of batting where you defend before you attack, has been more entertaining, his style influenced by Vivian Richards, rather than his fellow Maharashtrian, Sunil Gavaskar. Cricket-lovers may endlessly debate whether Tendulkar is the greatest of all batsmen, as the Australian leg spinner Shane Warne believes. But what is undoubtedly true is his ability to adapt his batting in a manner which almost none of his contemporaries have displayed. In 2004, struggling on a tour of Australia and finding his favourite cover drive producing not runs but catches to fielders, he went into the last Test determined not to cover drive and ended up with a very un-Tendulkar double 100. The innings nearly led to an Indian victory and showed his extraordinary will to conquer adversity. A few years ago it seemed Tendulkar was ready to bow out. He was not part of the victorious Indian World Twenty20 team of 2007. But in the past two years he appears to have rediscovered his appetite for Test and one-day cricket and there are still clearly peaks for him to climb. He could become the first man to score a total of 100 centuries in international cricket; he currently has 93. And he has yet to score a triple-century in a Test innings, Virender Sehwag, his protégé, being the only Indian to break the 300-barrier. In the process Tendulkar has become the father figure in the Indian dressing room, an ex-captain happily guiding a new and younger generation of leaders. That is rare in Indian life, let alone cricket. This, combined with his ability to cope with the pressures his countrymen impose and still set records, marks his true greatness. Mihir Bose's books include 'A History of Indian Cricket' http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/sachin-tendulkar-little-master-1912365.html