Good Bye Sachin Tendulkar the greatest batsman of all time - Tribute Thread

[Stan AF]

Greatest ODI Batsmen ever. My fav ODI Performances are 82(49) vs Nz 1994, 90 vs Aus WC 1996, 175 vs Aus 2009, 141 vs Pak 2004, 98 vs Pak WC 2003, 94,99 vs Eng 2007, Sharjah Twin 100's, 5 for 32 vs Aus 98

[Chandan]

LINK Five to remember Tendulkar by R Kaushik Ž· Bangalore Ž· Dec 23, 2012 Sachin Tendulkar became the first man to score a ODI double hundred, an unconquered 200 off 147 deliveries comprising 25 fours and three sixes Sachin Tendulkar signed off as the most successful One-Day International batsman of all time, with the most runs, most centuries and most half-centuries against his name, but for the first four and a half years, he didnÃÕ set the limited-overs stage afire. His first 69 games produced 13 fifties and no hundred. Then, in New Zealand in March 1994, he volunteered to open the innings after Navjot Singh Sidhu was ruled out with a stiff neck and the rest is history. Tendulkar brought up his first ODI ton in his 79th match. By the time he called time on his limited-overs career on Sunday (December 23), he had added 48 more, finishing with 18,426 runs at an average of 44.83, with 49 centuries and 96 half-centuries in 463 appearances. Wisden India lists his top five ODI innings. 1. 82 v New Zealand (Auckland, March 27, 1994): This was the innings that was to define Sachin TendulkarÃÔ ODI career. In 69 previous games in the middle order, Tendulkar had made just 13 fifties; in his first innings as an opener, Tendulkar tore New Zealand apart with an audacious display of ball-striking, announcing the arrival of limited-overs cricketÃÔ consistently most explosive and authoritative batsman. India were only chasing 143 for victory and Tendulkar relished the new ball, smashing 15 fours and two sixes in a 49-ball 82 against an attack that comprised Danny Morrison, Chris Pringle and Gavin Larsen. New Zealand were shell-shocked, the Indians delighted at having found the right position, even if only accidentally, for Tendulkar to do his thing in the limited-overs game. 2. 143 and 134 v Australia (Sharjah, April 22 and 24, 1998): A package deal, these two hundreds, the first to secure India a place in the final of the tri-series against Australia, the second to celebrate his 25th birthday by steering India to the title. India had to win their last league game, or work the run rate, to reach the final. Australia amassed 284 for 7, and India needed to make 254 to sneak into the final ahead of New Zealand. A sandstorm midway through the chase left India requiring 237 in 46 overs to go through. Single-handedly, Tendulkast masterminded the chase, his 143 off 131 deliveries containing nine fours and five sixes. That Nayan MongiaÃÔ 35 was the next highest score indicates TendulkarÃÔ dominance. First goal accomplished, Tendulkar turned on the heat in the final too after Australia posted 272 for 9. In another brilliant assault, he dismantled the threat of Damien Fleming, Michael Kasprowicz and Shane Warne, batting like a man possessed in making 134 off 131 wih 12 fours and three sixes before receiving a poor decision. By then, the result was a foregone conclusion, India winning by six wickets with nine deliveries to spare. 3. 98 v Pakistan (Centurion, March 1, 2003): THE most eagerly anticipated match in any World Cup lived up to its hype as India maintained their unbeaten record against Pakistan in the competition, thanks in no small measure to a sensational blitzkrieg from Tendulkar. Saeed AnwarÃÔ measured 101 had helped Pakistan to an imposing 273 for 7, worth several more in a high-pressure contest. Keyed up during the break, Tendulkar came out and launched a memorable attack on Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar. The ball skidded away to all parts of SuperSport Park as Tendulkar subjected Pakistan to a ferocious battering. IndiaÃÔ 50 came up in just 32 deliveries, TendulkarÃÔ in 37. It was the Master at his fearsome best, his march to a hundred only halted by cramps and a snorter from Akhtar. This 98, though, was worth its weight in gold, one for the ages. Å©appily, the match was dominated by its greatest player, the best batsman to appear since war, was how the late Peter Roebuck described the innings. 4. 175 v Australia (November 5, 2009, Hyderabad): An epic if there was one, even if it didnÃÕ come with a fairytale ending. Australia had made the most of excellent batting conditions to pile up 350 for 4, leaving India to score at over seven an over right from the start. India began brightly but a middle-order collapse ripped the heart out of their chase. Tendulkar was in no mood to give up, putting on an exhibition that left the audience, his own team-mates and the Australians entranced. He was nudging 37, but ran with the energy and enthusiasm of a teenager while batting like the virtuoso he is. There were 19 fours and four sixes during his 141-ball masterpiece as he took India to the brink of victory. A cheeky paddle with 19 needed off 18 deliveries ended the entertainment as Tendulkar was seventh man out. India were bowled out for 347 but even in defeat, Tendulkar emerged a hero. Again. 5. 200* v South Africa (February 24, 2010, Gwalior): It was the day of the Indian railway budget, and the banter doing the rounds was that the only way Mamta Banerjee, the Union Railway Minister, could be knocked off the front pages of newspapers the following day would be if Tendulkar made a double hundred. Sure enough, Tendulkar obliged, unleashing a wonderful range of strokes on a brilliant batting surface against a top-class South African attack. Not a shot was hit in anger, yet the hundred came up in 90 deliveries. The road from 100 to 200 was a lot more frenzied, spanning just a further 57 deliveries and including 12 further fours and three sixes. That it came just two months before his 37th birthday made it even more special. Twice in the preceding 12 months, he had hinted at the double while making an unbeaten 163 (retired hurt) against New Zealand in Christchurch in March 2009 and 175 against Australia that same November. There was no denying him a third time as he became the first man to score a ODI double hundred, his unconquered 200 off 147 deliveries comprising 25 fours and three sixes.

[NameGoesHere]

Great stuff Chandan, keep going. Sadly enough it is kudos for a bunch of us posters here and there, not just SRT.

[Lurker]

LINK In Peshawar, India find a "little bugger who can play"

This is one of the better ones in terms of tribute and no wonder comes out of Suresh Menon's brilliant mind. Amidst the whole "To me Sachin was cricket", "He introduced me to cricket", "What am I going to watch now" yada yada, it beggars a good read to see an author who has seen it all and keeps things in perspective. Yes it all started in Pakistan series, the same series in which Manjrekar consolidated his position as India's mainstay. Manjrekar faltered to deceive but Sachin did not. In fact that has always been Sachin's huge strength. He was a childhood prodigy yes and was given chances rather liberally but he ran away with every single one of them. Be it his first Ranji Game, or first Irani trophy match, or his ascend to open for India. He always grabbed his chances and therein lays one of his many brilliance. Footnote - That six degree of seperation from CK Nayudu to Sachin via Kapil and Vijay(s) was fantastic ;)

[Chalks]

At least in test cricket there is, was, and (knock on wood) always will be, the Ashes. Which - regardless of where England and Australia are in the rankings - most cricket fans around the world take interest in. ODIs won't ever be the same post-Sachin, if indeed I can ever be bothered to watch them again. In any event, if any form of the game is going to die out within the next five years, it will likely be the 50 over variety.

[Chandan]

LINK The man who stands alone Sachin waves goodbye to ODIs Sachin Tendulkar ranks among four or five of the greatest batsmen to have played Test cricket. But in the one-day game, from which he retired on Sunday, he stands alone. Tendulkar might dispute the point himself, arguing that his idol, Sir Vivian Richards, was at least as great. Indeed the combination of Richard's average (47) and strike-rate (90.20) is marginally superior, Tendulkar's corresponding figures being 44.83 and 86.23. But the Indian did it for significantly longer, over a span of 463 matches, to the West Indian's 187. Longevity is the most demanding test of greatness, for nothing escapes inquiry. And no one has succeeded at this test quite like Tendulkar. Curiously, the great man didn't take to the one-day format as readily as he did to Test cricket: between 1989 and early 1994, when he batted in the middle-order, he averaged just over 31, his runs coming at the rate of 74 every 100 balls. It needed an accident incumbent opener Navjot Singh Sidhu suffered a stiff neck in Auckland in March 1994 to set a phenomenon in motion. Having convinced the team management that he should open, Tendulkar blitzed a match-winning 82 off just 49 balls. Neither he nor the one-day game was the same in India from that moment; the star and his stage were etched even deeper than before in the nation's collective consciousness. Tendulkar's finest achievement was his finessing of one-day batting into a self-contained art form. Before him, there were, broadly, those who batted much like they did in Test cricket and those who had a 'slog'. Richards, Javed Miandad, and Dean Jones were exceptions; they introduced to their run-making, shades of pace a quality that was seen in their Test play as well, but was employed more proactively in ODIs. Tendulkar expanded this quality and reinvented it constantly. In this way, he defied definition: during the course of an innings, he was several Tendulkars in one. He didn't begin the trend of hitting the new ball over the top of the infield, but he adapted it in a manner that hadn't been seen till then. He became a master at ticking it over in the middle overs, conserving energy for an onslaught in the final stages. But his genius lay in the nuance within this apparent template of Á¢ttack, Consolidate, Attack? he had great feel for an innings rhythm and the priceless ability to change it almost at will. Thus did he make 49 one-day centuries, one of them the game's first double when he was very nearly 37. But runs to Tendulkar were only ever a means to winning. Little wonder that the World Cup triumph in 2011 is his most cherished one-day memory. Perhaps he should have retired from the format then; but the period since won't tarnish a one-day career that appears impossible to surpass. LINK The Hindu salutes the maestro Climbing Mt Tendulkar Sachin Tendulkar, if he is given to such fancies, might have felt a sense of deja vu over the past year-sense of experiencing his glittering career in miniature. Hardly had the Little Master enjoyed his most prolific year (2010) in Test cricket and savoured the heady success of a World Cup win when the familiar constricting pressure reappeared. The national obsession with him hadn't dimmed; it had merely been distributed among the members of a resurgent Team India. But with expectations of a 100th international hundred raised to fever pitch, and India's standards and his own, to a lesser extent sliding, the 38-year-old genius from Mumbai will have been reminded of the time every innings of his affected the country's mood. Typically, Tendulkar has handled the period of 12 months and 33 innings with dignity. He has said little; but he has always maintained that he plays not for records but because he loves the game. Yet it's his numbers that help put his greatness in perspective. So while a 100th hundred is no more or less significant than a 101st or 99th indeed, it's an artificial landmark as some critics have suggested the roundness of the figure allows us to stand back and comprehend its staggering enormity. Longevity is the gold standard of greatness. Over the course of a long career particularly one such as Tendulkar's, which has spanned cricket eras every facet is subjected to the strictest scrutiny. It takes a singular individual to survive change: in his 23 years in international cricket, the great man has seen the game evolve both subtly and significantly. But it takes no less than a defining figure to dictate the course of change. As a constant presence, but not an unchanging one, Tendulkar has been a major part of the evolution, his batsmanship and the bowlers' reaction to it altering cricket. He laid down the template for greatness across formats, art customised to canvas. Cricket hasn't seen a better Test and One-Day International batsman. Sir Vivian Richards was a dominant master of both formats and he's Tendulkar's only competitor for the honour but the Indian has done it for longer and with greater consistency than the illustrious West Indian. Tendulkar himself will debate the point, for he holds Richards in the highest esteem. But there's no arguing with long-term numbers. Consider the list of first-rate bowlers Tendulkar has faced: Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Sir Richard Hadlee, Craig McDermott, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Allan Donald, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, Muttiah Muralitharan, Brett Lee, James Anderson, and Dale Steyn. A hundred hundreds against these worthies is, without a doubt, one of the finest achievements in modern-day cricket.

[Chandan]

LINK Tendulkar: a consummate professional VIJAY LOKAPALLY The Hindu Sachin Tendulkar scaled unprecedented heights in One Day Internationals thanks to a wonderful combination of talent and determination. That flick would be missed; the delicately placed shot off the pads, the trademark straight-drive with the manufacturerÃÔ logo so visible; the punch to cover; it will all be missed. His innings in a one-day international was a highlights package. If the partner happened to be Virender Sehwag, it was double delight because they would compete with each other in decimating the opposition. More than anyone, Sehwag will miss his partner. True, Sachin is so meticulous when it comes to preparing for a Test match. His routine has remained the same, right from sleeping early, or at least trying to sleep early, and having breakfast in his room during match days. Tendulkar: Numbers to remember (pdf) Fastidious But he has also been equally fastidious ahead of an ODI. His unmistakable shadow practice on the pitch was a moment the ground staff dreaded. SachinÃÔ eyes would wander off the pitch and into the galleries behind the stumps. Why would anyone look beyond the pitch and into the stands? The ground staff would hold its breath. The focus would be on the sightscreens. The size mattered and it mattered most to Sachin. Many a time he would suggest, sometimes in an irritated tone, that the sightscreen be moved or the size improved. He did it for years and did it without fail. Once the sightscreen was adjusted to his demand, the ground staff would return to other work. It was a routine we also observed for years. Sachin made every effort to earn his place on merit. Forget if he prolonged his exit from the one-day stage. For a man who told himself not to play the square cut without getting his eye in, he would slam the first ball of the ODI with a horizontal bat. He believed in innovation and adapting to the task. It came naturally to him, not for others. T20 not his cup of tea He never relished T20. It was crude cricket. The IPL was an aberration and a distraction too. In heart of heart, he would wish not to be part of the IPL. But one-day cricket presented him an opportunity to stay in touch with the latest trend. He would spend hours, having animated discussions with even the newest face in the team. He always wanted to learn the new tricks. Such was his enthusiasm that he would emerge from the ÁÏets and check if he had got that ÁÔlog right. He remained an eternal student of the game. Not a sudden decision The decision to say good bye to one-day cricket was not sudden. For some time he had come to realise that the body was not listening to his brain. Fatigued legs and arms at the end of the day were clear indication to Sachin that he had to take the call. Test or one-day cricket, the choice was easy. He had valued Test cricket higher even though his recent form has meant a dent in his reputation. The timing was as judicious as his shot selection. Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman left the newcomers with enough time to prepare for the battles overseas, just as Sachin. He would not visualise Indian cricket in a struggling mode. Nothing, as he confessed recently, would make him happier than India excelling.

[Chandan]

LINK Ever green maestro

[Chandan]

LINK When Sachin crushed my prediction, writes Ian Chappell The Australian, who has been Tendulkar's sharpest critic of late, admits how the ODI-retired Tendulkar proved him wrong in 1998 December 24, 2012 MUMBAI It's going to be a gradual goodbye from Sachin Tendulkar, as he's retired from the one-day game, presumably in the hope of prolonging his Test career. When I reflect on Tendulkar's ODI career it's hard to go past his back-to-back hundreds against Australia in Sharjah in April 1998. With the final of the triangular tournament to be played on the 24th (the day before Anzac Day) and India facing a huge target in the penultimate match just to oust New Zealand from that upcoming encounter, television entrepreneur Mark Mascarenhas asked me who I thought would make the final? Deset storm: Sachin Tendulkar in a celebratory mood after beating the Australians at Sharjah in 1998. Pic/MiD DAY Archives "It'Íl be the Anzacs (Australia and New Zealand) playing on Anzac Day eve, I replied. Tendulkar made a nonsense of that prediction by playing one of his best knocks. He blasted the Australians, scoring at better than a run a ball by attacking at every opportunity. One of his five sixes, a flat pull shot off Michael Kasprowicz disappeared into the stands like a launched missile and his savage assault ensured India reached the target of qualifying for the final. Spirited However, true to his competitive spirit Tendulkar continued to play with only one objective in mind; to win the match. In the end he was denied but he took his revenge in the final, again scoring a better than a run-a-ball hundred off the same attack and this time guiding his team to the trophy. It was Tendulkar at his best; in prime form and not about to be denied by any bowler, Shane Warne included. Undoubtedly his crowning personal moment was becoming the first man to score a double century in an ODI. He'd given warning with a brilliant 175 against Australia in late 2009 only to improve on that by going one better in thrashing a strong South African attack three months later. While these innings would've given him great personal satisfaction he, not surprisingly, ranked India's World Cup victory in 2011 as his proudest moment. That couldn't have been far ahead of winning the 2008 ODI trophy in Australia where he played two monumental back-to-back innings in the finals series to help crush the home side. Tendulkar didn't choose the World Cup victory in his hometown of Mumbai as the right time to retire. He's now decided to prolong his Test career by reducing his short form cricket to just IPL duties. This may be a misguided strategy as he's been virtually out of ODI cricket, having not played any for nine months. Tendulkar's gradual withdrawal from cricket is an indication of how difficult it is for him to stop playing a game he loves. It'll have to end sometime, hopefully before he's left it too late.

[JaFanatic]

:hatsoff::hatsoff: :((

[Chandan]

LINK I believed AASHISH CHANDORKAR Note: I wrote this post on Dec 16th based on Twitter rumours about an impending SRT retirement announcement on Dec 17th. A part announcement was made today. We don't know the circumstances and what role selectors message played before the team was announced for the Pak tour. We don't know if selectors will pick him against Australia next year. We may or may not see him play again for India, but this is as good a time as any to say thank you. It was the summer of 1991. The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association had organized a charity match between Sunil Gavaskar XI and Kapil Dev XI, the proceeds of which were to benefit the local cricketers. I had spent a then princely sum of Rs. 25 to secure a ticket to watch the two stalwarts and a host of India stars play the friendly game. One of the several big names to descend on Nehru Stadium, Indore was Sachin Tendulkar. I have no recollection of the role he played in that game. However, as I was cycling back to my home in an area then at the edge of the city, I saw several white Ambassador cars hurtling down the National Highway 3. There were no sirens or red lights, so they could not have been official government vehicles. I guessed that these were the players rushing to the newly constructed home of Narendra Hirwani, by then an India regular, and already an Indore legend. I cycled furiously to my house, picked my barely used autograph book and went to the said house, which of course was like a pilgrimage spot for cricket fans in Indore. I jumped with joy to see those white cars parked outside and absolutely no one except a regular vegetable vendor making a stopover out of curiosity. I will of course never forget the next 30 minutes. Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Kiran More, M. Azharuddin, Manoj Prabhakar, Venkatpathy Raju, Navjyot Singh Siddhu, Chetan Sharma, Pravin Amre, Narendra Hirwani, Sanjay Jagdale they all walked out to get back in those cars. And so did Sachin Tendulkar. Most of them were gracious enough to sign my drenched-with-sweat-after-cycling autograph book, and a few weren't. The 18 year old boy was initially reluctant but after a few requests, did oblige me. By then, Sachin had already scored his first test century but of course had not done enough to be seen as the next Sunil Gavaskar as the promises went. That of course was every fanÃÔ big concern even 4 years into SMG retirement. I came back home and showed the autographs to my dad. I told him I managed to get the autograph of the guy who will be our next hero. He looked at the SMG one closely and ignored my comment. By then, I had already converted into believing the legend of the man child. ------- It was March 1994. The school exams had just got over and I was up early morning to watch New Zealand score a modest 142 against India. My dad joined me when India was about to bat, and surprisingly we saw Sachin Tendulkar walk out with Ajay Jadeja to open the innings. The next hour and a half marked a key milestone for the 1990s Indian cricket. By the time Matthew Hart got Sachin out c&b for 82 off 49 deliveries in the chase, several fence-sitting Indian fans were finally convinced they had found the right guy to invest their cricketing equity in. As Sachin walked off the ground, my dad told me it was good I got his autograph already, for it may be impossible to ever get so close to him. He enquired if I had kept my autograph book safely, which of course I had. An older generation had gotten over the SMG retirement completely. Another generation believed fully in the legend of a world class player. ------ It was March 2010. I had come back in the wee hours of morning after watching Sachin and Harbhajan Singh sink Deccan Chargers at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. I was rudely woken up, all bleary eyed, by my daughter. She had watched parts of the IPL game hoping her dad will be live on television. While that hope represented the audacity of childhood, she managed to see some of Sachin's batting. She wanted me to explain why I had not taken her to the stadium. "I wanted to see Sachin. Promise me you will take me to a cricket match when he plays in Pune" As I opened my eyes, I realized she was wearing my Mumbai Indians jersey, which I had barely managed to get out of before collapsing in the bed a few hours earlier. The years had rolled by. A third generation now knew Sachin Tendulkar. A third generation now believed in the legend of a cricketing legend. ------ For many days, I marveled over the love, affection and faith, which three generations of my household had put in Sachin Tendulkar. Surely my household was not unique. Millions of other households in the country probably had the same experience over time. But importantly, I represent that intermediate link, the generation which was the first to drink the Kool Aid. The cricketing upbringing for my generation was modest. Yes, many of us have vague memories of the ODI successes during the 1983-85 period. But mostly, the cricketing stories involved humiliation. At home, when West Indies or England or Pakistan visited. Or away, when we went to West Indies or Pakistan or Australia. There were the scars from Sharjah. There were also the turf wars between the two stalwarts SMG and Kapil. It was humiliation, because each defeat was rinse-repeat outclassed, overshadowed, and bulldozed. Individual moments of brilliance used to come and go away, but there was no sustainable sense of pride for long time periods. As SMG retired and Kapil started to fade, even the individual moments felt like far and few between. And then came in Sachin. It wasn't like his arrival coincided with the general upliftment of India's cricket skills. For years together, he was the lone warrior. The team composition continued to surprise even the most devoted of the fans. Cricketers unheard of continued to walk in and out of the national team for years. Only 9-10 years in his international career, India got a team which started to gel and show a result orientation which was so sorely missing for many years at a stretch. ------- So the fascination which my generation held, and I presume still does, with Sachin's cricket was principally qualitative. We wanted to win, but we knew that it was largely not possible to win the matches or the occasions we yearned for. The Indian cricket meandered aimlessly in the jungles of international cricket like an adventurer losing way in an expedition. We had a torch, a guiding light, but while it was necessary to have one for any hope of coming out of that situation, it was seldom sufficient. It was always about searching for positives, whatever the results, and the positives almost always involved Sachin. The opposition was wary of him. His wicket was like the Gateway of India starting where the opposition made inroads. His presence was a psychological boost, a calming down factor, a beacon of hope. Across formats, across countries, across grounds, the chants of SA-CHIN, SACHIN reverberated as a genuine emotional investment in a personal belief. -------------- Eventually, a Jacques Kallis will score more test centuries than Sachin. Or if he does not, Alastair Cook may do so. Even if he does not, he may end up with more test runs than Sachin. There will be many players who will have talent, character, charm and luck some may have one or more qualities in greater proportion than what Sachin did. This is exactly how evolution works. There may however not be another cricketer, who captures the imagination of multiple generations at one go like Sachin did. I am sure for me, there will be new cricketing associations. There will be several cricketers of whose success, life and times, I will be a part of. There may however be no one else, who will be a part of me. In Sachin, I believed.

[Chandan]

LINK Tendulkar's Extraordinary Career Published: Wednesday | December 26, 2012 NEW DELHI (AP): Sachin Tendulkar's retirement from one-day internationals on Sunday signalled the winding-down of an extraordinary career which has established him as one of the greatest cricketers of all time and with an almost mythic status in an Indian nation besotted with the game. Blessed with a prodigious talent, Tendulkar made his Test debut at age 16 and went on to set a series of international batting records - earning him the inevitable comparisons with fellow greats Don Bradman and Brian Lara in the process. His retirement from one-dayers and likely near-term retirement from Tests had become equally inevitable, though, after former teammates Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman called it a day, and made way for India's younger cricketers. With Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble already out of the picture, Tendulkar's gradual departure marks the end of a golden generation that helped India to excel both at home and abroad. Superb technique The Mumbai batsman's superb technique, variety of strokes and adaptability brought him no fewer than four prestigious records - most runs in Tests (15,643) and one-day internationals (18,426), along with the most centuries in Tests (51) and one-day internationals (49). In addition to the personal records, the man they call the 'Little Master' also helped India to win the World Cup on home soil in 2011 and become the world's top-ranked Test nation. No stranger to the spotlight, Tendulkar started to make a name for himself in his mid-teens, when he scored 326 in a colossal 664-run stand with Vinod Kambli in a school tournament. Tendulkar later cracked centuries on his debut in all three of India's top domestic tournaments - the Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Cup. Though he was unable to repeat those feats on his international debuts, he went on to establish himself as a dependable No. 4 batsman in the Test team and an aggressive opener for one-day matches. He was handed a Test debut in 1989 against a strong Pakistan side, only to be struck on the mouth by rookie pace bowler Waqar Younis. Tendulkar bled, but batted on to make his mark on the series. He quickly grew in stature in his early years as he tackled top bowlers like Wasim Akram, Allan Donald and Courtney Walsh with ease. That his most memorable performances came against the era's best team - Australia - and his most remembered rivalries with that team's best bowlers - Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath - are a testimony to his abilities. Tendulkar's 114 on a fiery Test pitch at Perth in 1991-92 when he was still in his teens, a 155 not out in the Chennai Test of 1997-98 and a host of outstanding one-day performances, including in the Coca-Cola Cup at Sharjah (1997-98) and the CB series Down Under (2007-08), made him a marked man for the Australians - along with Laxman. His performances in Australia in the first half of his career even drew praise from the reclusive Bradman, whose astonishing Test batting average of 99.94 remains the only major cricketing peak that Tendulkar failed to scale. "Having seen Tendulkar on the television, I was very, very struck by his technique," Bradman said. "I asked my wife to have a look at him because I said, I never saw myself play but I feel that this fella is playing much the same as I used to play, by looking at him. She had a look at the television and said 'yes, there is a similarity between the two'. I can't explain it - his compactness, stroke-production technique, it all seems to gel." Tendulkar performed well in the Mohammad Azharuddin era of the 1990s, though India often fell short despite some stellar displays from him. The team's fortunes changed, however, under Ganguly. A combination of the talent of Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, with the proven experience of Dravid, Laxman and Kumble, all helped to turn Tendulkar's efforts into match-winning ones over the following decade. Acclaimed for his execution of the cover and straight drives early on, Tendulkar also showed his innovative side by mastering the paddle-sweep in later years. Waning firepower? Tendulkar also excelled against other top sides like South Africa, England and Pakistan. Then, just when many believed his firepower was waning, he became the first batsman to score a double-century in one-day cricket with 200 not out against South Africa at Gwalior in 2010. One year later, Tendulkar's record sixth World Cup appearance culminated in a triumph on his home ground - Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. Pictures of him being lifted by teammates during a victory lap will remain etched in the memories of his fans around the world. "Winning the World Cup is the proudest moment of my life. ... I couldn't control my tears of joy," Tendulkar was to say later. He scored the highest number of runs by a batsman in two World Cups - 673 in 2003, when India made the final, and 523 in 1996 when they reached the semi-finals. In the victorious 2011 tournament, he was the second-highest scorer with 482, just behind Sri Lanka's Tillekaratne Dilshan (500). His absence had been felt in the 1999 World Cup when India failed to advance from the Super Eights, losing a crucial game to Zimbabwe after Tendulkar had returned home on the death of his father. He subsequently returned to the tournament and struck a century against Kenya, but India failed to reach the knockout stages. Tendulkar played in India's first Twenty20 international against South Africa in 2007 before asking not to be considered for the format, although he went on to spend five seasons with the Mumbai Indians in the lucrative Twenty20 Indian Premier League. Time seemed to finally be catching up with Tendulkar as the big scores proved elusive after his country's World Cup triumph. The one bright spot came with a return to one-day cricket for the Asia Cup in 2012, when his 114 against Bangladesh completed an unprecedented century of international centuries. Dravid, who lived in Tendulkar's shadow even though many considered him to be the better Test batsman, spoke in late 2012 of his time at the crease with his illustrious teammate. "We have scored 6,900 runs together ... and I can proudly tell my grandchildren that I batted with Sachin," Dravid said. "They may not remember me, but they will certainly remember Sachin."

[Chandan]

LINK 'He toyed with us like we were schoolboys' Shamya Dasgupta · Dec 24, 2012 · "It's unfortunate for Australia that he has played many great knocks against us over the years, said Waugh. Soon after news came in on Sunday that Sachin Tendulkar had retired from One-Day International cricket, there was an outpouring of shock, especially on Twitter. But Tendulkar had practically retired from ODIs a long time ago, hadn't he? He played irregularly for some time before the 2011 World Cup, then played the tournament, and since then had made only sporadic appearances in ODIs. The Sachin 'Retirement Debate' although it's his selection in the team and not his retirement that was up for discussion; whether he should quit or not is his decision alone has centred on Test cricket. That he won't play ODIs anymore is really just a formal bringing down of the curtains. It wasn't likely that he would play the format once the World Cup was won and the century of centuries was out of the way. But really, now that the announcement has been made, it is the 'end of an era' - bigger than the era that will end when he quits Test cricket. After all, while Tendulkar has been a great Test cricketer, he was, by some distance, the greatest ODI batsman. Ever. He was truly at the height of his powers during the period between 1994, when he started opening the batting, and the turn of the millennium. Essentially, the period when India became almost a one-man army, up to the time support came in the form of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, and later, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh. That was when Tendulkar was at his absolute best. In ODIs, he had no peer. Enough said. Anyway, what can I add to all that's been said over the years, and in the past 24 hours? Instead, I want to go back to a longish interaction I had with Steve Waugh earlier this year this was around the time that the frenzy, and the wait, for Tendulkar's hundredth hundred was at its peak, and our conversation focussed entirely on the man. When Tendulkar burst on to the scene, Waugh, remember, had already won a World Cup (1987), but was some years away from becoming the massive force that inspired cricket's changing of the guard in the mid-1990s. "Sachin had a fantastic first tour of Australia and when he got a century in Perth as an 18-year-old, I thought that if he could score a hundred in Perth coming from a country where the ball doesn't bounce very much, he has got to be a special player, said Waugh, taking his memory back to 1991-92 when Tendulkar scored 114 against Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, Paul Reiffel and Mike Whitney. "So straightaway he was on the radar of the Australian cricket side." When it comes to Australia and Tendulkar though, thoughts invariably turn to Desert Storm in Sharjah, 1998. Never before, or since, have two consecutive innings of such arrogance, such determination, such aggression and such domination been played in ODI cricket that too against the best team in the world at the time. "It's unfortunate for Australia that he has played many great knocks against us over the years," Waugh told me with a twinkle in his eye. But what about Desert Storm, I probed. He was coming to it anyway. "Those were pretty trying conditions and after he scored his first century (143), Allan Border, who was our temporary coach, told us that there was no way he could score another century in the final. And the next day he got another big one (134). Those were two incredible knocks. He was the closest I have come to where I did not know where to bowl to a batsman. He was toying with us like we were schoolboys and not professionals. Waugh (or indeed, the Australian side) was not the only one who felt like that, especially in the 1990s. Yes, it was after the turn of the century when all the big landmarks were notched up, but that was when the Indian team was a much stronger and much more organised unit. It was the 1990s that belonged to Tendulkar. Speaking for myself, I have to say that I watched with some dismay as Tendulkar became an accumulator of records and more records over the past few years. Even the 2003-04 double in the Sydney Test, which has become the stuff of legend because of the way Tendulkar constructed it no drives on the off side and is a technician's delight, was, to me, an innings of a man determined to score a lot of runs without the flamboyance that must differentiate Tendulkar from an average Joe. Where was the bravado, where was the flair? Even after that, Tendulkar, to me, seemed more intent in getting it right than someone who was out to exhilarate, to spread joy. But that's only me. Others I know see the aestheticism in his technical perfection, in his perseverance. Besides, zillions of Indians across the world didn't care as long as the runs came, as long as the little man with the monstrously heavy bat walked out and strutted his stuff. They were the real fans, I'll have to admit; I was clearly not as devoted. But I continue to console myself with the thought that I admired Tendulkar for what he really was, what he stood for and didn't gloss over what I felt were his flaws. He might have played hockey the last few years when it comes to ODI cricket, but cricket, in coloured clothing, will always be defined by what he did, what he achieved. Not just the runs and records, but something else something Jayasuriya or Gilchrist or Gayle, despite their murderous hitting, could never quite match.

[ganeshran]

Still cannot believe we will never get to see the little master in India colours again

[vamos_rafa]

Still cannot believe we will never get to see the little master in India colours again

:((

[Lord]

Still cannot believe we will never get to see the little master in India colours again

yeah grew up with him.its like a dear friend going away forever:(( :whine:

[zakk]

:isalute: :isalute: :isalute: one of the greatest batsman ever LITTLE MASTER :isalute: :isalute: :isalute:

[Chandan]

LINK The 22 yards seemed to belong to Tendulkar: Ganguly By Lokendra Pratap Sahi | The Telegraph Mon 24 Dec, 2012 Bangalore: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who forged a terrific opening combination with Sachin Tendulkar in ODIs, spoke to The Telegraph from Calcutta on Sunday evening. Sourav quit international cricket in November 2008. The following are excerpts; Has Sachin's decision surprised you? Did he get the timing right? A I think it's fine as far as the timing goes... I'm not surprised as Sachin hardly played ODIs after the 2011 World Cup... Now, he's got people off his back, for many had been telling him to quit. What would you have done in Sachin's place? Look, every individual deals with situations differently. Nobody plays for records... You play because you're passionate about the game and it's the passion that counts. Should Sachin have quit ODIs after the 2011 World Cup? But there's more to cricket than playing for a World Cup... There's more to life than wanting to be a member of a World Cup-winning team. It's not about looking from one World Cup to the next. What made Sachin such a destructive batsman, particularly in ODIs? Moving up as an opener is the best thing to have happened to Sachin... He had the maximum overs and made the most of his boundary-hitting abilities... He paced his innings very well... That he's technically so correct helped in making him so destructive. It was Sachin's idea to open, on the 1994 tour of New Zealand, when Navjot Sidhu had an injury... (Laughs) Interesting... So, Sidhu's made quite a few careers! Which of Sachin's innings come to mind instantly? Lots... Sachin's innings in Sharjah (April 1998)... The 143 and 134 against Australia... Then, his 99 and 93 in Belfast, versus South Africa, in 2007... Those were on wickets which did everything. I know, for I was at the other end. In between, how can one forget the way Sachin batted in the 2003 World Cup? He was brilliant. There was a period when Sachin took batting in limited overs cricket to quite another level... He did, yes, but in Test cricket too. The 22 yards seemed to belong to Sachin. The two of you had 21 century partnerships in ODIs, which remains a record. What went into the making of such a successful pair? One, that it was a left-right combination... We understood each other well and one could anticipate what the other would do... Both of us could hit boundaries almost at will... That we could play in all conditions also made us successful. Did the two of you only talk cricket during the mid-pitch conferences? (Laughs) Largely cricket... Who was bowling well, if one of us needed to change our approach... The situation we were in. What was it like watching Sachin from the other end? Would be fun... If he was going great guns, I'd curb my instincts... If we had 300-plus to chase, then both of us had to go for it. We didn't have a choice then. Sachin hasn't spelt it out, but it's assumed he's available for Test cricket. Your take? Doesn't surprise me. Sachin will surely continue playing Test cricket, but can't be for long. Only Sachin can decide when to call it a day... He should go when he wants to... Left to me, I'd quit all formats at the same time. Have you spoken to Sachin in recent days? Not a lengthy conversation. What will you tell Sachin if you do get to talk to him in the near future? Enjoy this break! The final one... As a nation, do we treat our heroes the way they should be treated? We don't, we should treat them better.

[Sachinism]

Thanks Chandan

[Laaloo]

Still cannot believe we will never get to see the little master in India colours again

:yay::yay::yay::yay: