Sachin Tendulkar-man or god?

[Harsh Thakor]

Sorry,********** viewers for my late contribution and tribute to the legend Sachin Tendulkar.No doubt his farewell was one of the most touching moments in the history of sport ,let alone cricket.It was reminiscent of a great emperor adressing his subjects,who were bowing before him.No doubt he conquered the world of cricket like an invincible emperor.His impact on a cricket field was the equivalent to the game of what Jesus Christ was to his followers when adressing them.It was nothing below that of a Greek God.He posessed every component of what comprised a perfect batsmen.His technique was water-tight,his consistency phenomenal,he had great creative ability,he could win and champion a cause in a crisis,he could master all kind of wickets and bowling attacks,he was equally brilliant in attack and defence,could punish the bad and good ball, and above all he posessed a rock-solid temperament.No sportsman ,let alone cricketer has stood at the top of the pedestal for 20 years.Viv Richards was more destructive or intimidating,Brian Lara posessed greater creative genius,Boycott ,Dravid or Gavaskar were more technically perfect,David Gower or Zaheer Abbas were more stylish but none posessed every component like Sachin.Above all no great cricketer faced the same pressure as Sachin ,be it Bradman or Sobers.Many critiques have been critical of Tendulkar not winning games.However remember that in his peak period from 1992-2000 he hardly received any support from the bowling attack or other stalwarts.I am certain Sachin may have been a match-winner in the Viv Richards mould if he receive support from a great bowling attack like that of West Indies,Australia or Pakistan at their best.Look at SAchin's 114 at Perth in 1992-93,169 at Johannesburg in 1996-97,158 at Bloom fontein in 2001 ,136 at Bangalore in 1999.These were batting exhibitions which even Don Bradman would have been proud to display.His 1992 Perth century was arguably the closest ever to the batting of the Don.No batsmen ever played better in the 'V 'region than Sachin and he was the best ever exponent of the straight drive.In his peak period Tendulkar's 177 at Madras in 1990 was match-winning effort where he simply turned the game upside down treating Shane Warne like a club bowler.Sachin also made a match-winning 165 against England at home in 1993 and against Australia at Madras in 2001.His classic 136 in 1999 v Pakistan would have won the game had he not got back spasms or not been let down by his colleagues.It was one of the best batting exhibitions on a bad wicket.In One day games I have best memories of Tendulkar's match-winning knocks at Sharjah v Australia in 1998 when he looked like a Don Bradman re-incarnated.Here he showed he posessed Viv Richard's ability to perform in finals. It is significant is that when India won in Pakistan in 2004 or drew with Australia in 2003-04 Sachin was not at his best.the efforts of Rahul Dravid and V.V.S Laxman in Australia and Dravid and Virendra Sehwag in Pakistan were principally responsible for triumphs on those tours.Sachin lost form from 2002-2006 but made a Houdinstyle comeback on the 2007-08 tour of Australia scoring 2 150+ centuries.Again it was Sehwag who made the match-winning knock at Perth.In India's later winning series or tests Sachin made important contributions although he was not consistently the principal architect of India's wins.His 103 not out to enable India to chase down a target of 387 runs took India home but the moral hero was Virendra Sehwag whose knock of 84 was the principal foundation for India's win.His 210 won India the 2nd test and series against Australia in 2010 but again in South Africa his 2 great centuries did not win India test matches .It was V.V.S.Laxman's knock that won India the 2nd test.The same batsman won India remarkable victories in run chases against Australia in 2010 and against Sri Lanka in 2009. To the above summary of mine I would like to explain that Sachin was not the same player in the last years as he was at his peak in regards to reflexes or stroke-playing ability.He greatly curbed his earlier attacking quality and let the other talented stalwarts like Sehwag,Gambhir,Laxman or Yuvraj do the damage.Infcat after 2005 Yuvraj won more matches tha Sachin in one day games as well as Sehwag.Earlier from 2002-2006 Rahul Dravid was a far greater match-winner than Sachin winning matches in Australia,Pakistan and West Indies.However alos remember the effect of Sachin's very presnce in the team.With his batting he gave crucial support to dashing match-winners like Sehwag or Yuvraj .He gave a great morale boost to the other talented batsmen particulary in South Africa in 2010-11 and with a bit more luck could have even won India it's 1st series on South African soil. In the end of it all it is Tendulkar's longevity that puts him in strong contention for the greatest batsman of all time or 2nd best to Bradman.No batsman will probably ever score 100 International centuries.Tendulkar was like a Viv Richards and Sunil Gavaskar rolled into one.He could tear an attach with the ferocity of a tiger but alos be resolute in defence like a boulder.His batting combined the qualities of a surgeon ,techician and a musician.Arguably he was the best batsman of the modern era on bad pitches with his amazing balance and timing.The fastest bowler of his day ,Alan Donald called Sachin the greatest batsmen he ever bowled to.Againts pure pace his technique may have just got the better of Brian Lara but I would still not rate Sachin as good as Viv Richards,Sunil Gavaskar or Gary Sobers.Against spin Lara would be ahead of Sachin by an inch. Has the world of cricket fairy assesed Sachin?Being an Indian I am really proud of the complements our little legend has recieved and above alll by Pakistani players.What a great feeling it is to hear Hanif Mohammad calling Tendulkar'the greatest ever batsmen ' or even Zaheer Abbas and Dennis Lille stating the same.Viv Richards calls Sachin the best batsmen he ever saw.Sadly Michael Holding,Andy Rberts or even Gary Sobers do not rate Sachin in that light.Infact some cricketers have chosen Brian Lara above SAchin in their all time teams like Alec Stewart,Inzama ul -Haq,Saed Anwar,Wasim Akram while some have chosen both.The general trend in Richard Sydenham's book of 100 best xi's chosen by test cricketers has been to choose Sachin and Viv,just like Sunil Gavaskar,Asif Iqbal or Alvin Kalicharan..Some have chosen Lara with Viv Richards and others Graeme Pollock.Don Bradman chose Sachin instead of Viv,Lara or Greame Pollock.Overall Viv Ricahrds won a place in 64 teams against Tendulkar's 39.This maybe unfair but remember many cricketers like Greg Chappell,Ian Botham or Barry Richards played against Viv and not against Sachin.It is difficult to compare Sachin's value to a middle-order in a test team with that of Brian Lara or Viv Richards,who were marginally better at their best .Many experts make Tendulkar an opening batsman in an all-time test xi like Zaheer Abbas or Anantha Narayana.To me there was a tendency of Pakistani stars to underestimate Sachin and choose Brian Lara but in recent years greats like Wasim Akram reversed their views. Overall as a test match batsman I would place Sachin,just behind Don Bradman,Gary Sobers and Brian Lara.Bradman's s figures speak for themselves while Lara and Sobers at their peak were better batsmen as match-winners or in a crisis and could single-handedly turn or win games.Sachin's best test knocks or series performances have not surpassed the best of Brian Lara's or Gary Sober's.Lara also had a great penchant for mammoth scores.Viv Richards was not sufficiently tested in a crisis and Sachin's consistency to me give him the edge in test cricket.Inversely Sunil Gavaskar faced better bowling and morally a better architect to to the team's cause but lacked Tendulkar's innovative or dashing ability to turn games. In their peak period both Ricky Ponting or Viv Richards were marginally better but lacked Tendulkar's longevity or consistency.In One day Internationals he would be 2nd just nosed by Viv Richards because of Viv's greater destructive ability.Combing all forms of Cricket I would bracket Sachin with Jack Hobbs and Don Bradman.Like Hoobs Sachin could master bad wickets and also had great longevity.Hobbs and arguably Sachin could outscore Bradman on bad wickets.Thus in the final verdict Sachin Tendulkar would rank amongst the 3 greatest batsmen ever and arguably even the best of all time.I don't think Bradman would necessarily have outscored Sachin in all forms of cricket had he played in the modern era,particularly in difficult situations. Afterall Bradman hardly faced as lethal bowling attacks as Gavaskar,Tendulkar or Lara did.It must be said that at times Sachin lacked the crucial match-winning killer instinct of Viv Richards or Brian Lara at his best but he bore pressure like a great world political leader defending his nation from the most lethal enemies. As a cricketer overall I would club Sachin Tendulkar with Gary Sobers,Donald Bradman,W.G.Grace and Jack Hobbs.I place Gary Sobers at the top with W.G.Grace at 2nd place.Never forget that Bradman only principally faced English bowling attacks and never played against as many nation or as diverse bowling attacks as Gavaskar or Tendulkar.For the 3nd place Tendulkar is a strong contender with Hobbs and Bradman Other greats like Shane Warne,Viv Richards ,Walter Hammond or Imran Khan may just come inches below as although they were all better match-winners than Tendulkar,they did not equal his longevity. Sachin's achievements simply reached a pinnacle or zenith in the world of sport.However Indians have treated Sachin Tendulkar like a God and forgotten the achievements of sportsman who have marginally recahed greater heights .Afterall only 8 countries play cricket.So many deserving sportsman with have hardly received the same accolades as Sachin.I many ways even as an Indian I was ashamed how this little genius was given the adulation of a prophet and not a legendary sportsman.It just reflects the Indian mentality of glorifying the individual or individual records and forgetting the overall performance of the nation.Infact would it not have been more appropriate seeing Sachin play his 200th test against the test world champions South Africa where the little genius's experience was needed much more? Anyway let us bid this great legend a great farewell and may he give back to the game what he has got.His landmarks will probably never be equalled and he was the true equivalent of Muhammad Ali to the game.Long live this immortal legend Sachin Tendulkar!

[vvvslaxman]

Sorry' date='********** viewers for my late contribution..[/quote'] :(( we were waiting waiting.. we were disappointed . Sabby was inconsolable. Raghav went into deep depression.. j/lk :icflove:

[rahulrulezz]

Sorry bit too much. Lets not take this reference too literally. Sachin was a great cricketer n legend of the game but calling him god is insulting ...

[Unleashed]

Too long, didn't read.

[randomGuy]

Sorry bit too much. Lets not take this reference too literally. Sachin was a great cricketer n legend of the game but calling him god is insulting ...

thts one reason why I hope all his relevant records (the irrelevant ones are like 100 100s) get broken soon by cook, kallis, kohli etc....

[Temujin Khaghan]

dude, when you have yes/no options then you shouldn't tick the multiple choice... :p

[Clarke]

Now that's quite original of you, never heard of this question before.

[bulbul]

Can we give sainthood to Sachin? how many miracles he needs 1 or 2?

[Zanjeer]

Wtf. Sachin is god of cricket. And it ends just there. Nobody considers him as a god. This is bit too much. Lol..

[GautiMaan]

Must say it was well worth the excruciating wait,a bit shorter than your usual peices but what better way to pay tribute to the little master-your number 1 fan.

[ganeshran]

Of course, the comparison is very wrong. How about we compare SRT to something that actually exists :giggle:

[randomGuy]

Can we give sainthood to Sachin? how many miracles he needs 1 or 2?

Started to imagine sachin as his guru ( curly haired shri Satya sai baba ) when I read this.:cantstop:

[Scarves]

Block of text ftw? To answer the question he is not a god of anything, to be a god of something imo you can't exist or you must have turned into a swan and fathered many children from unspecting mothers or caused several wars with other gods. Tendulkar exists and has done none of those therefore he is not a god.

[vvvslaxman]

This is what happens if we take "figure of speeches" seriously lol. Expecting next Is Hadlee really a sultan? Is Warnie really a wizard? :cantstop:

[Scarves]

This is what happens if we take "figure of speeches" seriously lol. Expecting next Is Hadlee really a sultan? Is Warnie really a wizard? :cantstop:

He did get into Liz's pants...so it does take some magic there.

[SLICKR392]

Too long' date=' didn't read.[/quote'] That statement is nothing to be proud of.

[akshayxyz]

Sorry bit too much. Lets not take this reference too literally. Sachin was a great cricketer n legend of the game but calling him god is insulting ...

Yes it is insulting to Sachin. God does not do his job as well.

"Sachin is God" is the popular analogy. Yet god may smile as disease, fire, flood and Sreesanth visit the earth, and expect no fall in stock. For Tendulkar the margin for error is rather less. - Rahul Bhattacharya

[Precambrian]

Yes God indeed. Which God has more profound impact on people

[adi B]

He did get into Liz's pants...so it does take some magic there.

bedazzled her eh!! :winky:

[Old guy]

are you human or a bot ? :wall: