The Immortal one-Sachin Tendulkar
And the show goes on. The longest running show since 1989 not on Broadway or Piccadilly, but on the cricket fields across the globe played by one man-the short and stout dynamo Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is not going to end soon. He is to cricket what a soldier is to his country, dedicated to his mission, loyal to his country, superbly equipped in mind and body to annhilate the enemy,ready to fight to the last ball. Frailities he has that makes him human, but so few that easily makes him one of the best batsman to have set foot on a cricket field.
His recent stupendous performance which made him the first man to make a double hundred in a ODI, has proved beyond doubt that at the age of 36, he may be old wine but the best wine on offer. This effort has only strengthened his position in the list of all time greats of the game. His cricketing exploits are such in class and number that now to compare him to others of his ilk is sheer stupidity. He will from now on for the most part not rewrite records, but write new records for others to chase. More and more of his fans, wellwishers and cricket experts will now have the audacity to put him on par with Bradman if not above him.
He is God to some, a role model to many, an ideal to be followed, an act to be savoured, a cricketing jewel to be safeguarded, the pride of the entire nation. When Sachin bats, the nation watches and the opponent rues the day. It is a spectator’s delight and a bowler’s torment. When Sachin sparkles on the crease,there is jubilation, when he fails there is despair and heartbreak. Much as cricket analysts and writers try to explain that he is only human when he fails, his fans have etched him as God in their memory and goes into delirium on such occasions. Sachin himself has not helped matters, by the sheer breathlessness of his strokes, the wisdom of his shots, and the aura around his game.
His cricketing technique blends textbook theory with practice and innovation, that for every situation on the field, every circumstance of his team, he has the shots in his armoury. His repertoire of strokes which gives life to the scintillating stroke play from his bat means there is only a thin line which separates a good ball from a bad ball, making it that much more difficult to bowl at him. A thinking cricketer that he is, there can be no set formulas for the opposition to prise him out. He intelligently paces his innings such that he knows when to ambush the bowler, which bowler to make his prey(most bowlers are his anyway),when to be quiet and when to flare up. His batting only reinforces the fact that form may be temporary, but class is permanent.
His longevity in the highest level of the game can be compared to Federer’s in Tennis, but Federer never had to carry the hopes and aspirations of a billion plus countrymen to whom Sachin is God and cricket religion. To be injury free, stress free, controversy free and free of vices which money and power can buy, he knows his body and mind too well not to exert more than he can. Thus a prudent decision to stay out of the T20 version of the game and extend his career. The climax should hopefully be a century of centuries.
Of amiable disposition and ego free, a friend and guide to his teammates and other aspiring youngsters, a doting father and loving husband, who else can be a better advertisement to the gentleman’s game than him. Bradman had a deserving Cardus to write of him, Sobers had his deserving James, but to write deservingly of Tendulkar, sadly none is seen on the horizon. Let God give him many more years of happy cricket and lucky ones like us many more years of exciting cricket.
And the show goes on. The longest running show since 1989 not on Broadway or Piccadilly, but on the cricket fields across the globe played by one man-the short and stout dynamo Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is not going to end soon. He is to cricket what a soldier is to his country, dedicated to his mission, loyal to his country, superbly equipped in mind and body to annhilate the enemy,ready to fight to the last ball. Frailities he has that makes him human, but so few that easily makes him one of the best batsman to have set foot on a cricket field.
His recent stupendous performance which made him the first man to make a double hundred in a ODI, has proved beyond doubt that at the age of 36, he may be old wine but the best wine on offer. This effort has only strengthened his position in the list of all time greats of the game. His cricketing exploits are such in class and number that now to compare him to others of his ilk is sheer stupidity. He will from now on for the most part not rewrite records, but write new records for others to chase. More and more of his fans, wellwishers and cricket experts will now have the audacity to put him on par with Bradman if not above him.
He is God to some, a role model to many, an ideal to be followed, an act to be savoured, a cricketing jewel to be safeguarded, the pride of the entire nation. When Sachin bats, the nation watches and the opponent rues the day. It is a spectator’s delight and a bowler’s torment. When Sachin sparkles on the crease,there is jubilation, when he fails there is despair and heartbreak. Much as cricket analysts and writers try to explain that he is only human when he fails, his fans have etched him as God in their memory and goes into delirium on such occasions. Sachin himself has not helped matters, by the sheer breathlessness of his strokes, the wisdom of his shots, and the aura around his game.
His cricketing technique blends textbook theory with practice and innovation, that for every situation on the field, every circumstance of his team, he has the shots in his armoury. His repertoire of strokes which gives life to the scintillating stroke play from his bat means there is only a thin line which separates a good ball from a bad ball, making it that much more difficult to bowl at him. A thinking cricketer that he is, there can be no set formulas for the opposition to prise him out. He intelligently paces his innings such that he knows when to ambush the bowler, which bowler to make his prey(most bowlers are his anyway),when to be quiet and when to flare up. His batting only reinforces the fact that form may be temporary, but class is permanent.
His longevity in the highest level of the game can be compared to Federer’s in Tennis, but Federer never had to carry the hopes and aspirations of a billion plus countrymen to whom Sachin is God and cricket religion. To be injury free, stress free, controversy free and free of vices which money and power can buy, he knows his body and mind too well not to exert more than he can. Thus a prudent decision to stay out of the T20 version of the game and extend his career. The climax should hopefully be a century of centuries.
Of amiable disposition and ego free, a friend and guide to his teammates and other aspiring youngsters, a doting father and loving husband, who else can be a better advertisement to the gentleman’s game than him. Bradman had a deserving Cardus to write of him, Sobers had his deserving James, but to write deservingly of Tendulkar, sadly none is seen on the horizon. Let God give him many more years of happy cricket and lucky ones like us many more years of exciting cricket.
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