A player is as good as he is against the best team of his era. Ask Australia, ask Sharjah, ask Perth. A player is as good as he scraps when out of form. Ask Sydney, ask the then shunned cover drive. Longevity separates, they say, the theres and the almost theres. Agreed, ask 1989, ask 2009. Performance at the world stage? ask 1996, ask 2003, ask me again on the 2nd of April, 2011.
When did I start liking him from? I dont know. When did I start liking cricket from? I dont know. All I know, is that the latter happened due to the former and both happened before 1993. I was what, four
years old, and I remember very little of me out then. Rooting for a curly haired 'uncle' contributing to the Proteas' chokers tag, I certainly do, surreally though. I didn't know then, that he would be my hero and that sixteen years later, I would be sweating about the moment he would choose, to be his sunset. Time would stall. At the least, IST will, when that will happen. I love Sehwag, I adore Yuvraj, I tolerate Dhoni. But, I only worship Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.
There have been many articles in the last week, in praise of the 'lil master' - a title that had greats like Hanif Mohammed and Sunil Gavaskar in occupancy before him - which extol his many virtues. People write about his longevity, his humility, his ability to sustain his hunger. Yes, thats how articles about 20 year long careers are supposed to be. But, there was something far more simple than all this that made me his fan back then; that caught the imagination of a nation and made it cricket crazy. His batting was as uncluttered as things could get. He always did the right thing off every ball. Other great batsman try to flick a ball on leg, and flick it. Sachin just flicks it.
That brings me to his batting. Poetry, it is. Rare is a player as solid as him. Rarer are those that can tear an attack apart like he does. Equally sparse are the ones who can look so assured and flowing, when batting. Combine them all and there is no one else. His batting is never brute force. I think he is incapable of slogging. A batter only slogs when he wants to hit into an area he cant otherwise. This guy can. A former player/umpire once said- 'They say Bradman is the best batsman that ever played the game. Watching this bloke bat makes me wonder- how can any one be better than this?' I couldn't agree more. I do not know Bradman. I know 99.94. I know 29 centuries in 52 matches. I know uncovered pitches. I respect him. But, in my humble opinion, it is a futile exercise to compare people across eras. Dare I say, Bradman would have been found out in the extensive video analysis that is prevalent today. Sachin, on the other hand, is the most scrutinized cricketer in the history of the game. His technique is an open book, now, after 20 years. And, he still decimates attacks.
The beauty of Sachin's batting is in how ready he seems to be for the delivery. He always seems to have more than a couple of shots for a delivery (I agree with Kapil Dev, only in the part where he says that Sachin played within himself, more on this later). In slightly more cricketing terms, he judges the length of a ball to perfection which allows him to get into the best positions to play the ball. This, most players, the greats, do. Frighteningly, for the bowlers, this man does it before the ball is released. Nothing else can explain the six off Caddick, that now requires no further reference. When you talk about offside, you talk about Ganguly, for two reasons- his off side play and his leg side play. Sachin is so complete that he can never be labelled as the best player to do something particular.
I started off watching cricket when this willow-wielder was only intent on marauding his opponents. He is now the perfect batsman, even more complete, but may be a touch slower. He has mellowed down over the years to suit the needs of his team. He has curbed his natural instincts for the benefit of his team. A Kapil Dev can go on record saying that Sachin could have been a better player. Wrong. May be Sachin could have been a better batsman. But, not without being a selfish player. He did not have the luxury of knowing that Steve Waugh was to come in next to stem the rot if things didn't go right. Nor did he feel reassured that a Gilly would come in at 7 and blast a century. Equally important, he did not certainly have the luxury of knowing that there is a McGrath in the team who would be landing all the 48 balls of his first spell in the corridor, just short of length. Even Lara did not. Sachin and Lara played the situations differently. And the results are for all to see. So, Kapil, thanks for taking that catch of Viv running backwards and thanks for winning the cup, but beyond that, sorry to say, you suck harder than your ICL. There is also another criticism of Sachin not being a match winner. I find it too childish to even talk about it.
Sachin is slowly getting into buh-bye mode, but is still an integral part of the Indian batting order. Heck, he is still our best batsman. He is the man in a bunch of boys. H
e is the face of Indian cricket. His integrity is what held together, the nation's interest in the game in the face of the fixing saga. The respect that the cricketing fraternity has for him is beyond compare. He gets standing ovations wherever he plays and no, its not only the expats showering their most beloved son with praise. He is such a superb cricketer and an equally wonderful gentleman. The Australians love him, the English adore him. But, to us Indians, he is something much more. For my generation, even more. There used to be those days when we ran out of school to the nearest general store and shout-asked the shopkeeper from a distance if Sachin was still there. The run rate required and the score were secondary. Sachin would take care of all that. Our neighbors had a different paper-wallah, who would come half an hour before ours. Next to match days, they would almost invariably read a soiled newspaper. I am sure that almost every one of my generation will have many nostalgic memories of Sachin. He has been a constant in our lives which have seen lots of changes. He has been our unifying factor. He has been a source of inspiration, a source of identity and the first universal icon of this emerging nation. He means a lot to this nation and when he does hang his boots, it will be a moment when many of us will unknowingly reflect on our lives. He has been an integral part of my life. I have lived almost my entire life adoring him, so, when he says good bye, it will be a poignant moment, when all these memories, both involving him and not, will come rushing through. I rode my first bicycle when I loved Sachin, I wrote my last blog entry when I loved Sachin, and everything between. My life, as lived by him.
When did I start liking him from? I dont know. When did I start liking cricket from? I dont know. All I know, is that the latter happened due to the former and both happened before 1993. I was what, four
years old, and I remember very little of me out then. Rooting for a curly haired 'uncle' contributing to the Proteas' chokers tag, I certainly do, surreally though. I didn't know then, that he would be my hero and that sixteen years later, I would be sweating about the moment he would choose, to be his sunset. Time would stall. At the least, IST will, when that will happen. I love Sehwag, I adore Yuvraj, I tolerate Dhoni. But, I only worship Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.There have been many articles in the last week, in praise of the 'lil master' - a title that had greats like Hanif Mohammed and Sunil Gavaskar in occupancy before him - which extol his many virtues. People write about his longevity, his humility, his ability to sustain his hunger. Yes, thats how articles about 20 year long careers are supposed to be. But, there was something far more simple than all this that made me his fan back then; that caught the imagination of a nation and made it cricket crazy. His batting was as uncluttered as things could get. He always did the right thing off every ball. Other great batsman try to flick a ball on leg, and flick it. Sachin just flicks it.
That brings me to his batting. Poetry, it is. Rare is a player as solid as him. Rarer are those that can tear an attack apart like he does. Equally sparse are the ones who can look so assured and flowing, when batting. Combine them all and there is no one else. His batting is never brute force. I think he is incapable of slogging. A batter only slogs when he wants to hit into an area he cant otherwise. This guy can. A former player/umpire once said- 'They say Bradman is the best batsman that ever played the game. Watching this bloke bat makes me wonder- how can any one be better than this?' I couldn't agree more. I do not know Bradman. I know 99.94. I know 29 centuries in 52 matches. I know uncovered pitches. I respect him. But, in my humble opinion, it is a futile exercise to compare people across eras. Dare I say, Bradman would have been found out in the extensive video analysis that is prevalent today. Sachin, on the other hand, is the most scrutinized cricketer in the history of the game. His technique is an open book, now, after 20 years. And, he still decimates attacks.
The beauty of Sachin's batting is in how ready he seems to be for the delivery. He always seems to have more than a couple of shots for a delivery (I agree with Kapil Dev, only in the part where he says that Sachin played within himself, more on this later). In slightly more cricketing terms, he judges the length of a ball to perfection which allows him to get into the best positions to play the ball. This, most players, the greats, do. Frighteningly, for the bowlers, this man does it before the ball is released. Nothing else can explain the six off Caddick, that now requires no further reference. When you talk about offside, you talk about Ganguly, for two reasons- his off side play and his leg side play. Sachin is so complete that he can never be labelled as the best player to do something particular.
I started off watching cricket when this willow-wielder was only intent on marauding his opponents. He is now the perfect batsman, even more complete, but may be a touch slower. He has mellowed down over the years to suit the needs of his team. He has curbed his natural instincts for the benefit of his team. A Kapil Dev can go on record saying that Sachin could have been a better player. Wrong. May be Sachin could have been a better batsman. But, not without being a selfish player. He did not have the luxury of knowing that Steve Waugh was to come in next to stem the rot if things didn't go right. Nor did he feel reassured that a Gilly would come in at 7 and blast a century. Equally important, he did not certainly have the luxury of knowing that there is a McGrath in the team who would be landing all the 48 balls of his first spell in the corridor, just short of length. Even Lara did not. Sachin and Lara played the situations differently. And the results are for all to see. So, Kapil, thanks for taking that catch of Viv running backwards and thanks for winning the cup, but beyond that, sorry to say, you suck harder than your ICL. There is also another criticism of Sachin not being a match winner. I find it too childish to even talk about it.
Sachin is slowly getting into buh-bye mode, but is still an integral part of the Indian batting order. Heck, he is still our best batsman. He is the man in a bunch of boys. H
e is the face of Indian cricket. His integrity is what held together, the nation's interest in the game in the face of the fixing saga. The respect that the cricketing fraternity has for him is beyond compare. He gets standing ovations wherever he plays and no, its not only the expats showering their most beloved son with praise. He is such a superb cricketer and an equally wonderful gentleman. The Australians love him, the English adore him. But, to us Indians, he is something much more. For my generation, even more. There used to be those days when we ran out of school to the nearest general store and shout-asked the shopkeeper from a distance if Sachin was still there. The run rate required and the score were secondary. Sachin would take care of all that. Our neighbors had a different paper-wallah, who would come half an hour before ours. Next to match days, they would almost invariably read a soiled newspaper. I am sure that almost every one of my generation will have many nostalgic memories of Sachin. He has been a constant in our lives which have seen lots of changes. He has been our unifying factor. He has been a source of inspiration, a source of identity and the first universal icon of this emerging nation. He means a lot to this nation and when he does hang his boots, it will be a moment when many of us will unknowingly reflect on our lives. He has been an integral part of my life. I have lived almost my entire life adoring him, so, when he says good bye, it will be a poignant moment, when all these memories, both involving him and not, will come rushing through. I rode my first bicycle when I loved Sachin, I wrote my last blog entry when I loved Sachin, and everything between. My life, as lived by him.
Posts
brilliant! touching! :) and about Sachin and how great he is! Hmmpphh! :D I wanna either write a full blog or just say absolutely nothing. Too much to cover or uncover :D Btw, cute pics :D
ReplyDeletehttp://aggurocks.blogspot.com/2007/03/indiacricketagguand-sachin-tendulkar-p.html :D also!
ReplyDeleteyep.. by far the most difficult piece i wrote..there was so much to write.. and so much more.. a mere tenth of what i wanted to may be..
ReplyDeletenaturally so, considering that a book can be brought out of the 'quotable quotes' on this man
and the second link.. naice.. relatable.. :)
ReplyDelete//When did I start liking him from? I dont know. When did I start liking cricket from? I dont know. All I know, is that the latter happened due to the former.
ReplyDelete//I love Sehwag, I adore Yuvraj, I tolerate Dhoni. But, I only worship Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.
//Bradman part
//Kapil-dev part.
//When you talk about offside, you talk about Ganguly, for two reasons- his off side play and his leg side play. Sachin is so complete that he can never be labelled as the best player to do something particular.
Loved it Darling.Seriously Awesome ga undhi mava.Above lines ithe Sexy.
@anon..gandhi
ReplyDeletetanx moaa..