Surrender to Tendulkar

Tanvir Khan Sachin Tendulkar. Does the name signify something? For many of us residing on the sports planet, it says cricket. If it was up to an avid fan of the great one himself, the article would be complete in itself after the first full stop because the name is enough.Well, I will refrain from talking about Tendulkar’s achievements in his profession as doing that would test my knowledge to the hilt and also be unfair to the Master as I’m sure I would miss out on a lot. The only thing that I would like to state here is that Sachin Tendulkar has conquered yet another frontier, this time in Tests. He has scaled another summit. He has surpassed another legend of the game- Brian Lara. He has gone beyond the ‘Summit 11953’ and has become the highest run getter in the longer format of the game. The name ‘Little Master’ does not really go with the batting genius for he rules the world with his willow. The nickname so small and the batsman with such inhuman abilities! Not fair. The elegant stroke maker has over 28,000 runs accredited to his name in Tests and ODIs combined. Watching him take his stance, for close to two decades, one would not be very shocked to know the stats. Perfect balance, horizontal bat, head straight, elbow pointing towards the umpire, compact and eyes on the ball with daunting courage, an intangible quality given only to geniuses - anticipation—perfection personified. When Tendulkar is in supreme touch, which he generally is, there is no sight more majestic in the cricketing world. He can rip the opposition apart on any day and has done it so many times that counting the moments will be like counting the times Sisyphus has carried the stone of burden onto the mountain. But his success to date means that Tendulkar could leave the field tomorrow without any diminution of circumstances. He has the measure of every ball and when he spanks the ball cleanly to the ropes, it is difficult not to see some celestial spark at work. Shane Warne quoted, “Sachin coming, dancing down the track and lofting me over for yet another six!” Such is the capability of the Mumbaikar that he gave the spin wizard nightmares of being hit for sixes over his head. This was the result of some blistering knocks by the Master against Australia to take India into the finals at Sharjah. Sachin blasted 143 at more than run a ball amidst a sandstorm to take India to the finals even though his team lost and then fired a swashbuckling 134 on his birthday in 1998 to lift the Coca Cola Cup. It took the supremo 79 ODIs to reach his first three figure score. Today, the small wonder stands tall at 42 ODI centuries (and counting) with Ricky Ponting following next at 26. What a difference!! Considered as an anthro-morphication of God by his fans, Tendulkar started his career wearing a pair of pads gifted to him by another legend of similar stature, Sunil Gavaskar, at Karachi against the likes of Wasim Akram, Abdul Qadir, Waqar Younis and Imran Khan. Sachin scored only 15 runs. Waqar also made his debut in the same match and took Sachin’s wicket. It surely was an ominous start to the Little Master’s career but a fifty in the next Test saved him some grace. Waqar never knew he had taken the wicket of someone who would go on to be regarded as the best ODI batsman of all times and second best, next to Sir Don Bradman, in Tests. Cricket`s greatest ever player, Sir Donald Bradman, was watching a 1996 World Cup match on television when he first saw Sachin Tendulkar bat. The Indian player`s technique seemed strangely familiar. Though his stance and his movements were compact and efficient, he hit the ball hard and his shots were ruthlessly effective. The Australian called his wife into the living room of their suburban Adelaide home. "Who does this remind you of?" asked Bradman, then 87. The answer was obvious. "I never saw myself play," Bradman said later. "But I feel that this player is playing much the same (way) I used to play." Being labelled the next Bradman has never been an easy honour. But perhaps no batsman has worn the tag with so much grace—and so deserved it—as Tendulkar. West Indian Brian Lara, the only contemporary of Tendulkar`s to consistently threaten his position as the batsman of the age, said that the Indian was the greatest he had ever seen. "You know genius when you see it," said Lara. "And let me tell you, Sachin is pure genius." The thought of Sachin hanging his boots gives cold shudders to any cricket fan. He has been the real gentleman on and off the field. On the field, he does not indulge in any controversies. Off the field, he supports hundreds of children through an NGO but prefers not to hog the limelight for his generosity. Sachin will not retire with an average of 99.94 like the Don. Agreed. But his graceful appearance, stability, punch of the bat and the astounding ability to produce shots effortlessly to send the leather rolling to every part of the lush green park will put him way above the rest. Long may The King regale his willing subjects.Criticism of Greatness Well, Records are meant to be broken and if Sachin is breaking them, critics can`t digest it. There have been instances when the saviour of Indian cricket has been out of touch, when his hands have given up and his fitness floundered. The above, instantly, gave the big mouths of the cricketing fraternity to criticize someone who wrapped himself in Indian colours at the tender age of 16. Critics say that Tendulkar does not perform when it is needed, and that India’s win record on occasions when he has a century in the match is bad. Well, I would like to ask all those to please check the stats before joining the bandwagon of false-critics blindly. Let us take the 40 of the 42 centuries in ODIs by the Master in consideration. India has won 28 times, lost 11 times and 1 of his century was in a rain affected match. Need I say more? People also talk about his centuries coming against weaker oppositions. Let me clear it out. Out of 39 Test centuries he has ONLY 1 against Bangladesh and 3 against Zimbabwe. Where are the rest gone? Against whom were the remaining ones? In ODIs he has 5 against Zimbabwe, 4 against Kenya and 1 against Namibia. The remaining 32? Plus more than 10 scores in 90s. Don’t expect an answer from me. Ask yourself. He also holds the record of maximum number of 100`s for losing cause...That means a lone warrior…That is why once Indian Cricket Team was called a ONE MAN ARMY!!! Failure from this super cricketer, probably Superman would be a better superlative, is strictly not acceptable and few, who consider themselves the masters of the game, do not let the opportunity pass by. The Tom, Dick and Harry start talking about how his stance has changed and the way his bat comes down to make contact with the ball and how Sachin has hardly performed in crucial matches for his country. They say that it is high time Sachin should retire with respect and not try to keep breaking records -- not that many are left to be overhauled. What they do not understand is that he is a human being and is allowed to fail at times. But then, Sachin has remained or say, tried to remain unaffected by all the criticism. If at all he paid heed to it, it was in a positive way. How can one criticize someone who has served the ‘religion’ of cricket in India and the arena of the ‘game’ cricket, if he does not perform in a few matches? Over 400 matches, 44 point something average, 16000 plus runs; absolutely breathtaking. Forget his average and the number of runs. How many have lasted 400 days of ODIs? Leave alone over 150 Tests. 19 years of service is no joke. Many respected figures quote that ‘form is temporary, class is permanent.’ Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, for sure, has proven his CLASS in the nearly two decades of his service to the game. Then why do these people forget what they themselves said in his run-drought phase? Is it to get media attention or sympathize disingenuously with the player? For Pete’s sake, let him decide what he has to do. He knows much more about the game and the techniques (the critics use this term quite often) of the game. He still has years of glorious cricket left in him and the determination and strength of character to serve the nation with his game. For the critics of Sachin, ‘You can cut all the flowers but you can’t keep the spring from coming’. No matter what one says or what justification one gives to prove that he is not as great as he is made to be, Sachin has done enough to cast his supremacy in the cricketing fraternity and without a doubt, there is no one above him in the game. One can only try to be ‘Against-the-debate’ but they are there because there is less competition on that side. Try acknowledging his contribution to the nation through his game and I guarantee that you will fall short of words. It is because Sachin goes into making of Indian cricket as flour goes into the making of bread.