Profile of the week—- Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Agreed, Sachin Tendulkar’s records have been on the finger tips of most cricket lovers under the sun. I also fully agree that Sir Donald Bradman was and will remain the greatest batting legend by the sheer weight of runs scored but I have not seen the great man bat (only on videos) but I vouch for the fact ( and so will many who are reading this post) that Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has single-handedly changed the course of the way cricket ever was played and influenced millions to take willow and dictate terms on the cricket field.
I have witnessed many make mince meat of the opposition’s bowling on myriad tracks but do it with a religious regularity over a period of TWENTY seasons against 2-3 different generations of gentlemen is a feat which Sir Don may not have been capable of. I fully agree Sir Don that your career was affected by the World War II but it necessarily needs to be considered that Sachin has faced thousand times more criticism and millions times more expectations from the second most populated country in the world and has batted out odds not only on the field but off it.
What is so special about this pint sized dynamo from Mumbai which has a legacy of producing great cricketers such as Nari Contractor, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Ajit Wadekar but Sachin entered the cricketing scene with a blast and never turned into a whimper, akin to so many that started out along with and names such as Vinod Kambli instantly comes to mind.
What makes him so special?
Sir Geoffrey Boycott had once mentioned that this man always had an extra time to place the ball at will throughout his career and could play shots on the rise both from back foot and made batting look ridiculously simple. Another important aspect of his batting was the balance, hand-eye coordination and the big-match temperament, something which youngsters could take a leaf out.
Another important of Sachin’s batting is the amalgamate beauty with power, something which mere mortals manage to enact albeit with lesser regularity. He literally stood up and delivered against the mighty Mark Taylors’ all-conquering Australians in the summer of 1998 and after being dismissed cheaply by his nemesis Shane Warne for a paltry 4 in the first innings at the first Test at Chennai, came back with a 150 plus score in the second to literally give a nightmare to Warne not just on it but off it too.
His baptism began at the 1989 tour to Pakistan when he was asked to make his debut against Pakistan in the Karachi Test, scoring 15 in the first innings and following it up with his maiden Test fifty at the next Test at Faisalabad.
The 5 feet 5 inch champ got his first Test century at Manchester the following year when he batted out England to secure a draw and was instrumental in keeping the Englishmen at bay.
The year 1992 saw the Indian score two scintillating centuries at Perth and at Sydney to commence on a long-time run-making spree Down Under. Harsha Bhogle during the 2007-08 tour to Australia had named SCG as Sachin Cricket Ground for his century making spree at the ground.
The shot that got registered in my mind was the back-foot punch of Merv Hughes in that chanceless knock but his career soared after the brilliant knock of 82 from 49 balls when he tore the Kiwi attack on that afternoon of 1994 in Auckland, on a day when Holi is celebrated widely across the nation.
Yes, there have been critics who have often questioned his commitment towards the game even when the Master has silenced them only with the willow.
While the ambidextrous artist of the game may hang his boots in a couple of years from now on, he will long be remembered as the most the man who took the game of cricket to a new level altogether with his passion and performance.
Career statistics
Tests 159 matches, 261 innings, 12773 runs, 248* highest, 54.58 average, 42 centuries and 53 fifties.
One-dayer 425 matches, 415 innings, 16684 runs, 44.37 average, 186* highest, 43 centuries, 91 fiftees.
