When the God descended in Gwalior!
In a chaotic conundrum named India, it is quite interesting as to how one man — Sachin Tendulkar rules this nation’s hearts and brings together people from all castes, creeds and age-groups and brings them joy everytime he takes guard or in the field and his 1.5 billion fans in India and countless across the world may have had hearts in their mouths as he approached yet another milestone — of becoming the first man to score a double-century in one-dayers in the second ODI against South Africa in Gwalior.
For a man who has created a record of records in the game of cricket, a double-century was only a matter of time, going by the high standards he sets on the pitch. The innings on Wednesday once again signified his penchant for scoring runs and his hungry to stay in the middle for the longest time possible.
He scored runs at will, of the front foot, back foot, the deft shots towards the third-man showcased the Sachin of yore. Over the years, there has been increased criticism about the way the Master had gone about his business in the middle. He had ‘grown’ from being the aggressor to being the aggregator. His body had gone through several stints with the doctor and the diminutive dynamo had become synonymous of being an architect who was fast losing his charm amongst his critics.
However, the silent Sachin preferred to let his bat do all the talking. He scored runs in tonnes and never shied away from attacking the attack, when it was the need of the hour. He remained fit as a fiddle and cut down on the extravagant shots. In his own admission, “Over the years, one tends to grow as a player and as a human being in this game. I too have had my shares of purple and bad patches but I have never tried to give up on my natural game.†An honest and ardent fan like me ‘CAN’T’ question the master as for me, he epitomises the century’s greatest ever-sportsman to have played the game and has given many joyful evenings to reminisce ever since that supremely crafted knock against the Kiwis in the winter of 1994 that brought him to open ever since.
Agreed, our master did create yet another memorable evening for me and for the millions for who root for the champion but this 200* was just another example of how good the legend is in his game and how much he has to offer!
Mr. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, take a bow!
He is a total rockstar!!!
Can’t agree more Arati!