SACHIN IS GOD -------NICE ARTICLE

Early memories of Sachin go back to the days when he was close on heels with Vinod Kambli in being the number one batsman for India. Azhar was out of sorts and we hardly had anyone else in the team. I vividly remember listening to radio commentary (as my dad did not allow cable TV at that time) when Sachin opened for India for the first time against New Zealand in 1994 and hit 82 off 49 deliveries. He had just stamped his status as India’s one day opener for the rest of his cricketing career. He took time to his first century but that was worth the wait. That too it was against Australia in 1994. He never looked back after that.

I had started following Sachin’s career closely after Hero Cup back in 1993. His famous last over against South Africa where they required 6 runs to win remains etched in my memory. Sachin just snatched the ball from Azhar’s hands and took the mantle of bowling the last over and gave just 3 off it. We won the match and Brian McMillan stood there bemused. He had made India proud.

The 1996 world cup was the eye opener to the Indians of the fact that if Sachin gets out there is no way in hell that we can win. It was a common place event for people in India to switch off the TV sets once he gets out. I literally prayed to god with folded hands when Sachin scooped one in the air against West Indies in 1996 world cup in a low scoring match while he was still on 30 odd. He went on to score 70 and we won the match. His series against Australia in India in 1998 where he thrashed Shane Warne made Australia look so ordinary. I was reminded of the historical analogy where Sunil Gavaskar was most successful against West Indies, the then dominant force in Cricket and now Sachin was becoming successful against Aussies, the dominant force in cricket today.

He never let one bowler dominate him. The way he thrashed Henry Olanga after he took his wicket in the previous match in Sharjah is a proof of this statement. He didn’t even spare Piyush Chawla in the domestic circuit when Piyush bowled him in a match an year before. Almost all the greats have had a taste of Tendly’a(called fondly in Mumbai) wrath. Right from Abdul Qadir, Imran Khan to Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Fanie De Villiers, , Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh to Glen McGrath, Shane Warne, Shaun Pollock, Shoaib Akhtar and many more.

I always wanted him to lead the team as I never wanted him to fall in the category of great batsmen who could not be great leaders. But I still believe he would have done heck of a good job if only he had the team that either Dada or Rahul had. But no regrets with him any which way. The real milestones I still believe in Sachin’s career were his back to back centuries in Sharjah against Australia and that too one on his birthday. I remember my mom crying out loud to me to study but hell no. I just watched both of his innings with immense delight. The occurrence of the sandstorm in one of the matches and Sachin still going strong gave a cricket enthusiast his ultimate high in terms of watching cricket at its highest level. Never ever have I seen Australians in awe and shock of anyone other than Sachin! A piece of history that comes to my mind here is how the Australians led by Shane Warne waited for Sachin at the end of the match to get his autograph. I remember Tony Greg’s unforgettable commentary and especially the line, “Indians are dancing in the aisle!!”

To end the first part, I like to mention why he is close to my role model. His undying hunger for runs shows his passion, his continued fitness amidst 17 years of stringent cricket shows his commitment, anThis in continuation to the blog below. Please refer to my previous blog. Do click on the highlighted words for related videos on youtube.


Asking him to bat lower down the order in ODIs was a sin according to me. But he did it for the country. He even got a century at that position. The resurrection of his place to the top of the order paid rich dividends when he opened for India in the 2003 world cup and scored 673 runs in 11 matches. Phenomenal and unmatched! His innings of 98 against Pakistan was a standout knock and especially the six off Shoaib over point region. His six off Caddick against England also was a thriller moment for me, simply because it was huge and the best hook shot that I have ever seen.

Later on his century in Pakistan, his 41st ton against West Indies, his wicket of Moin Khan in Pakistan, his brilliant catch of Inzamam during the decisive one dayer in Pakistan, his recent 154 not out against Aussies at Sydney and finally his scores of 117 and 91 in the two finals of the CB series.

My fanship for him reached new heights after 1996 and since then anyone who opens his/her mouth about Sachin gets a mouthful from me. The fact that Sachin haters (not many of them exist) put forth that he is not a match winner irritated me the most. Its only 14 times out of 42 that he has scored a century in a One Dayer for India, has India lost that match. Now cut the crap that he is not a match winner. One of the facts I like about Sachin is not his humility but his reply to his critics and his need for dominance of the bowlers.

He does listen to the critics, mind you. He just prefers to let his bat do the talking. A recent example was when he was asked by harsha if his getting out in the 90s was bothering him, he replied, “When I was scoring 100s people said I play only for my centuries and when I am getting out in the nineties the same people demand answers. I just think 90 or 100 is better than a 10 as it helps the team”.

There is no black and white world and you certainly have shades of grey in it. His painful 136 against Pakistan in the Chennai test match, where he cried after the match and did not come to collect his man of the match award, the unsuccessful chase of 120 against West Indies where the team was bowled out for mere 81, Sachin asking for relieving the tax on his newly acquired Ferrari, his uncharacteristic 241 not out against Australia that constituted one of his most boring innings, India’s earliest exit from any world cup in 2007, him not being a part of Twenty Twenty world cup winning team and a few others here and there are all that I can think of now. A few of these incidents happen solely because of him and many others were just because of the circumstances but still worth a mention.

However so much so is the adulation for Sachin that when he flicks the ball to square leg in initial overs, I know he is in for a big one. A life at anytime ensures a big innings. The paddle sweep to the spinners (his own creation), sexy cover and straight drives to fast bowlers, efficient short jab to deep midwicket for a single, amazing cuts and slashes over the slip quadrant are just some of the many shots that he can manufacture and that too in the most elegant manner possible. His comparison to Don Bradman is uncanny and the biggest compliment for him. He has the maximum time with him as compared to any other batsman while playing any shot and his head remains straight the most while taking strike.

He never plays without the helmet, be it slow or fast bowlers. He never prefers a substitute runner. I remember once in Australia when he was injured and Dada became ready to come out as a runner for Sachin. Sachin flatly refused and rightly so! He signs with his left hand as he is ambidextrous. He was the first to be ruled out by the third umpire in South Africa. He is the probably the only one who has been adjudged SBW (Shoulder Before Wicket) when an incoming delivery by Glen McGrath hit him on his shoulder as he ducked. His professionalism and calm attitude reflects all the time in his poise on field, latest being his reaction to Bret Lee’s beamer in Australia when he was on 98. He has lost it only against McGrath in the ICC trophy in Nairobi and he actually blasted McGrath after hitting him for a six.

In his first series in Pakistan when he was 16, he hit Abdul Qadir, one of the best leg spinners ever to grace cricket, for 28 runs in a single over. The over read 6, 0, 4, 6, 6, 6. He scored 53 off 18 balls. In a recent article on cricinfo, Qadir’s son, Usman who is an upcoming 15 year old leg spinner, has expressed his desire to bowl at Sachin. What more can be a wonderful sight for Sachin’s fans if he is there to play Usman and if possible repeat the same feat against Usman. I never mentioned his statistics as he means more than just runs to an average Indian cricket fan.

After Michael Schumacher left Formula 1, I stopped watching the game and I won’t be surprised if the same happens with cricket when Sachin decides to hang his boots. That day millions of us Sachin fans will have moist eyes I am sure. I hope he plays the next World cup and we win it as tendlya, always a team man, deserves at least one under his belt.

One can go on and on about him and still not be able to end it convincingly. He doesnot need to prove anything to me atleast. He is a living legend without doubt. Heres to Sachin, the God of Cricket.

Asking him to bat lower down the order in ODIs was a sin according to me. But he did it for the country. He even got a century at that position. The resurrection of his place to the top of the order paid rich dividends when he opened for India in the 2003 world cup and scored 673 runs in 11 matches. Phenomenal and unmatched! His innings of 98 against Pakistan was a standout knock and especially the six off Shoaib over point region. His six off Caddick against England also was a thriller moment for me, simply because it was huge and the best hook shot that I have ever seen.

Later on his century in Pakistan, his 41st ton against West Indies, his wicket of Moin Khan in Pakistan, his brilliant catch of Inzamam during the decisive one dayer in Pakistan, his recent 154 not out against Aussies at Sydney and finally his scores of 117 and 91 in the two finals of the CB series.

My fanship for him reached new heights after 1996 and since then anyone who opens his/her mouth about Sachin gets a mouthful from me. The fact that Sachin haters (not many of them exist) put forth that he is not a match winner irritated me the most. Its only 14 times out of 42 that he has scored a century in a One Dayer for India, has India lost that match. Now cut the crap that he is not a match winner. One of the facts I like about Sachin is not his humility but his reply to his critics and his need for dominance of the bowlers.

He does listen to the critics, mind you. He just prefers to let his bat do the talking. A recent example was when he was asked by harsha if his getting out in the 90s was bothering him, he replied, “When I was scoring 100s people said I play only for my centuries and when I am getting out in the nineties the same people demand answers. I just think 90 or 100 is better than a 10 as it helps the team”.

There is no black and white world and you certainly have shades of grey in it. His painful 136 against Pakistan in the Chennai test match, where he cried after the match and did not come to collect his man of the match award, the unsuccessful chase of 120 against West Indies where the team was bowled out for mere 81, Sachin asking for relieving the tax on his newly acquired Ferrari, his uncharacteristic 241 not out against Australia that constituted one of his most boring innings, India’s earliest exit from any world cup in 2007, him not being a part of Twenty Twenty world cup winning team and a few others here and there are all that I can think of now. A few of these incidents happen solely because of him and many others were just because of the circumstances but still worth a mention.

However so much so is the adulation for Sachin that when he flicks the ball to square leg in initial overs, I know he is in for a big one. A life at anytime ensures a big innings. The paddle sweep to the spinners (his own creation), sexy cover and straight drives to fast bowlers, efficient short jab to deep midwicket for a single, amazing cuts and slashes over the slip quadrant are just some of the many shots that he can manufacture and that too in the most elegant manner possible. His comparison to Don Bradman is uncanny and the biggest compliment for him. He has the maximum time with him as compared to any other batsman while playing any shot and his head remains straight the most while taking strike.

He never plays without the helmet, be it slow or fast bowlers. He never prefers a substitute runner. I remember once in Australia when he was injured and Dada became ready to come out as a runner for Sachin. Sachin flatly refused and rightly so! He signs with his left hand as he is ambidextrous. He was the first to be ruled out by the third umpire in South Africa. He is the probably the only one who has been adjudged SBW (Shoulder Before Wicket) when an incoming delivery by Glen McGrath hit him on his shoulder as he ducked. His professionalism and calm attitude reflects all the time in his poise on field, latest being his reaction to Bret Lee’s beamer in Australia when he was on 98. He has lost it only against McGrath in the ICC trophy in Nairobi and he actually blasted McGrath after hitting him for a six.

In his first series in Pakistan when he was 16, he hit Abdul Qadir, one of the best leg spinners ever to grace cricket, for 28 runs in a single over. The over read 6, 0, 4, 6, 6, 6. He scored 53 off 18 balls. In a recent article on cricinfo, Qadir’s son, Usman who is an upcoming 15 year old leg spinner, has expressed his desire to bowl at Sachin. What more can be a wonderful sight for Sachin’s fans if he is there to play Usman and if possible repeat the same feat against Usman. I never mentioned his statistics as he means more than just runs to an average Indian cricket fan.

After Michael Schumacher left Formula 1, I stopped watching the game and I won’t be surprised if the same happens with cricket when Sachin decides to hang his boots. That day millions of us Sachin fans will have moist eyes I am sure. I hope he plays the next World cup and we win it as tendlya, always a team man, deserves at least one under his belt.

One can go on and on about him and still not be able to end it convincingly. He doesnot need to prove anything to me atleast. He is a living legend without doubt. Heres to Sachin, the God of Cricket.