InmemoryofFieldMarshalS.H.F.J.‘Sam’ManeckshawProudsonofIndia,gallantsoldier,myPresidentontheAllIndiaCouncilofSport,respectedfriend,

philosopherandguide

SACHINBORNTOBAT

TheJourneyofCricket'sUltimateCenturion

SECOND EDIT ION

KHALIDA-HANSARIEditedbyClaytonMurzello

INTRODUCTIONBYSACHINTENDULKAR

JAICOPUBLISHINGHOUSEAhmedabadBangaloreBhopalBhubaneswarChennai

DelhiHyderabadKolkataLucknowMumbai

PublishedbyJaicoPublishingHouseA-2JashChambers,7-ASirPhirozshahMehtaRoad

Fort,Mumbai-400001jaicopub@jaicobooks.comwww.jaicobooks.com

©KHALIDA-HANSARIAllrightsreserved

Alsobytheauthor:RelianceWorldCup,ChampionsofOne-DayCricket,CricketatFeverPitch

Editedby:ClaytonMurzello

Coverphotographs:Front:SachinTendulkarportraitbyAtulKamble;kidSachincourtesyTheMakingofaCricketerbyAjit

Tendulkar.AcknowledgingthecheersfromtheWankhedeStadiumcrowdduringhisfinalTestonNovember15,2013

byAtulKamble

Back:TouchingtheWankhedeStadiumpitchinrespectafterhisfinalTestonNovember16,2013byAtulKamble

SACHIN:BORNTOBATISBN978-81-8495-300-8

FirstJaicoImpression:2012SecondJaicoImpression(SecondRevisedEdition):2014

Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedorutilizedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanicalincludingphotocopying,recordingorbyanyinformationstorageandretrievalsystem,withoutpermission

inwritingfromthepublishers.

Pagedesignandlayouts:SpecialEffects,Mumbai

AllarticlesappearingintheArchivessectionofthisbookwerepublishedinMiDDAY

With the exception of images from Bipin Patel, Getty Images, Kamal Julka,Marcus Couto,Mark RayMilindRege,RickyCouto,SumanChattopadhyay andTheMakingof aCricketer byAjitTendulkar allphotographsbelongtothenewspaper’sarchives

Contents

AbouttheAuthor

Author'sAcknowledgments

Editor'sAcknowledgments

Prologue

Sachincredible

IntroductionbySachinTendulkar

Perceptions

Sachin’sB.R.E.T.T.Factor

Archives

Sachin—ANewStarontheHorizon

TheStartofItAll

SachinHasAlwaysBeenBold

MarvellousatManchester

NoPerthPangsforSachin

MadrasMealforTendulkar

TheBig,YetQuietTendulkarWedding

SachinSizzles,IndiaFizzles

NextManIn

I'mNottoBlame:Sachin

SparktoFlame

Sachin'sHavingaBall

Shabash,Sachin

IWouldBowltoSachinwithaHelmetOn:Lillee

AGeniusCalledTendulkar

RunsandRosesfromSachin

SachintoMeetBradman

'ThisTon'sforDad'

SachinQuitinDisgust

Cheerstothe100-TestMan

TheBestBatsmanofHisEra

BigRunsinBigWorldCupBattle

TheWomanWhoKnowsSachinBest

SachistheArtofCoping

India'sSunnySide

LookintothatMirror,Sachin

ActofWillinSydney

TheGreatAdelaideConnection

ImportanceofBeingHonest

It'sChennaiYetAgain!

My20GreatestMoments

HailtheMaster!

ThereWillBeNoLackofCommitmentfromMe:Sachin

Bat-onBaatonMein!

ExtraordinaryCenturionRulesSuperSportPark

HistoryHere!

MyMostUnforgettableWorldCup2011Moments

'IHadaDream'

Sachin:Now,ICanMoveOn

ObsessedwithStats,butWhataPlayer!

Fridaythe15th:NobetterplacetobethanWankhede

EmotionalSachinBidsAdieu

Statistics

Epilogue

P

AbouttheAuthor

adma Shri Khalid A-H Ansari has a Bachelor's degree in Law (LLB),Master's degree (MA) in Political Science from Bombay University and

Master's degree (MA) in Journalism andMass Communication from StanfordUniversity,USA.

Recentlyretired,hewaschairmanofMidDayMultimediaLtd.andMidDayInfomedia Ltd., which he started in 1976 which publishes Asia's leadingafternoon newspaper, MiD DAY, in two languages from Mumbai, Delhi,BangaloreandPuneandthenationalistInquilab,UrduDaily.

KhalidA-HAnsariwasalsochairmanofM.C.MediaLtd,whoseactivitiesincludeFM radio broadcasting (a joint venturewithBBC,London) in variousIndiancities.

His biggest contribution to Indian sports, in the opinion of many, was hiscrusadingmagazine Sportsweek, which he started in 1968 and published until1989,whenhetookupanassignmentabroad.

Somehighlightsofhisprofessionalcareer:

WasmemberoftheofficialIndiandelegationtotheUnitedNationsGeneralAssembly,'89.

Started Earth Times at UN headquarters inNewYork and published theEarthSummitTimes,officialUNnewspaperfortheEarthSummit,inBrazil'94.

WasManagingDirectorandExecutiveEditorofKhaleejTimes,Dubaiandeditor of Asiad Chronicle, official publication of the New Delhi AsianGames'82.

Is author of 'RelianceWorld Cup', 'Champions of One-Day Cricket' and

'CricketatFeverPitch'.

Was a member of All India Council of Sports under Gen. K.KumaramangalamandFieldMarshalSamManeckshaw.

CoveredtheKargilwarin1999,theFijicoupin2000,theNAMconferenceinHarareandCHOGMsummitintheBahamas.

Covered foreign visits of Presidents A.P.J. Kalam, Zail Singh andFakhruddinAliAhmed,andPrimeMinistersRajivGandhiandAtalBehariVajpayee.

IsChairmanEmeritusoftheSquashRacquetsAssociationofMaharashtra.Resigned as member of the Organising Committee of the New DelhiCommonwealthGames,'10.

Was president, Bombay Gymkhana and Rotary Club of Bombay Mid-Town, member of various government advisory committees and isassociated with numerous charitable, social, cultural and sportsorganisations.

TheAbdulHamidAnsariCharitableTrust,startedbyhiminmemoryofhisfather, arranges free study classes, eye camps, computer classes, andsponsors vocational education for up to 500 girls every year fromunderprivilegedsectionsofMumbai.

HeisalsotrusteeoftheCHAMPSFoundation,startedbySunilGavaskar,which provides financial assistance to retired international (Indian)sportspersonsinneed.

Son of renowned freedom fighter Abdul Hamid Ansari, he was votedGentlemanoftheYearbyGentlemanmagazinein1988,giventheAlumnusAchiever'sawardbyMumbai'sGovernmentLawCollegeandSt.Xavier'sCollegeandgrantedhonorarylifemembershipoftheCricketClubofIndia(CCI)in2004.

M

Author’sAcknowledgments

ygratefulthankstoClaytonMurzello,ardentsportsloverandworkaholicifevertherewasone,forhispainstakingsourcingandassemblingoftextand

photographs from the archives ofMiDDAY Infomedia Ltd., picture agenciesandfreelancephotographers,despitehishealthissuesandonerousworkloadasSports Editor of MiD DAY. Without him this exhilarating undertakingconcerningSachinRameshTendulkar,sportsmanparexcellenceandexemplaryhumanbeingforwhomIhavethehighestrespect,wouldnothavebeenpossible.

I also thankMiDDAYcontributors,past andpresent, forpermission tousetheir published articles as also former Test captains, cricketers, coaches,teammates and friends of Sachin for their percipient comments on the legend,whichappearinthePERCEPTIONSsectionofthisbook,inanattempttoshedlight on the essential elements thatmake him, arguably, the greatest cricketerborn.

In this endeavour Ihave reliedwithgratitudeon sourcematerial fromGuluEzekiel'sexcellentbookSachin—TheStoryoftheWorld'sGreatestBatsman.

I'm also indebted to the gracious, perspicacious and indefatigable ZeynaAnsari for her invaluable suggestions and constructive criticism on variousaspects of this book, and to Sydney cricket "tragic" Darshak Mehta, ChotaChudasamaofNewYorkandHarshaSubbaRaofortheirvaluableadvice.

Mysincere thanksalso toShirleyFernandes,myexecutiveassistant, forherpatienceandperseveranceinfollowinguponmyrequesttothosewhohaveverykindlycontributedtheirperceptionsofSachin.

KhalidA-HAnsariSydney

SachinTendulkarreleasingCricketatFeverPitchbyKhalidA-HAnsari(right)attheCricketClubofIndiain2006.

K

Editor’sAcknowledgments

Thankyouto:

halidA-HAnsari for entrustingmewith this project and allowingme thefreedomtobepartoftheconceptualisation.

TariqAnsari.HadyounotrealisedtheimportanceofMiDDAY'spresenceonseveraltourstheIndianteamundertook,manyofthesesplendidpieceswouldn'thaveseenthelightofday.

Myeditor,SachinKalbag,whowashelpfulandencouragingthroughoutthisproject.

My colleagues on the sports desk—Ashwin Ferro,Harit Joshi, RohanKoli,SaiMohan,SanjibGuha,SundariIyerandVivekAjinkya,fortheirsupportandunderstanding.

Friends Anthony D'Costa, Fiona Fernandez, Gulu Ezekiel, Hemal Ashar,MikeCoward,PrajwalHegde,PravinMahida,RohitBrijnath,ShardaUgra,whowerealwaysavailableforhelpandadvice.

PoornimaSwaminathanforbeingmorethanjustacontactpointatJaico.

Shirley Fernandes,who dealtwith some big cricketing personalities for thePerceptionssectionwithaplomb.

And not the least, Sachin Tendulkar, for putting up with my numerousrequests over theyears.Never didhe throwa tantrum,not evenwhen IwokehimupearlyonemorningforareactiononSirDonBradman'sdeath.HiskindwordsintheIntroductionreflecthisgenerousspirit.

I am also grateful to the following for their assistance:Ajit Sawant,AkramKhan,AnwarNabi,DharmeshThakkar,GovindGaikwad,MKumaresan,PhiloLokare, Rashid Ansari, Ravi Kalbate, Selwyn Vaz, Uday Devrukhkar, Ulhas

Abraham,VishwarajGopaleandYogeshPadte.

ClaytonMurzelloMumbai

C

SachincredibleKhalidA-HAnsari

'monSachin,hitasix,"thetheneight-yearoldseatedintheVIPboxyelledhis guts out, as spectators in Chandigarh's packed Mohali stadium and

millionsofcricketdeewanegluedtotelevisionsetsallover thecountrywaitedwithbatedbreath.

SachinTendulkar, theirprideandjoy,therepositoryoftheirfondhopesandaspirations, the epitome of their pride and self-belief — their 'god' — wasbattingon97asPakistanifastbowlerUmarGulbeganhismenacingrun-up.

"C'monSachin,hit a six,"ArjunTendulkar,nowperchedat the edgeofhisseat, shouted again in his squeaky childish voice, whispering to meconspiratorially:"Ialwaystellhimtohitasixwhenhe's94."

Meanwhile, Anjali, his mother, seated between him and his sister, Sara,smiledindulgently.Tworunslater,Tendulkarperishedfor99—caughtbehindbyKamranAkmaloffUmarGul.

Thestadiumletoutacollectivegasp.Theentirenationwasplungedingrief.Theirherohadfallen.Thecricketing 'enemy'wenton towin theone-dayerbyfourwickets.Oh,whatashame!

This incident is just one among many when Sachin, the biggest, mostrespected and, arguably, (including among luminaries in the fields of science,medicine,humanities,theartsetc.)mostadmiredIndianiconforhisqualitiesasahumanbeing,hadbeendismissedinthe90's.Asthoughhe'saone-manarmy—aRambo—todemolishall-comers!

Recordbooksshowthat in1997aloneSachinTendulkarwasout in the90'sonasmanyassevenoccasions.Untilpressdeadline for thisbookhehasbeendismissedinthe90'son27occasions.

Sachin Tendulkar has manfully taken these setbacks, some the result ofatrociousumpiringerrors,onhischin,withoutdemur.

Theepitomeofgoodsportsmanshipandcivilisedbehaviour, theunflappable'MrCool'hasbeenextremelypatientinhisdealingswiththemedia,evenwhenithasbeenunfair fromhis standpointduringhismany injuriesand forgettablephase between 2002 and 2006,whenmany critics unkindly spelt 'finis' to hisillustriouscareer.

InanagewhentheBiblicalcommandment'Dountoothersasyouwouldhaveothersdountoyou'hasbeendistortedto'Dountoothersbeforetheydotoyou,'Sachinisarefreshingexception.

BooedbyasectionofthecrowdattheWankhedeStadium,hishomeground,whenhewasoutfor1off21deliveriesagainstEnglandinthe2005-06series,anewspaper,echoingthechorusofthedoomsayers,unkindlyheadlineditsreport'Endulkar'.

Through all this, there wasn't the faintest murmur from the Little Master,named after Sachin Dev Burman, his Marathi novelist-professor father'sfavouritemusicdirector.

TheonlyremonstrancefromhimorhisfamilythatIknowofuntilthencamefrom wife, Anjali, who phoned me in London from Mumbai, saying that ajournalist had got his facts wrong when reporting Sachin's arrival atMumbaiairport and his allegedly being accorded special treatment in contravention ofsecurityregulations.(Therecordwassubsequentlysetstraight.)

Posteritywill recordSachinRameshTendulkar'sawesomecomeback,whichhas been embellished by records galore — an unprecedented, unbeaten ODIdoublecenturyonFebruary24,2010,againstSouthAfricaatGwalior,15,000Test runs,and international recognition, themostprestigiousbeing2010's ICCGarfieldSobersCricketeroftheYearawardandinclusioninCricinfo'sAllTimeWorldXI,makinghimtheonlyIndiantofigureinthestar-studdedteam.

Butsomethingseemstohavesuddenlysnappedinsidethepsycheofthelivinglegend.Tomyknowledge,forthefirsttimeinhismany-splendouredcareer,thephenomenon(arguablythebestbatsmanever,greatereventhanDonBradman,consideringhisexploitsinallthreeformsofthegame—BradmanplayedonlyTest cricket) lost his patience at a press conference in 2010 when a reporteraskedhimifhe'feltnervous'inthe90's,ashis25dismissals(17inODIsand8inTests)thenseemedtoindicate.

Sachin—orTendlya (a derivative from theMarathi 'tendli', a small nativevegetable)ashisfriendsaffectionatelyaddresshim—reactedinamannerthatfelljustshortofbeingoffensive.Heaskedtheshell-shockedscribetocheckhisfactsandcomparehistotaldismissalsinthe90'stothenumberofcenturieshehas scored in Tests and ODIs. Viewed dispassionately, the reaction seemedexplosive,certainlybyTendulkar'shithertoloftystandardsofpropriety.

Thentherewasthealmost-viciousswipeatthemediaattheendofthefourthday of the drawn secondTest againstNewZealand inNovember 2010,whenSachin reacted sharply to a loaded question from television commentator andformerIndiacaptainRaviShastri,atHyderabad,snapping:"Thepresscanwritewhateveritwrites.Idon'treadnewspaperswhenI'mplaying.MysecuritystaffwilltellyouIdon'tevenbothertopickupmycopyoutsidemydoor."

Should one attach any significance to this atypical outburst? Was it anaberrationbroughton,perhaps,by jetlagafterhis recenthectic travel scheduleandpromotionaleventsinDelhiandMumbaiand/oronlynaturalhumantensionontheeveoftheAhmedabadTestagainstNewZealand,tobefollowedbythetourofSouthAfricaandtheWorldCupinFebruary?

Bethatasitmay,theincidenthasrekindledinme,acuriosityaboutSachin,theveryprivateman,abouthismentalmake-up,hisinnermostthoughtprocessesand feelings, his genetic background, his childhood and early upbringing, hisreligious beliefs, his environment including parental influence, his siblings(brothersAjit andNitinand sisterSavita),his friends, acquaintancesandmostimportantly,hisnuclearfamilyconsistingofpaediatricianwifeAnjali,daughterSaraandsonArjun.

While ascending to a hitherto uncharted stratosphere in the game, SachinscaledtheEverestof200unbeatenrunsintheGwaliorODIagainstSouthAfricain 2011 and Test aggregate of 15,000 runs, which won him the coveted ICCCricketerof theYearAwardfor2009-10,eightyearsafterhelastwonit.Thiswas theninth timehehad topped the ratings inhis career, the first coming inNovember1994.

Earlier in2002,12years intohiscareer,Wisdenhadrankedhimthesecondgreatestplayerofalltime(behindthelegendaryDonBradman)andthesecondgreatestplayerinone-dayinternationalsafterIsaacVivianAlexanderRichards,theWestIndiangreat.

With all due respect to the integrity of the gentlemen inwhite coats on theICCelite panel of umpires,Sachin's aggregateof hundreds inTests andODIs

would have been even more awesome but for some extraordinarily curiousdecisions.AccordingtorespectedlatecricketwriterPeterRoebuck,some30ofSachin'sdismissalshavebeen'dubious'.

Add to this the number of matches the Little Champion, (described by theredoubtable Shane Warne as the 'greatest player he has played against') hasmissedbecauseofinjuries,andthenumberoftimeshehasfalleninthe90'sinhisinternationalcareer—27atlastcount,thriceat99—thecenturiesagainsthisnamewouldhavebeenjaw-dropping.Butthen,that'samatterof'ifmyaunthadbeenaman...'

Are champions like the incomparable Don Bradman, albeit in a vastlydifferent era, and is SachinTendulkar, indisputably India's only contemporaryiconinanysphereoflife,'wired'differentlyfromusmeremortals?

Istheequilibriumbetweentheleftandrightsidesofthebrainuniqueintheircases? Is there something super human in their physical attributes? Are theirhand-eye co-ordination and the coaction between brain and the five senses aswellastherestofthebodyspecialascomparedwiththatinchildrenofalessergod,inamannerofspeaking?

InTendulkar'sparticularcase,ishisdiminutive5feet.5in.frame—ideallysuited to a batsman— and therefore, his body balance, sense of timing andabilitytoplaylate,theonlydeterminantfactor?

Or do his uncluttered bent of mind (the result of his cricket-interruptededucation,ablessingindisguisecricket-wise!),hismodestmiddle-classRajapurSaraswat background and God-fearing upbringing in an academic familyenvironment (both his parents were teachers who emphasised discipline andvalues, above all else)make for a formidable physical, emotional,mental andspiritualcrucibleinthecricketingcontext?

A few days after receiving the Outstanding Achievement in Sport and thePeople'sChoiceawardinLondonOctober'10andonbecomingtheonlypresentdayplayer tobenamedinESPNCricinfo'sall-timeWorldXI, theunassumingSachin said: "It feels unreal and extraordinary to be placed alongside legendssuchasDonBradman."

While eulogising coachGaryKirsten for his role inmentoring him, Sachinsaid:"Garyhasbeeninstrumentalinthis.Togetherwe'veworkedhardinthelastcouple of years to improve my batting," in the same lavish way that he hadpraisedformerIndiancoachandex-NewZealandcaptainJohnWright.

Wrightisonrecordassaying:"IwishalotoflesserplayerscouldlearnfromSachin'sthoughtfulnessandtherespectheshowed,notjustformeasthecoachbutforhiscricket."

Givenhissingle-mindeddevotionatthealtarofraisingthebar,coupledwithhis unparalleled, child-like enjoyment of the game even after 22 continuousyearsofmatchplay, trainingsessionsand travel thathas takenaheavy tollonconsiderablyyoungerplayers,200Testappearancesarewithinhisgrasp,injuriespermitting.

AttheLondonAsianAwardsceremony,thethen38yearoldemphasisedthevalueofdreaming.

"Lifewouldbeflatwithoutdreams.Ithinkit'sreallyimportanttodreamandthen to chase those dreams..." Upon being conferred the Indian Air Force'shonorary rank of group captain in September 2010, he urged the youth to"dream,becausedreamsdocometrue."

Cross dominant Sachin (he bats, bowls and throws with his right hand butwriteswith the left)describedtheyear2010ashis"sweetest"butadmittedhisform"subsided"afewyearsago.

"There was a little dip for me, around 2005 and 2006. But I had a lot ofinjuries then. Ihad fingerandelbow injuriesand thenaback injury.All theseupperbodyinjuriesmayhavealteredmybackswingalittle.ButfortunatelyallthatisbehindmenowandI'vebeenabletoputinthehoursofpracticeneeded,"hesaid.

Members of Mumbai's Willingdon Sports Club, arguably India's mostprestigious,recallSachinbeingaskedduringhisformalinterviewforhiswife'smembershipbyamemberoftheBallotingandDisciplinaryCommittee,whetherhewouldturnoutfortheClub'sfriendlyfixtures.Thegenialgeniusrepliedwithasmile:"IfI'mselected."

Ever a soft-spoken, mild mannered gentleman who respects his elders, thesensitive, familyman has scrupulously refrained from touching upon his deephurt at the harsh words heaped upon him by his hitherto fanatical fans atMumbai'sWankhedeStadium,whoungratefullybooedhimduringhisoff-formphase.

In an example of constant evolution towards the ideal of perfection, Sachinhadalteredhisearlierstance,inwhichhewouldleanovermuchonhisweighty3lb40z(1.51kg),thick-edgedandheavilybowedbatwithheadinsufficientlyin

line with his toes. Moreover, his back-lift was pronounced, a failing whichopponentswerequicktospotinanageofubiquitousvideoscrutiny.

FormerTest openerAakashChopra,whohad the good fortune ofwatchingtheMasterBlasterbatfromtheotherend,wroteintheIndiaTodayCollector'sEditioninSeptember2010:"TheworldmayconsiderSachinTendulkartheGodofcricket,butforhimcrickethasalwaysbeenGodandheadevoutworshipper."

Tendulkar's social conscience — as evidenced by his contributions tohumankindthroughunsungphilanthropyanddiscreetinvolvementwithhumanecauses, including the Make A Wish Foundation and Mumbai-based NGOApnalaya, (throughwhichhesponsors200underprivilegedgirls)—isequallyimpressive. Recently he joined Nana Patekar, scientist Jayant Narlikar andPlanning Commission member Narendra Jadhav in a Noise Free Diwalicampaign.

In an erudite article in The Times of India, CP Surendran wrote that theEnglish language "failsTendulkar", in the sense that allwords and phrases ofpraise — prodigy, master, master-blaster, genius, super, perfect, terrific,consummate,fantastic,incomparable,saviour,phenomenon,historic,legendary,maximum-man,titanic,humungous,tremendous,incomparableandimmortal—havebeenfoundwantingindescribinghim.

Perhaps the most defining moment in Sachin's illustrious career, one thatillustrateshisparents'influenceonhim,washisunbeaten140inthe1999WorldCup in England, during which his father passed away on May 18, the nightbeforeIndia'smatchagainstZimbabwe.

Upon returning home for the funeral, Sachin was reportedly chided by hismother:"Youwereplayingforthecountry.Whoaskedyoutocomeback?"Inhis book Sachin— The Story of theWorld'sGreatest Batsman, Gulu Ezekielwrites:"Thelastritesover,SachinrushedbacktoEnglandforthecrucialmatchagainst Kenya to score 140 not out in an unbroken stand of 237 with RahulDravidin27overs."

Sachin dedicated his century to his father saying he had beenmotivated toanswer his country's call by his mother who said that his father would havewantedhimtostayback.

However, this is not to suggest that the Little Master, (of whom the greatShaneWarnejokinglyadmittedhavingnightmaresandMatthewHaydensaid,inallseriousness:"IhaveseenGod.HebatsatNo.4inIndiainTests,")iswhiteasdrivensnoweitheraspersonorcricketer.

In the courseof his distinguished22-year career, Sachin,whowas awardedthe Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award and the RajivGandhiKhelRatna,India'shighestsportinghonour,isveneratedasadeityinhiscountry.

Buthehasalsoshownthatheisameremortalwithfeetofclay—witnesshisrun-inswithauthority,cricketingandcivil.

Therewastheunsavourybrouhahaoverhisrequestforimportdutyexemptionfor the Ferrari F360Modena car presented to him byMichael Schumacher atSilverstone on behalf of Fiat, owners of Ferrari, when he equalled DonBradman'srecordof29TestcenturiesatPortofSpainonApril19,2002.

TheUnionMinistryofFinance(JaswantSinghwastheministerthen)initiallygrantedSachinexemptionfrompaymentof120percentexcisedutyamountingtoRs.11.3million on the car's value ofRs.7.5million.APIL (Public InterestLitigation)waslodgedintheDelhiHighCourtandtherewasanationaloutcryover the waiver. Tendulkar then agreed to pay the duty but Fiat stepped inbelatedlyandagreedtopickupthetab.

Sachin, then wet behind his ears, especially in financial matters, wasobviouslywronglyadvised,aswasindeedthecaseduringhiswidely-publicisedspatwithhischarteredaccountant.Fortunatelywisercounselprevailedevenasthemediasmeltthegenesisofajuicyscandal.Fortunatelythematterwassettledexpeditiouslywithoutmuchdamagetothereputationofeitherside.

During the 1999 home series againstNewZealand following his comebackafter back surgery, there was his inexplicable decision in the third Test atAhmedabadtorefusetoenforceafollow-onafterIndiawereaheadby275runs,which enabled the Kiwis to draw the match amid huge controversy anduncharitableallegations.

The CBI exonerated skipper Tendulkar (he had been awarded the ArjunaAward by theGovernment of India in 1994 in recognition of his outstandingachievements)andcoachKapilDevfollowinganinvestigationformatchfixingandcorruption.

The2001-02tourofSouthAfricasawTendulkarandfiveotherIndianplayershauled over the coals by match refereeMike Denness and fined for what heconsidered"excessiveandintimidatoryappealing"and"showingdissent"attheumpires'decisions.

ThechargeagainstTendulkar,inparticular,wasthathehadtamperedwiththe

ballwhile bowling, thereby "bringing the game into disrepute".As charges ofracismagainstDenness,aformerEnglandcaptainofScottishdescent,flewthickandfast,themaestrowasfined75percentofhismatchfeesandaone-Testbanwasslappedonhim,suspendinghimuntilDecember2001.

Sachinsaid later, in India, thathedidnot intend togoagainst the rulesandspiritofthegameandwasmerelycleaningtheball.

Followinganationwideuproar, thenBCCIheadhonchoJagmohanDalmiyademandedthatDennessbesackedfortheremainderoftheseries.SouthAfrica'sDennis Lindsay replaced Denness for the third match, which was termed'unofficial'.Dennesswas not allowed to enter the St.George's Park ground atPortElizabethuntilthebanonSachinwaslifted.

The true testofSachin's steely resolvecamewhenhestrucka leanpatch in2004 which prompted many critics, including former Australian captain IanChappelltowritethemaestrooff.

InhissignedcolumninMiDDAY,IanChappellcalleduponSachintoretireafter scoresof7 (againstBangladesh),57 (versusBermuda)and0 (againstSriLanka)inthe2007WorldCup.

Looking back at this phase of his career after becoming the most-cappedplayerinTestcricket(169)inthethirdandfinalTestagainstSriLankaattheP.SaraOval,Sachinreminisced:"Thejourneyhasgonebyquickly.Timeflies,youjust need to enjoy. There have been rough patches sometimes, but I havefollowedasimpleformula—wheneverIhavegonethroughthesephases,Ihaveworkedharder."

Thedisappointingrun,whichcontinuedinNewZealandandtheearlypartofthe 2003-04 tour of Australia, was exacerbated by some shocking umpiringdecisionsbut the champion silencedhisdetractors, scoring241notout in613minutesagainstAustraliaatSydneyinJanuary2004,hislongestinnings,whichwas notable for his fortitude and Spartan discipline in totally eschewing thecoverdriveinresponsetotheoff-sidebaitsetbySteveWaugh.

SteveWaughhaspointedout in IndiaToday: "Itwasafter theSydneyTestthat we saw a new, cautious, more accumulative batsman take over from hisearlierfree-flowingavatar."

It has been a roadwell travelled for Sachin fromhis international debut onNovember15,1989attheageof16onthetourofPakistaninwhichhescoredaferocious 53 off 18 balls, inclusive of 28 off one over (6,4,0,6,6,6) from

Pakistani great spin bowler Abdul Qadir in an exhibitionmatch at Peshawar,afterhehadbeendealtgrievousbodyblowsondebutbythefieryPakistanpaceattack.

In the finalTestatSialkot, thewunderkinddemonstrated rawcouragewhendecliningmedicalattentiondespitebeingstruckonthenosebyabouncer,whichcausedbloodtogush.ThePakistanattackthenincludedtheawesomethreesomeofImranKhan,WasimAkramandWaqarYounis.

Another sterling knockwas his unbeaten 194 against Pakistan atMultan in2004,thematchinwhichcaptainRahulDravidostensibly(but,SouravGanguly,accordingtosomepeople)declaredtheinningclosedwithSachinjustsixshortofhisdoublecentury.Theincidentcausedsomebadbloodamongsenior teammembersbuttheissuewasquicklyresolved.

Of Sachin's many memorable innings in his magnificent career, three inparticularstandout.

Onewas thematchagainstSouthAfrica in theHeroCupatKolkata'sEdenGardens in 1993. As mentioned by former India captain AjitWadekar in hisappreciationoftheLittleMaster,ithadbeendecidedattheteammeetingthat,intheeventofthematchgoingintothelastover,India'sgreatestall-rounderKapilDevwouldbeentrustedthearduoustask.

Wadekarwrites: (Page39)"SowhenSouthAfricaneededsix towinbeforethe start of the final over, as decided, I signalled thatKapil should bowl it. Icould see captain Azharuddin, Kapil and Sachin in a huddle. But somehow,Kapilwashesitantandseeingthis,Sachinofferedtobowlit.Hedidafinejobbyrestricting theSouthAfricanbatsmenand Indiawenton towin thematchandlaterthetournament."

Wadekaralso reminiscesabout the tourofNewZealanda fewmonths laterfor the one-day series. During the 1993-94 ODI series at Auckland, openingbatsmanNavjotSinghSidhupulledoutdue toastiffneck.WhileAzharuddin,Kapil andWadekar debated the team composition, Sachin stepped up saying:"Sir,isitokayifIopen?"ThecricketmanageremphasisedthatitwasimportantfortheteamtowinthegametowhichSachinreplied:"Don'tworry,"andwentontoplayafineinningsof82off49ballstoenableIndiatowin.

MydearfriendandcolleagueDickyRutnagur,settledinLondon,rememberswellSachin's 1990 "epic effort"which, according tohim, "saved India fromadefeat, which seemed inevitable when the scoreboard read 127 for 5 againstEngland."

"The boy," Rutnagur writes, "stood on the burning deck for four hours toremainundefeatedwith119,a remarkableperformance fromonewhohadnotyetputarazortohisface."

Mention must also be made of the unseemly spat with then coach GregChappellduringtheteam'spreparationforthe2007WorldCupintheCaribbeanwhen the coach criticised Sachin for his 'attitude' and suggested he bat lowerdowntheorderintheinterestoftheteam.SachinstoodhisgroundbuttheteamwasbootedoutofthetournamentintheveryfirstroundalongwithPakistantothefinancialdetrimentoftheWorldCup.

Further proof of Sachin's tenacity was provided on the 1991-92 tour ofAustralia when he scored an unbeaten 148 in Sydney and a century on thenotoriously fast and bouncy WACA wicket at Perth, prompting the puckishMervHughestoremarktotheillustriousAllanBorder:"Thislittleprick'sgoingtogetmorerunsthanyou,AB."

Thentherewasthememorable'sandstorm'(shamaal)centuryonthedirttrackof Sharjah in 1998 against the then all-conquering Australians. On his 25thbirthday, he hit another century against Australia which won the trophy forIndia.

The year 1999 saw Tendulkar return to England after attending his father'sfuneral inMumbai to score 140 off 101 balls in the very next match againstKenyainBristol.

And who can forget Sachin's unbeaten 241, followed by 60 not out in the2003-04drawnseriesagainstAustraliaatSydney?Strugglingtoregainhisform,the master batsman stoically cut out all shots to the off, despite ongoingblandishmentsofferedbyskipperSteveWaugh.

Perhaps the litmus test of Tendulkar's character was the eventful 2007-08'Monkeygate' tour ofAustralia,which came precariously close to being calledoff and triggering a diplomatic stand-off. Following allegations of racistbehaviour during the Sydney Test, the volatile Harbhajan Singh, asininelyrefused to learn that his quixotic notion of 'aggression' was not only counter-productivebututterlyunsportingandinrankbadtaste.

Bannedfor theremainderof the tournamentbythegoverningcouncilof thelucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) for his intemperate run-in with S.Sreesanth,hisIndiateammate,theirrepressibleSardarseemedsuitablychastisedas exemplified by the dramatic improvement in his batting in the 2010 Testseries against New Zealand, in which he scored back-to- back centuries at

AhmedabadandHyderabad. (RahulDravid jokedabout 'Bhajji'being the 'newSobers'.)Ironically,HarbhajanandSreesanth,whomadeupsubsequently,broketherecordforthe10thwicket(inIndiavsNZTests)intheHyderabadTestwithapartnershipof105.

InitiallychargedunderLevel3oftheICCCodeofConductbymatchrefereeMikeProcter on the 'Monkeygate' tour, the 'Turbanator'was let off by JusticeJohn Hansen, who conducted a subsequent inquiry, following evidence fromTendulkar. However, to this day, the Australian players and media areunconvinced that Tendulkar, Bhajji's close friend— an improbable friendshipconsidering their disparate personalities — did not hear Harbhajan's alleged"racistslur",asclaimed,eventhoughhewaspalpablywithinearshot.

Theincidentledtoafurorebackhome,withthemediashoutingitselfhoarsein a mass hysteria of self-righteous and chauvinistic (bordering on jingoistic)supportforHarbhajan.Thespinner'sTestbanwasliftedbuthewasfined50percentofhismatchfees.

Although the icon's image of integrity has been somewhat sullied DownUnder,asalsoinknowledgeablecirclesinIndiaandelsewhere,thefaithofmostfanaticalIndiandevoteesinSachin,remainsunshaken.HeishabituallythefirsttoboardandoccupyafrontseatwhilelisteningtomusiconhisiPod.

Forallhiscricketingsavvy,SachinTendulkarwasneverabrilliantcaptain,asevidenced by the team's success (or rather, failure) rate under his stewardshipagainstAustraliaandSouthAfrica.Hisexpectationsofhis teamwereoftenasdemandingastheoneshehasalwayshadofhimself,but,accordingtoinsiders,hewasoftenpronetoplacingfriendshipaboveteaminterest.

Moreover, Sachin's assertion to the media on September 3, 2010, that "NoIndian cricketer has ever been approached by a bookie" in his 22 years ofinternationalcricket,isincredulous.

On the flip side, insiders know well that during the 1999-2000 tour ofAustralia, then captain Tendulkarwas greatly upsetwhen the Indian selectorsdecided to fly out NayanMongia, who was allegedly involved in the match-fixing scandal (along with Mohammed Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, ManojPrabhakar and Ajay Sharma), as replacement for injured wicketkeeper MSKPrasad.

It's no secret that Tendulkar was so incensed over reports that the taintedAzharuddintoo,wouldbeflownover,thathecarriedhisletterofresignationinhispocket.

Ontheotherhand,furtherevidenceoftheself-effacingTendulkar'sdeferenceto thehighmoralgroundcamewhen, ina reference to theNewsof theWorldrevelations of 'spot-fixing' by three Pakistani players during the series againstEngland in England last year, he said unequivocally: "ICC should make athorough probe in the scandal and take appropriate action if the players arefoundguilty.Iftheallegationsaretruetheywillcertainlybringdisreputetothegame."

FormerAustralian captain IanChappell, for one, has faulted Sachin for hisreluctancetotakealeadershiproleinmattersconcerningthegame.

"Ifthere'sanycriticismofTendulkar'scareer,it'shislackofinfluenceonthegame off the field. He has steadfastly refused to become involved withcontentiousissuesaffectingthegame,"Chappellwrote.

Chappell,however,wentontosaythatheunderstandsSachin'sreasonswhenhesays:"Inhisdefence,whenyouhavetowearadisguiseandgetyourdrivingkicksat2:00amtoavoiddetection,itwouldbeself-defeatingtomakeheadline-grabbingstatements."

Toassertthatthereligious,fast-carloving,exemplaryfamilymanandson-in-law of industrialist Anand Mehta and social worker Annabel, has broughtunalloyedjoytocricketloverstheworldover,istostatetheobvious.

Moresignificantly,hehasboostedthesenseofnationalprideandself-esteemoffanaticalcricketaficionadosinanationofabillion-pluspeople,oftenhelpingtheirspiritssoarcelestiallyinanotherwisemundaneexistence.

Of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, posterity could well record, in the words ofWilliamShakespeareinJuliusCaesar:

"Hislifewasgentle,andtheelementsSomixedinhim,ThatNaturewouldstandupAndsaytoalltheworld,'THISWASAMAN'"

IIntroductionbySachinTendulkar

tgivesmebothprideandjoytoknowthatabookencompassingmycareerhasbeenputtogetherforcricketfans.ItcontainsarticleswhichappearedinMiD

DAYfrom1986to2012;itcoversalongstretchoftimeandmusthavetakenabigefforttoputthistogether.

The book has material covering even my formative years, as memorable aperiod for me as the years of international cricket. I will never forget DilipVengsarkarleavinghisTimesShieldmatchtovisittheCricketClubofIndia,tosee me bat for my school, Shardashram Vidyamandir. It drove me to pushmyself todobigger things. If Igotadoublehundred in schoolscricket, Iwasdriventofollowitupwithatriple.

In the1980s,all thiswaswell reportedby theMumbaipress. It'ssomethingthat gaveme a big thrill as a schoolboy. Looking back through this book onthoseearlyyears,evennowIappreciatewhatitdidformebackthen.

AsIbegantogothroughthebook,InoticedanarticlebySunilWarrier,whoprobablywas thefirst journalist I 'spoke' to.That interview,myfirstever,wasconducted at an Irani restaurant near Shivaji Park.Of course,my brotherAjitwaspresentthere.

Inmanyways,MiDDAYtomehasbeenapaperforMumbaianditscricket.IrememberhowsurprisedIwaswhentheydecidedtobringoutanentireeditiononme,tomarkmyturning30in2003.

Throughthisbook, it isas if Ihave lived through themanymoments inmylife,inwordsandpictures.TheybelongtojournalistsandphotographersIhaveknown,includingsomepicturesfromthepersonalcollectionsoffriends,whichbroughtbackalotofgoodmemories.

It has been a pleasure to knowKhalidAnsari, a veteran journalist,whom IfirstmetintheWestIndiesin1997.HiscontributiontoIndiansportsjournalismhas been significant and special. Sportsweek magazine, his brainchild, was apublicationwewouldlookforwardtoaskids.

Claytonhasbeenreportingonmycricketrightfrommyschooldays.Wehavespokenmanytimesandwhilewritingthisintroduction,Itriedtoremembertheseveralplacesthoseinterviewswereheld:athome,inairports,ontoursandeveninmycarafteroneofmytours.

Cricketers and journalists have a curious relationship through the ups anddowns. Clayton and I have enjoyed each other's trust and understood thepressuresofbothourprofessions.

I wish Sachin: Born to Bat by Khalid A-H Ansari and edited by ClaytonMurzelloeverysuccess.

SachinTendulkar

Perceptions

BishanSinghBediSpingreatandformercricketmanager

IalwaysgivecredittoSachin'smotherforgivingussuchagreatjewel.Hewasaborngenius.Hewasborntobatandthatiswhathehasbeendoingtothebestofhisabilityformorethan20years.

RichieBenaudThebiggestvoiceinthegame

He has defined cricket in his fabulous, impeccable manner. He is tobattingwhatShaneWarneistobowling.Courtesy:MSN

DhiruBhatiaSachin'sseniorteammateatCCI

WhenSachinTendulkarwasropedinasaplayingmemberoftheCricketClubofIndia,hewasaskedtomeetmeonhisfirstdayat theclub.Heapproachedmewiththewords,"Ihavecometoplaycrickethere."Thewordssummeduphisintentionsinaverysimplisticyetdirectway.

HarshaBhogleTelevisioncommentatorandcolumnist

Sachin'scontributiontoIndiancrickethasasmuchtodowithhisexploitsonthefieldashisdemeanouroffit.Heearned,evendemanded,respectand the system that produced him earned some as well. He could be

brutalonthefieldandgenerousoff it;demandingonitandconsiderateoff it; master of the game on it, a loyal servant off it. Sachin hadsomethingthatnaturebestowsonfew:agreatpassiontoperformandafantasticworkethictogowithhisambition.

IanChappellAustraliacaptainturnedcommentator

OneofthethingsthathaveimpressedmeaboutSachinTendulkarishispreparedness to work hard to enhance his wonderful natural skill.Tendulkarhasbeensmartenoughtorealisethattalentaloneisn'tenoughtobeachampion.

MalcolmConnChiefcricketwriteroftheNewsLtd.Group(Australia)

Themost remarkableaspectofSachinTendulkar's remarkablecareer isthegentlehumanqualitiesheportraysforsuchabrutalbatsman.

Tendulkarwasandisawelcome,complexcontrasttothebrashsportsstar.Asoulfulcharacterwhothinksdeeplyandspeaksquietly.Heisanexamplefortheages.

NariContractorFormerIndiacaptain

Sachin Tendulkar is a great cricketer, who gives a good name to thegentleman'sgame.Yes,despiteall thecontroversies,cricketcanstillbecalledagentleman'sgamethankstomenlikeTendulkar.

Inmanyways,he is theepitomeofhumilityandpoliteness.Just likehisbatting,heflowsnaturallywiththesequalities.

MikeCowardDoyenofAustraliancricketwriters

ThatSachinTendulkarissounremarkableawayfromthemiddlemakeshimthemostremarkablesoul.Hisstrengthliesinself-awareness,innatehumilityandacapacitytosimplifyacomplicatedlifeinthepublicgaze.Fewgreatmenspeaksoopenlyoftheirloveoffamilyandtheirmother'sfoodandoffaithinGodandguru.

KapilDevIndia's1983WorldCup-winningcaptainandcoachfrom1999to2000

Sachin Tendulkar is one of the greatest sportsmen produced by thiscountryandheistrulyalegend.Heisagreatambassadorforhiscountryaswellasforhissport.

However,Ihavenotheardhimtalkofwhathethinksaboutsportsinourcountry. Iwant tohearhisviewson thecurrentstateofaffairsandhowwecanimproveasasportingnation.

SameerDigheFormerMumbaiteammateandfriend

SachinTendulkar thepersonmakesSachinTendulkar thecricketer thathe is and Sachin Tendulkar the cricketer makes Sachin Tendulkar thepersonthatheis.

FarokhEngineerFormerIndiawicketkeeper

BrianLarawasalsoageniusbutourSachinkeptgoingandisstillgoingstrong,match aftermatch,with the same enthusiasm that has endearedhimnotonlyasthedarlingandthejewelofusfellowIndians,buttoallcricketloverstheworldover.

AndyFlowerFormerZimbabwecaptain

Therearetwokindsofbatsmenintheworld.One—SachinTendulkar.Two—alltheothers.Courtesy:MSN

AnshumanGaekwadFormerIndiabatsmanandcoach

Whatcanyousayofabatsman,whoscoresoneofthefinest,ifnotthefinest one-day inningsof all time, and tells his coach at the endof thematch thathewould like todiscusssomethingabouthisbatting thathewasnothappyaboutdeepintothenight?

That'sexactlywhatSachinTendulkardidon thenighthescored thatwhirlwindhundredagainstAustraliaatSharjahin1998,thatwentdown

inhistoryasthe'Sandstormton'.

HemantKenkreSachin'scaptainatCCI

HavingknownSachinTendulkar since1986, if there isoneaspect thathasremainedwithhim—apartfromhisinsatiableappetiteforruns—itis his humility and concern for the environment around him. When Iaskedhim,manyyearsago,whathewouldliketoberememberedas,hispromptreplywas:"Agoodhumanbeing.That'swhatmyfatheralwaystoldme."

GaryKirstenFormerIndiacoach

I spent many hours watching Sachin bat from my fielding position atmid-on and mid-off when I played cricket against him. My lastingmemorywasthatofhisuniqueabilityonslowwicketstoeffortlesslygettheballbackpastthebowlerandtotheboundary.Thisappearedtometobe a simple enough technique with little fuss and movement, yetexceptionallydifficultforanyoneelsetoexecute.WhenIwasgiventhehumbling and privileged honour of coaching the Indian cricket team, IwouldbegiventheuniqueopportunitytogettoknowSachinthepersonandreallyunderstandwhatmakeshimtick.AndIwasnotdisappointed.

PeterLalorChiefcricketwriterofTheAustralian

Itwas2004.SunilGavaskarwasatthenetsasanewgenerationofgreatstrained.VVSwasprobablythere.DravidandSehwagtoo.

The shattering sound, however, was for none of them. It was, ofcourse,forSachin,whowasnearbychattingquietly.He'dhadhisbacktothe standbut for amomenthehad turned toward them.Hehad smiledandwavedandtheyhadrespondedwiththatroaranditwasthenthatyougotsomeinklingoftheincrediblepowerhehas.It isaforcehedoesn'tbothertounderstandor,moreimportantlytoexploit,forheisahumbleman.Ahumbleman,whowalksquietlybutcarriesaverybigblade.

BrianLara

WestIndianbattinggreat

Sachinisagenius.I'mameremortal.Courtesy:MSN

SanjayManjrekarIndiabatsman-turned-commentator

SachinTendulkarwas fortunate that hewas born in the family that hewas.TheTendulkarsareveryshy,softspoken,introvertedpeople,withgreatrespectforfellowhumanbeings.Sachinisnodifferent.Thatalltheunprecedented fame, that came his way at a very tender age, did notchangehimissomethingIfindasunbelievableashiscontinuedsuccessinthe22ndyearofhiscricketingcareer.

ChristopherMartin-JenkinsCricketwriterandformerMCCpresident

MyfirstsightingofSachinTendulkarwasatLord'sin1990.ThemasteryofhistechniqueforsomeonewhowassoinexperiencedinTestcricketiswhat stood out forme.Hewas full of composure.My best Tendulkarmomentwouldhavetobethebrillianthundredinthe1990OldTraffordTest, and that great catch he took to dismissAllan Lamb down at thesightscreenatLord'sinthesameserieswasmemorable.

AtulRanadeClose friend Devacha mulga (God's child) is what I called Sachin

RameshTendulkar inprivateafterhisODI200againstSouthAfrica in2010.Thesewordscameoutwhilewatchinghimdishoutthatinningstobillions of his followers. It was also a thappad (slap) aimed at some'pundits'ofthegamewhohavenotdoneanythinggreatforthecountry.

AshisRayCricketwriter,UK

WhenIinvitedSachinTendulkartoattendthelaunchofmybookOne-DayCricket:TheIndianChallengeattheCricketClubofIndia,Mumbaiin 2007, hewas unable to accept because of a prior commitment. He,however, suggested that he would be happy to pose with the book topubliciseit.Heneednothavedonethis.Yet,hewentoutofhiswaytoassist.Sachinisarareamalgamofgoodnessasamanandgreatnessasa

cricketer.

PeterRoebuckThelatecricketwriter

SachinTendulkar is themostcompleteofbatsmen.His strength lies inhisabilitytocombinethepragmaticandtheideal.Moreoverhedoessowithout undue strain. Mozart strove to exalt but did not forget toentertain.NaturepreventsTendulkarfromproducinganuglystroke.

DickyRutnagurCricketwriter,UK

It may be hyperbolic, but the urge to look upon Sachin Tendulkar ascricket'sMozartisirresistible.IftheAustriangeniuswasonlysixyearsold when he put his signature to his maiden composition, a set of sixminuets,thisboyfromBandra,whowastoplayTestcricketfor20yearsandmore and blossom into themost prolific scorer in its history,wasonly12whenhescoredtwocenturiesinanunder-19competition.

Anabundanceofnatural talentwasnot theonlygiftProvidencehadsetSachinoffwithinlife.Hewasplacedinafamilyboundbyloveandhigh principles, which is why success, fame, universal adulation andwealth notwithstanding, his feet have remained firmly planted on theground.

The first to recognise Sachin's potential and take on the role of hismentorwashis brother,Ajit, 11years his elder.Ajitwas to the youngcricketing genius what father Leopold was to the child WolfgangAmadeusMozart.

JatinParanjapeSachin'sRanjiTrophyteammate

IhaveknownSachinforthepast29years.Therewasonlyonethinghewasfocusedonthen,andthereisonlyonethingheisfocusedonnow—cricket. Even at that time, there was no doubt in my untrained butinstinctivemind, thatSachinwasdestinedtobe thegreatestbatsmanintheworld.

VasuParanjape

FormerNationalcoach

Sachin was selected in the under-15 coaching camp organised by theBoardofControlforCricketinIndia,inIndore.Onenight,IwaswokenupbythewatchmanoftheNehruStadiumcomplainingthattherewasasoundofbathittingballemergingfromoneoftheroomsandthesoundwasdisturbingeveryoneinthehostel.

I was enraged on being woken up and knew the boy who must bemaking the noise. He was right. It was then that I admonished thewatchman,saying,"don'tcomplaintome.Goandjoinhim."

RahulSagarSachin'steammateonthe1988StarCricketClubtourtoUK

In 1988,KailashGattani took an under-19 team to tour theUK. Eventhoughweplayedabout20gamesin30daysfromBrightonintheSouthtoAberdeen inScotland, you could never get enoughofwatchinghimbat.Sachinwas15yearsoldatthetime.

InHuddersfield,Yorkshire,weplayedagainsta teamofexperiencedPakistani first-class players. He played an innings of 80 and won thematch for us in very difficult conditions. They were so excited andimpressedwithhimthatthesponsoroftheirteaminvitedourentireteamtotheirlovelyrestaurantfordinner.

RajeshSanghiBusinessmanandunder-15teammate

I firstmetSachin in1985onourMumbaiunder-15 tour.Hewasakidbrimming with passion, energy, fun and mischief. Although he wasobsessiveaboutcricketandseemedatpeacewithhimselfonlywhenhehittheballdeadperfect,itwasquiteasighttowatchhimperfectinghis"drive"onthegamingmachinespursuinghisotherpassion,offastcars.

RajdeepSardesaiTelevisionpersonality

Iwasprivileged towatchSachinTendulkar's first first-classhundred. Iwas inTheTimesof India in1988.Print journalism in thedaysbeforethemadness of 24-hourTV set in offeredone the luxuryof taking theafternoonofftowatchagameofcricket.SuchwasSachin'sreputationas

aschoolboycricketer,thatagroupofusfeltalmostobligedtobethereatwhatwesawas thedawnofanewera in Indiancricket.True to form,Sachindidnotdisappoint. In thatdebutgameagainstGujarat,he lituptheWankhedeStadiumwith an array of powerful shots that had us onour feet. At an age when teenagers are hoping to find a girl to date,Sachinwasreadytokeephisdatewithhistory.Inthe24yearssincethatsunny afternoon in Mumbai, Sachin has written a new chapter incricketing history, achieving the quite remarkable record of a 100internationalhundreds.

ButSachin'srealgeniusliesnotjustinhisabilitytokeephiseyesontheball,buthisfeetontheground.

RaviShastriFormerteammateclosesttoTendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar's longevity, sheer consistency and the weight of hisperformancesovertheyearsmakehimthechampioncricketerthatheis.

IwasfortunatetoseehimtakinghisfirststepsininternationalcricketonthatPakistantourof1989-90.Whatstruckmefirstwashisgeniusandtons of natural ability. But, equally important,was the ability tomakebattinglookeasy.

Therewasastagein2007whenthingswerenotsmooth.Hehadafewinjuries andwasnot in thebest of form. Iwasmanageron the tour ofBangladeshthatfollowedtheWorldCupandIremembermakingitverycleartothemedianottomessaroundwithhimbecausehecanslapyouintheface.Whatfollowedwasoneofthemostsuccessfulphasesinhiscricketingcareer.

SVenkataraghavanSpingreatandinternationalumpire

WhatIadmireaboutSachinTendulkar ishishumility.Hehashisheadon his shoulders and has not allowed anything to go to his head afterachievingsomuchontheworldstage.Sachinalwaysshowedthatheiswilling to learnand loves tohaveconversationswithpeople.Basically,heknowshowtoliveinthepresenceofhiselders.

AjitWadekar

FormerIndiacaptain,whowasmanageroftheteamfrom1992to1996

TwoincidentsduringmytimeasmanageroftheIndianteambringtotheforeSachinTendulkar's qualities as a cricketer— the last over againstSouth Africa in the 1993 Hero Cup at Kolkata and the one-dayinternationalagainstNewZealandinAuckland,1994.

FirsttheHeroCupsemi-final:Itwasdecidedattheteammeetingthatifthematchwentintothelastover,KapilDevwouldbowlit.SowhenSouth Africa needed six to win before the start of the final over, asdecided, I signalled that Kapil should bowl it. I could see captainAzharuddin, Kapil and Sachin in a huddle. But somehow, Kapil washesitantandseeingthis,Sachinofferedtobowlit.Hedidafine jobbyrestrictingtheSouthAfricanbatsmenandIndiawentontowinthematchandlaterthetournament.

Afewmonthslater,wetravelledtoNewZealandforaone-dayseries.I remember being at the ground before the start of the Auckland one-dayerandgettingamessagethatourregularopenerSidhuwouldnotbeplayingashehadastiffneck.WhileAzhar,KapilandIponderedwhoshouldopen,Sachin said, "Sir, is it okay if Iopen?" I lookedatAzharand Kapil and they didn't say anything. "Go ahead," I said, beforestressingthatweneededtowinthisgame."Don'tworry,"hesaid,beforegoingontoplayafineinningsof82off49balls.Andyes,wewon.

JohnWrightIndiacoach(2001to2005)

SachinTendulkarhasagenuinelove,passionandrespectforthegame.Healsounderstands thathe isplaying forhiscountry.The reasonwhyhe'ssolovedisbecausepeopleknowonceSachinwalkstothewicketorwalkstothefield,heisplayingnotonlyforhimself,butforthepeopleherepresents.Andinthismodernday,that'sveryspecial.ItcouldhavebeensoeasyforSachintotakethefootoffandgointoacomfortzone,but I don't think he ever thinks about a comfort zone. Hiswork bearstestimonytothis.FatherTimewillcatchupwithhimoneday.Italwaysdoes,butithasn'tyet!

Sachin’sB.R.E.T.T.Factor

SunilGavaskar

Fromonebattinglegendtoanother.India'soriginalLittleMasterpullsouthispraisebrushtopaytributetoSachinTendulkarwho,intheopinionofmany,isthegreatestIndianalive.

The one thing that strikes you about Sachin Tendulkar is his Balance. As abatsman it is so crucial tohave thebalance that enableshim togo forwardorbackwithequalfelicity.Evenwhenabowlerbowlsagreatdelivery,Sachinmaybebeatenormaygetoutbutheneverlooksoffbalance.Thebalanceonthefieldishelpedbybalanceoffthefield.Despitebeinginthepubliceyeandoneofthemostrecognisedfacesonplanetearthheisstillthesamekidwhofirstcameintothe spotlight with his exploits with the bat while still in school. Yes, he is aconfidentyoungmannowbutthereisnoairorattitudeabouthim.

ThesecondthingthatstrikesyouishisRespectforthegame.Heknowsthatthegameiswhathasmadehimandhehasnevershownanythingbutthegreatestrespectforthegame.HisEnthusiasmforthegameremainsundiminishedandheisstilllikeaschoolboywhenitcomestoplayingthegame.

Then there is Talent of course and the world knows that God took somespecialtimeoutwhenhewascreatingSachin.TalenthoweverisnothingwithoutTemperament and his temperament is such that the biggest of crises does notfazehim.HethushastheBRETTfactorandoneisnotreferringtohisadversaryBrettLeehere.IndiamayhavelosttheKohinoor,buttheystillhaveSachin.

SachinTendulkarwithSunilGavaskarandfriendVinodKambliatafelicitationfunctionin1987.

Piccourtesy:TheMakingofaCricketerbyAjitTendulkar

Archives

DoingaperfectsaluteafterreceivingthehonoraryrankofGroupCaptainofIndianAirForceinNewDelhionSeptember3,2010.

Sachin—ANewStarontheHorizon

S

SunilWarrier

ThispieceisaresultofSachinTendulkar’s firsteverinterview. It was conducted at an Irani restaurantnear Shivaji Park with Sachin’s brother Ajit inattendance. As you will discover in the piece, hefancied limited overs cricket rather than the longerversion.

hardashram,beittheEnglishortheMarathimediumschool,hasalwaysbeenin the news because of the cricketing abilities it produces. It has always

managed to win a major inter-school title every year. This year Shardashram(English)hasbeeninthenews.Theplayersannexedboth, theGilesaswellastheHarrisShield.

In the Harris Shield, they retained the title when they beat their sisterschoolmates, fromShardashram (Marathi) and in theGiles, theydefeatedDonBosco,Matunga to record a grand double.And the boywhomade it possiblewasSachinTendulkar.

This pint-sized boy has been in such prolific form this season that he wasselected for theBombay under-15 team and also for theWest Zone under-15team.Sachin,whois13yearsoldandstudiesinStdVII,tookupplayingcricketathisbrother'sinsistence.AjitTendulkaristheonlyothermemberofthefamilywho plays cricket. He plays in the 'A' division in the local league matches.Although his father, who is a professor in Kirti College, did not knowmuchaboutcricket,Sachinwasalwaysencouragedbyhim.Nowadays,Sachinplayssomuchthatheishardlyathomeanddoesnotevenget timetostudy.Buthedoesintendtoobtainhisgraduationdegree.

WithRamakantAchrekar,hiscoach.Piccourtesy:TheMakingofaCricketerbyAjitTendulkar

Sachin was coached by Ramakant Achrekar, the school coach, VasuParanjape,DasShivalkarandalsobyMilindRege.HealsousedtoattendcampsconductedbyBalwinderSinghSandhuattheRashtriyaChemicals&Fertilizersvenue where the latter and Sandeep Patil advised him to bowl leg-spin, buteventually changed tactic as Sachinwanted to be an attacking bowler. Sachindoes not like to plod on while batting. He always prefers to attack. His onlyambitionistoscorecenturies.

Acloseupshotinthe1988-89season.

ThisseasonintheHarrisShield(under-17)hescored276againstBPMHighSchool,Kharinoneday.Hecameintobatwhenhissidewastotteringat26for2andwentontoscoreadoublecentury.InthesecondroundagainstStXavier's,he scored 123 and also captured eightwickets for a paltry 29 runs.AlthoughSachindidnothaveagoodscoreinthesemi-finalagainstStMary's,herattledup42and150runs,andcapturedtwowicketsfor48inthefirstinningsandtwofor 57 in the second against Shardashram (Marathi) in the final. In the Giles(under-15) tourney, in the first round against Balmohan Vidyamandir, Sachinhad an unbeaten knock of 159 against his name. In the next round againstBarfiwalahescoredanothercentury—156.Healsocaptured4wicketsfor29runsinthesecondinnings.AgainstStMary'sinthesemi-final,Sachinmissedadouble ton by a whisker, falling three short. He again captured five wicketsconceding 75 runs in the second innings. In the final against Don Bosco, hescoredtwohalfcenturiesandalsocapturedawicket.

After all his good showing it was no wonder that he was selected for theBombay and West Zone team for the Vijay Merchant Trophy. And in thattrophy,Sachinscoredanotherton—123againstMaharashtra.PlayingforWestZonehescored74runsandalsocapturedawicketagainsttheSouthZoneteam.Healsocaptained theunder-15GilesShield teamandwas thevice-captainfortheHarrisShieldteam.Thesquare-cutandtheoff-drivearehisfavouritestrokes,while Vivian Richards and Sunil Gavaskar are his favourite batsmen. Sachindoes notmiss an opportunity to see them in action, either on video or in thecricketingarena.Helovestoplayone-daycricketmorethanafour-daymatch.Hisnaturalinstinctsaretoattackfromthewordgo.

Sachin devotes somuch time to cricket that he does not have time to takeinterest in anyothergame.Buthe loves towatch tennis.After thememorable

Borg-McEnroeclashin1980,Sachinlethishairgrow—Borgstyle.Sincethenithasalwaysbeencricketandmorecricket.

In thefewfreehours thathegets,he listens towesternmusic.Whywesternmusic,whenhisfatherisapoet?MostofhisfriendsarefromBombayScottish,as he lives in Shivaji Park, and they all love western songs. He thrives onMichaelJackson'ssongs.Sachinisalsoagoodsinger.

SeemstobeanotherSandeepPatilinthemaking!

December1986

WithVinodKambli(left)andRickyCoutoduringtheirschooldays.

Athome,agedthree.Piccourtesy:TheMakingofaCricketerbyAjitTendulkar

PlayingaroundintheSahityaSahawascolonyinBandra.Picscourtesy:TheMakingofaCricketerbyAjitTendulkar

>

TheStartofItAll...

M

MilindRege

MilindRegeisafortunateman.HehaswatchedSunilGavaskar as well as Sachin Tendulkar in theirformativeyears.AndbeingaMumbai selectorat thetimeadded to his credibility inwriting this piece forSportsweekmagazine.

anyyearsago,inthelate50swhenSunilGavaskarandIweretinytots,weusedtodreamofmeetingthegreatRohanKanhaiinperson.

Sport and Pastime, the only authentic sports magazine in those days, hadgivenacentrespreadofKanhai'sstance,fullsleevedandasusualwithoutacap.

Whatwasnoticeableabouthisstancewashisgrip.Bothhishandswereclosedtogetherandplacedrightatthebottomofthehandle.Youcouldclearlyseethetopofthered-rubberedhandle.

In many ways, Bombay's young sensation Sachin Tendulkar has a similargrip.Butthereendsallsimilarity.Beforemakinganycomparisonswithplayersof the past, let me request all of Sachin's well-wishers not to indulge in thisexercise, for such indulgencecanbeexcessivelydamaging to theyoungman'sfuture.

Australia, as we have seen, had too many boy Bradmans. Just as in ourcountry,therearemanyminiGavaskars,fromtheSouth,andtheWest,etc.

Asaformermemberof theBombayjuniorselectioncommittee,IhaveseenSachinblossom.EveryspareminutethatSachinhad,Ihaveseenhimwithabat.Infact,whenIwasinPunethreeyearsago,hewasbattinginthecorridorofthehotel.

Sachinhasanatural flair forhittingbrilliant strokes. In fact,he is endowedwithtremendoustalent.Bombayhasquiteafewtalentedyoungbatsmen.ButthemostfamousistheTendulkar-Kamblicombination.

AdorningtheMumbaiunder-19capwithpride.

WhenSachinwasinductedamongthereservesoftheBombayteamlastyear,manyanexpertfeltthathewasbeingrushedintobigcricket.Ipersonallyfeltthesamelastyear.Howwrongtheso-called'pundits'ofthegamecanbe!WeattheCricketClubofIndia(CCI),decidedtogivethisboyafeelof'bigcompany'.Wedid away with tradition by allowing a 15 year old to use the club's dressingroom.Truly,theCCIisinmanywaysresponsibleforputtingSachinontherighttrack, as indeed it did to Sandeep Patil. Given the difficult conditions of theKanga league, Sachin played like a grown-upman.On a drying track, Sachinwasrightontopoftheball.Eventheseniorsintheteamfellbywayofclass.

We decided to induct Sachin straightaway in the Ranji Trophy XI andproposed that he would bat at number four. Every member in the team wasdelightedwiththewaySachinbatted.Infact,hewastheonlyonetodriveonthefront-foot toPradeepKasliwal,AnirudhKher andAnupSabnis,whoworknoindecentpaceastheWankhedepracticewicketsarefairlynippy.

ThereasonwhyIsaythisisbecauseeverybodythesedaystendstogoontheback-foottoamediumpacer.

SunilGavaskar,whoIunderstanddidnotwatchcricketonacontinuousbasis,

evenduringhisTestplayingdays,madeitapointtocomeandseeSachinbat.The crowd that camewas there only to see him.And at one point in time, aGujarat fielder, onnot attempting a lofteddrive to catchLalchandRajputwasbooedalltheway,notthatthisisanythingnewattheWankhedeStadium.Allofuswatchingwere fairly keyed to see how a child prodigy played his first biginnings.Wewereallhopinghewoulddowell.Honestly,Ipersonallywantedtoseehowtheladwouldthrashthebowling.Hewalkedinandwashemmedinbyclose-infielders.Tillnowitwasalwaystheunder-15,17and19.Hisfirstballwas defended on the front-foot. But the next was beautifully placed at mid-wicket.A-laDilipVengsarkarforfour,thenextwasdefended.ThenonceagainSachin stepped out and placed the ball between mid-off and extra-cover foranothersizzlingboundary.

WhatIlikeaboutSachinisthatheisabsolutelycomfortableinbigcompany.There are many players in the present team who are still not at ease whileplayingthislevelofcricket.Sachingotthisbaptismbythenewball.Asifouttoprove the folly of selecting this young lad to play among the big guys, theGujarat bowlers were at Sachin's throat. Sunil Gavaskar, Eknath Solkar,RamakantDesai,SudhirNaik,VasuParanjapeandsomanyothersnoddedtheirappreciation.OnlyRajSinghDungarpurwhohadwaitedallmorningmissedoutaninningsoftruequalityandclass.

But Rajbhai will not have to wait long. The press hailed this prodigy andimmediatelybegancomparinghimtothegreatGavaskar.

KapilDevhasrightlysaidthatmanyacareerhasbeennippedinthebudbysuch comparisons. There was a young boy named Guru Gupte, who wasextremelytalented,butsomewherealongthelinehefizzledout.Iunderstandinthe recent past, Rajdip Kalsi was also promising but there is one thing I candefinitely say: Sachin, though 15, bats like a 26 year old. Itwould be a greatsighttowatchSachinbatwithhiscaptain,DilipVengsarkar.Itwillbeanobjectlesson for him to learn the tricks of the trade from the world's number oneplayer.Also,Isincerelyhopethatallthe'technicians'ofthegameleaveSachinalone.Leavehimonlytohiscoach,RamakantAchrekar,foritisonlyAchrekarwhoknowsSachin,histemperament,hisattitude,andaboveall,histalent.

WithMilindRege,whoplayedanimportantroleinTendulkar’sdevelopment.

Ifoneistogodownmemorylane,Sachinwillprobablyfallinlinewithsuchwonderful stroke players as Gundappa Vishwanath, Dilip Vengsarkar, KapilDev, Ramesh Saxena, Chandu Borde, Dilip Sardesai, Ajit Wadekar andHanumantSingh.Butitisalongclimbtothetop.

GavaskarandVengsarkarwere lucky that theyhad 'Marshall'VithalPatil tobowltothemhourafterhourattheDadarUnionnets.PatilfeltthatSunilneededtoplay50outswingerseveryday.He fedhimwith this.Sachinalsoneeds theoutswingers, but unfortunately, Patil has stopped playing, andBombay has nooneelsewhocandothis.Also,anothersmallrequesttothewell-wishersoftheyoungcricketer:nomorefelicitations.Letusleavehimaloneforthereismanyaslipbetweenthecupandthelip.

December1988

SachinHasAlwaysBeenBold

H

ShardaUgra

CricketteachesyoutotaketheroughwiththesmoothandSachinTendulkardidthatwellonhismaidenTesttour — to Pakistan in 1989. Here’s how his fatherRamesh and brother Ajit felt when they saw the 16year old’s baptism by fire against the likes of ImranKhan,WasimAkramandWaqarYounis.

e's always been temperamentally bold. He knows the strength of theopposition he's facing. "We are the oneswhoworry,"RameshTendulkar,

the fatherofSachinTendulkar (whono longerneedsany introduction!)," sayswhen asked about how Sachin faced the Pakistani quick ones. Being India'scricketingprodigyissomethingthis16yearoldhastocopewith.Sittingonthesidelineswatchingtheirson'sbaptismbyfireiswhattheTendulkarfamilyhastogothrough.

TheyhavewatchedmostofSachin'smatchesexcepthishurricaneinningsinthe Peshawar one-day exhibition match. "We thought he wouldn't play, so IheardofhisinningsonlywhenIreturnedfromcollege(TendulkarSr.teachesatKirtiCollege).Ithinkhedidverynicelyinthisseries."

Butit'snotonlythesuccessthatthefamilyhavefollowed.Hisfathersawhimon TV being hit by a bouncer on the nose in the Sialkot Test. "I was veryworried,butmygreatest solacecame from the fact thatmysonAjithadgonetheretobewithhim.Then,IranghimupatSialkotandhetoldmenottoworryas itwasnothing.Before the teamleft, the teamdoctor,Dr.VishwasRaosaidthatSachinwouldbewelllookedafter."

WasimAkramappealsunsuccessfullyduringthe1989-90seriesagainstIndia.

AjitwenttomeetthewoundedsoldierwithoneofSachin'sfriendsfromthebuildingwheretheylive."HewasveryhappytoseeAvinashandme.Theinjurywasbecausehe tried toduckaftercommittinghimself.Theseamcuthisnose.WhenIwentthere,itwasswollenbutthat'sall.AndSachinwasmoreworriedaboutIndia'spositionthanhisowninjury,"saysAjit.Inateamfullofseniors,twofamiliarfacesfromhomemusthavegivenhimmorecourage.

"TherewillalwaysbetensionwhenheplaysforIndia.HehasbeentoLondonbuthehasgotachancetoplayforIndia.Withinashortspanoffiveyears,hehasmovedfrominter-school toTestcricket. It issuchanopportunity forhim.Hewas very sure from the beginning aboutwhat hewanted.Therewas sometalkoftakinghimearlierintotheIndianteamtogototheWestIndies.Iaskedhimwhether hewould bewilling to go on the tour andwhether hewould beafraid.Hesaiditwasalright,hewouldgo.Heisnotafraid,”saysAjit.Sachinhimselfisnotsuperstitious.Ashisfathersays,“Ononehand,webecomemore

sensitivetowhatissaidabouthimandmoresuperstitious,butontheotherhand,weknowthatheiscapableofplayingwell.Wehavefaith.EvenSachinpraystoGod.”

Somemightfeelthatthepressurecookerenvironmentistoomuchforachildto take. “We left it to the selectors,” says Ramesh Tendulkar. Now thatTendulkarhas justifiedhisselection,Ajitsays,“Ihopehewillbeable tokeepeverythinginproportionandnotgetaswollenhead.Butyoucanneversay.Atthemomentheisafriendlyboy.Butcricketishismainpriority.Hepracticesforaboutsevenhoursaday.”Ajitisaonewhonurturedhisyoungerbrother’stalentandsawthepotentialthatthispint-sizedboyhad.AjittookhimtohiscoachinschoolandfromthenonSachin’stalenthaspropelledhimforward.

He’s still in college and his father is keen that he continues his education.“WhenSachinstartedtogetrecognition,SunilGavaskarwrotehimletterabouttheimportanceofcontinuing,saysRameshTendulkar.“Gavaskartoldhimthateducationwouldbeveryimportanttogettingthroughbadpatchesinlife.Apartfrom that, with education, you learn other things – culture, grace. We don’texpectgreatresultsfromhim.HegavehisSSClastyearaftertakingpartintheRanjisemi-finalsandallhisfriendshelpedhim,camehere,satwithhimandhegotthrough.Infact,itwashisdecisiontositfortheexams.Wehaveletallourchildrenchoosewhattheywantedtodoandencouragedtheminthat.”Ajit,fromwhomSachinisinseparable,saysthatthestoriesofSachin’ssleepwalkingaretrue.“Hedoes it all the timehere.Even Iused to.He talks inhis sleep, takescatches,asksforhisbat.Helovesthegamealot.”

Now that Tendulkar has justified his selection, Ajitsays, “I hope he will be able to keep everything inproportion and not get a swollen head. But you canneversay.”

TheTendulkarswaitfortheson,whohasmadethemsoproudtoreturnonthe24th.

December21,1989

MarvellousatManchester

M

HarshaBhogle

Celebrated cricket commentator and author of thispiece, Harsha Bhogle entitled his book on India’s1990 tour of England, The Joy of a Lifetime. Itprobablywouldn’thavebeen thathad itnotbeen forSachin Tendulkar’s maiden Test hundred at OldTrafford.

BattingpartnerManojPrabhakaroffershiscongratulationsasTendulkarreturnstothepavilionafterscoringhisfirstTestcenturyagainstEngland

atManchesterin1990.

ANCHESTER: Long after the Old Trafford Test match becomes justanother page inWisden, thememory of a charming, almost embarrassed

youngmanreceivingtheManoftheMatchawardwilllinger.SachinTendulkarwillscoremanymorehundredsforIndiabutthefreshnessofthisonewillneverfade.“Iwas there,” the spectatorswill say foreverandwhata tragedy therewere

only1778ofthem.Neverwasitmoretrulysaidthatthelosswasentirelytheirs.

They say romantics never win. That they dazzle and depart leaving greattragediesbehindthem.SachinTendulkarprovedthemwrongwithahundredofsuchromancethattheheartalloweditselftosoakitselfinit,thethroatallowedalump to form and an unknown force picked a sprinkling of spectators andbroughtthemtotheirfeet.

IfSachin(andpardontheuseofthefirstname)hadinheritedhisfather’sloveforliterature,hecouldn’thavewrittenabetterscript.Andone’sheartwentouttohisbrotherAjit,fiddlingnervouslywiththeradio,nodoubt.AftertheLord’sTesthehadblamedhispresenceforSachin’sfailuresincetheboyhaddonenowrongtillthen.Hewouldhavegrownthreeinchestallertoseehislittleprotégécomeofageanddohiscountryproudsomany thousandsofmilesawayfromthathallowedlandcalledShivajiPark.

Tendulkar walked in at 109-4, having just seenManjrekar and Vengsarkardepart at the same score. Twentyminutes later he saw his captain, on whomIndiahaddependedsomuch,edgedintothelegtrap.

They say romantics never win. That they dazzle anddepart leaving great tragedies behind them. SachinTendulkarprovedthemwrong...

Only once did he waver. When there was need for caution, he opted foradventureandHemmings’wearyhandsthatseemeddestinedtospinEnglandtovictory,lethimdown.

Thereafter he was the master of all he surveyed, his bandaged bat comingstraightasapendulum.WhenHemmingsbowled,hecrouchedandalmostsmelttheballinamannerthatwouldmakehiscoach,RamakantAchrekar(whomhepubliclythankedlater)proud.AndwhenFraserandMalcolmbowled,hestooduprightlikehewas10feettall.

YoungSachinouttoprovehimself.

AsIndiainchedalongandtheprospectofsavingthegameappearedrealafterall, he rose in stature. "Softly, oh softly,we bear her along," SarojiniNaidu'sPalanquinBearershadsaid.Theywouldhavesunginthesamerhythmtoseeayoungmancarryinghissidewiththesamefeelingandcare.

At Napier, the brashness of youth had cost him a hundred. Here too, theyouthfulnesswas there,butonly inphysique.MentallyTendulkarhadmaturedmorethanmostwouldinalifetime,ashefirstreachedhishighestTestscoreandthenahundred.

HisteammatesappearedonthebalconyandasTendulkartookhishelmetoff,

onerealisedonceagain,thatthesteelyeyesitexposedhadastrictlyadolescentlookbehindthemafterall.Therewasnoflailingofarms,nopunchingoffists,justalittlesmileandaraisingofthebat.

For,itwasahundredthatwasachievedandcelebratedwithpoiseanddignity.What a tragedy that while television can show some picture of youthfulachievement, brash, cocky and irreverent, in Andre Agassi, it cannot showanotherthatwouldbesuchafittingmodelforteenagers.

Spare a thought forManoj Prabhakar, in themidst of a gruesome tour. Hemusthavewished,attimes,thathehadthetalentofTendulkar.Buthemadeupforitwithdeterminationinequalmeasure.Hestooduptothetestjustassternlyandhisbathadneverbeenbroader.Admittedly therewasanedgeandGooch,showingagainwhatagreatlevellerthisgameis,putitdown.For150minuteshebattledinwhatclearlymustbethemostvaluableinningshehasplayed.

And as the coverswere pulled on inOldTrafford, the sunmade a fleetingsolitary appearance to bestow his blessings on Tendulkar and as his inningsbecamehistory,onlymemoriesremained.

They'lltakesomeerasing,those.

August16,1990

NoPerthPangsforSachin

P

AyazMemon

Sachin Tendulkar has always maintained that hisPerth hundred against Australia in the 1991-92 Testserieswashisbest ton.TheAussieswhomhebattledagainston the fastestpitch in theworldwouldagreeforsure.Here’sAyazMemon’smorningdispatchfromtheWesternAustraliaCricketAssociationground...

ERTH: Tendulkar reiterated his enormous batting talent to score his thirdTest hundred and rescue India from an utterly precarious situation on the

thirdmorningofthefinalTestheretoday.

As he stood at only 50 when Kapil Dev and Manoj Prabhakar followedVenkatapathyRajutothedressingroominrapidsuccession,Tendulkar(112)inthecompanyofadeterminedKiranMore(11),raisedIndia'stotalfrom159-8to233-8atlunch.

EverytimeTendulkarmakesahundredheseemstooutdohispreviouseffort.The debate amongst aficionados, therefore, about themerits of his three Testcenturies continues. But for sheer tenacity, precision and power in strokeplayandcapacitytocontrolthegamecompletely,thisinningswilltakesomebeating.

Tendulkar rose from the ruins of the Indian batting to the stature of a titanwithintwohoursofgloriousbatsmanship.

MikeWhitney,openingthebowlingthismorning,gotthreewicketsfrom22deliveriestoplungeIndiaintogravecrisis.

Rajuwent in thefirstoverof theday,KapilDevhoistedstraight tofine legaftersurvivingasecondballchancetoslip,whilePrabhakarslashedthesecondballhereceived,straighttogully.

AcknowledgingthecheersfromthePerthcrowdafterreachinghissizzlinghundredin1992.

TheendlookedimminenttillTendulkardevastatedallAustralianjoywithhisbrilliance.

Hescored81ofthe98runsmadebyIndiainthesession,mostofthemwithdrives,offthefrontfootandback,infrontofthewicket.

Hughes, bristling with aggression, was hit for four boundaries, the cocky

Whitney for three,debutantReiffel for twoandMcDermott,broughtbelatedlyintotheattack,foranothertwo.

The first fromMcDermott, a straight drive played with negligible backlift,took Tendulkar to his hundred which included 14 fours and came off 135deliveries.

February3,1992

TendulkarandKambliinacheerfulmoodduringtheMCAprizedistributionfunctionattheWankhedeStadiumin2005.

MadrasMealforTendulkar

M

AyazMemon

This is probably the start of the love affair betweenSachinTendulkarandtheMChidambaramStadiuminChennai.ThiswashisfirstTesthundredonIndiansoilandwhilehecreamedthebowlingforabrilliant165,he became the first player to score five Test tonsbeforetheageof20.

ADRAS: Precocity in talent often implies innocence of personality. AndwhilebothattributesappeartofitSachinTendulkartoanicety,thecricketer

in him has galloped ahead tomastery of method in his batsmanship. Both intermsofskillandgametactics.

TherewasinTendulkar'sfifthTesthundred(andhishighest—165)evidenceof theanchor, theequiseticstrokeplayerand the ruthlessexecutioner.Whenabatsmanacquiresallthesethreefacets,bowlersoftenfinditimpossibletobowltohim,andforlongspellstoday,noEnglishmanfeltquiteuptogettingintothedeliverystrideagainstthisyounggenius.

ThetrulydelightfulaspectofTendulkar'sbattingwashiscontroloverhimselfand the run of play. In the first session, hewas all searing shots and raspingblade. Paul Jarviswas an early victim of fine touch, butDevonMalcolm, theunhappy, bigger victim of hurtful intent. There were glorious cover drivesplayedwiththefullbackliftandtwostraighthitswithnobatswingatall,onlysplendoroustiming.Thesecondofthese,offMalcolm,gothimhiscentury.The30 runs he needed to reach thismark yesterday came from 25 deliveries, andincludedsevenboundaries.

Then,withthespectatorsexpectingunstintedfireworks,Tendulkarshrewdly,almostunobtrusively,changedgearstoensurethattheIndianinningswouldbeextended till beyond tea. The departure of Azharuddin, who was in form,compelledthis,andTendulkarrespondedwiththeresponsibilityheassumedinSouthAfrica.Hissuccessisvindicationofsuchthinking.Butthebeautyoftheinnings also lay in the quality of his defence and the choice of balls to hitthereafter.

Tendulkar lookedgoodforadoublehundredwhenhefellsuddenly,playingtoo early in an attempt to hit Ian Salisbury out of the ground and getting theleadingedge.Hehasmademorechallenginghundreds,atPerthlastseasonandat Johannesburgnot too longback.But this inningsseemed themost rounded,complete,andafairaffirmationofbattinggreatness.

February13,1993

SprayingchampagneafterplayingaleadingroleinIndiawinningtheChennaiTestagainstEnglandin1993.

TheBig,YetQuietTendulkarWedding

W

AyazMemon

In1995,televisioncoveragewasnotlikeitisnow,butthat does notmean therewas any shortageofmediafrenzy when Sachin Tendulkar and Anjali Mehtadecidedto tie theknot.TheprivatesideofTendulkarisevidentinthispiece.

WithwifeAnjaliatJewelofIndia,MumbaiafterthemarriageceremonyinMay,1995.

hatdoImranKhanandSachinTendulkarhaveincommon?Marriageisontheirmindsandboththeirmothers-in-lawarecalledAnnabel.Endofstory?

Perhaps,butnotquite.

When ImranKhan's suddenmarriage to JemimaGoldsmith knockedSachinoff the front pages of newspapers, the brilliant self-effacing young Indiancricketerfeltitwasjustaswell.

TherigoursofmanagingtheweddingarrangementsofIndia'sbestknownfacehaveproducedsleeplessnightsandunending tensionfor theTendulkar family,soanyrespitewaswelcome.Yet,therehasnotbeentoomuchrest.

"Ilovemyprivacyandwouldhavepreferredasimple,familyaffair,"SachinsaidonSaturday,supervisingthecompletionofhistastefullydesignednewflatin Sahitya Sahwas colony in Bandra even while watching The Terminator 2beamedbyasleeknewlaserdiscplayeronhis32-inchTV.

TheTendulkarswouldhavelikedalowkeyaffair.Butobviouslythiswasnotpossible. Already nearly 500 letters are arriving each day, from all over thecountry,askingforaninvitationtothebigdo.

Aftermuchdebateanddiscussion,whatwillhappennowisasimpleweddingceremonywithfiancéeAnjaliMehtaonMay25towhichonly75membersfromeitherfamilyhavebeeninvited.

Thiswill be followedby a receptiononMay26 at the JadeGarden for thecricketingfraternityandotherfriendsofthefamilies,andyetanotherreceptiononMay27,(locationconfidential)forpeoplefromhiscolony.

The wedding ceremony itself will be simple and performed according to

Hindu rites, themuhurat timehaving alreadybeen ascertained.Sachinwill bedressedinatraditionalkurta-churidarfortheoccasionmadebyAnjaSan(whichincidentallyisownedbyAshaBhonsale)whileAnjaliwillwearasaree.Forthereceptions,Sachinwillbedressedinsuitsmadeoverseas.

ShivSena supremoBalThackeray andManohar Joshi are among themanyspecial invitees for the wedding. Sachin's colleagues from the Indian team,barringManojPrabhakar, JavagalSrinath,AnilKumbleandSanjayManjrekar(allplayingcurrentlyinEngland)willbeinattendance.

ThecontrastbetweenthemarriagesofAsia'stwomostcompellingcricketingsuperstarsisfascinating.WhileImranhasalwayslovedtobaskinthelimelight,bothSachinandfiancéeAnjalihavezealouslyguarded theirprivacy,andhavetriedtolivelifeasnormallyaspossible.

In fact, the reclusive Anjali Mehta, who is working towards an MD inpediatrics, will be on emergency duty at the JJ Hospital till the day of herwedding.

Sachinhimselfhas steeredclearof talkingabouthis three-year-old romanceorimpendingmarriage.

"That's thewayI like it,"hesays. "This isanextremelypersonalaffair.AllthesehighsocietythingsIshun.AndAnjalifeelsthisevenmorestrongly."

That'sperhapswhytheyseemmadeforeachother.

May5,1995

AcknowledgingapplausefromthecrowdaftercompletinghishundredagainstEnglandinthe1996BirminghamTest.

SachinSizzles,IndiaFizzles

E

AyazMemon

Another hundred for a losing cause. That Tendulkarscored63.9 per cent of the runswhile hewas at thecreaseshowsthedisparitybetweenhimandtherestofthe Indian batting. The dispatch does justice to thebrillianceofthebatsman.

DGBASTON:SachinTendulkar'sninthTestcentury(122runs,263minutes,177 balls, 19x4, 1x6) made on Saturday in a vain and forlorn battle to

preserveIndia'shopeinthefirstTestraisedacoupleofinterestingqueries.Wasthis his best innings ever? Would Don Bradman have done better in similarcircumstances?

Internationalcricketcanbeterriblyharsh,eventoageniusinfullflowandatthe height of his prowess. By the time the third day of the Test had beencompleted,Englandwerecruisingtoaseeminglycomfortablevictorythatmaynever have truly revealed the character or calibre of Tendulkar's innings.Scorecards,afterall,canlie.Butconsiderthis.

TendulkarcameintobatwhenIndiahadlosttwowicketsfor17runsbythe12thover.

By the 17th over, when India lost their fourth wicket at 36 — skipperMohammedAzharuddin unedifyingly bowled roundhis legs byAlanMullallyforablob—aninningsdefeatlookedimminent.Fourhourslater,Englandwerecompelledtochaseanirksome121forvictorybyTendulkarwhohadmadeanoutstanding122.

Obligingautographhuntersbythescore.

Thenextbestscoreafterhis100wasinjury-hitSanjayManjrekar'spatient18.

Two other batsmen got 15 runs apiece, and those were number 8 and 10.Tendulkarmade122outof191runswhenhewasinthemiddle,andwithbettersupport fromacouple,evenonefrontlinebatsman,couldhavepossibly turnedthisgameonitshead.

OnlyRathore,whogotaterribledecision,couldclaimclemency.

But itwas themanner inwhich he batted that proclaimedTendulkar as thegame'sfinestbatsman.

Onawicketofunevenbounce,where theball seamedalarminglyandmadesurvival, leave aside stroke play worrisome, Tendulkar charted out anunblemishedhundredwhichshowedhightechnicalaptitudeandanastonishingarrayofshots.

Spurred on by the grim challenge of the situation, Tendulkar begancircumspectly, and settled quickly into a rhythm which produced a dazzling

array of strokes that quickly dispersed the field and England's smugness, andfinallyfinishedwithwhatcouldonlybedescribedasatourdeforce.

With Anil Kumble showingmore spunk than five of the first six batsmen,TendulkarsawtheusefulnessofkeepingEnglandforgreatertimeinthemiddle,though he could not resist reaching his 100with an enormous straight six offleft-armspinnerMinPatel.

Thereisashowmaninhimsomewhere.

Kumble's run out, following a terrible mix up, broke the rhythm of India'sfight back. A little Srinath departed, leg before to a vicious breakback fromChris Lewis, and then Tendulkar mishooked England's best bowler to mid-wickettosignalIndia'sdemise.

Meanwhile,backtotheinterestingqueries.Wasthishisbestinningsever?Histhird century, at Perth in 1992 on a flier and with only the tailenders forcompany,wasabrillianteffort.

Butthatwasmadeinthefirstinningswhenthewickethadnotcracked.Here,he was caught on a bad wicket.Would Bradman have done better in similarcircumstances?Sufficetosay,thatTendulkarhasinstigatedastimulatingdebate.PerhapstheanswermaycomefromthegreatAustralianhimself,someday.

June9,1996

WithAjaySharmaandKiranMore(right)duringthe1989-90tourofPakistan.

NextManIn

I

ClaytonMurzello

The crowd at the airport car park prevented SachinTendulkar from giving this post-tour interviewpeacefully.So,hetoldthewritertoaccompanyhiminhiscar.AsheturnedtogetontotheAndherihighwayinMumbai,hesaid,“I’mreadyforthecaptaincy”.Onecanunderstandwhy thewriterremembers the

exact location when the quote was given. It was asignificantstory.

ampreparedforcaptaincybecauseIhaveledMumbaiandWestZonetoofortwoandahalfyears.WheneverthecountryneedsmeIamthere.Iamquite

okay with that," said Sachin Tendulkar in an exclusive interview early thismorning.

"ThisEnglandtourhasbeenagoodoneforme,althoughIdidn'tclickintheone-dayers.Igotabaddecisioninthefirstgamebutthesearethingswhichyou

take in your stride. In the second, Iwas runout and in the third I got a goodbouncer,"hesaid,whiledrivingfromtheairporttohisBandraresidence.Tendulkarmusthavetonsofenergy.HehadjustarrivedfromLondon,buthe

managedtodrivehiscaraseffortlesslyasthoseextracoverdrivesheexecutesonthefield.Andifheismadecaptain,thefirstthinghe'llaskofhisplayersiscommitment and 100 per cent effort all the time. "I don't care if they aresuccessfulornotbutnobodycanstopthem.Theguysaretalentedandcapableofdoing it,"he said. Is it the right time forhim to jump into Indiancricket'shotseat? "Whenyoubecomecaptainof Indiayou shouldn't be thinkingof this. Itmaynotbetheidealtime,butIthinkwhenyourcountryisstrugglingthat'sthetimeyouhavetogiveahelpinghand.Iwaspreparedallthetime."Heknowsthepricetobepaidandthatitcouldaffecthisbatting.SohowistheLittleMastergoing to tackle that? "I reallydon'tknowwhatwillhappen.But I think I'llbemoreresponsible."

July16,1996

I’mNottoBlame:Sachin

ClaytonMurzello

The answers Sachin Tendulkar provided in thisinterview reflect the kind of mood he was in beforeleavingforTorontowhereIndiaandPakistanweretocompeteinthesecondeditionoftheSaharaCup.Thesidewasdepleted,buttheyoungsterscametotheforein fine fashion to provide one of Tendulkar’s brightspotsinanotherwiseforgettablecaptaincystint.

Judgingfromtheinexperiencedbowlingattackyouhave,doyouseriouslythinkIndiacanwintheforthcomingseries?Iamprettyconfidentofdoingwell.ButIwouldn'tliketoputtoomuchpressureon the young bowlers. They should be left alone. In one-day cricket theimportantthingistosticktoaline.Evenifyoudonothaveanywicketsbesideyournamebuthavebeenabletocontaintheopposingbatsmen,thenyou'vedoneyourjobwell.I'msurethisbowlingattackwillfaredecently.

Howstressedareyou?IfIletthepressuregettome,whatabouttherestoftheteam?

Areyouafraidoflosingthecaptaincy?Notatall.I'mjustconcentratingongettingresultsforIndia.

Areyouwillingtostepdownincaseoffailure?WhyshouldI?They(selectors)havemademecaptain.

ButyoukeepsayingthatIndiawillbeatop-classteamintimetocomeandtherearenosignsofthefirststeptowardsthatgoal...Wehavenotbeenplayingat full strength. I thinknotmore than threeor fourplayershaveplayedmorethan15Tests.Theyareallyounganditwilltakesometimebeforesuccesscomesalong.Ithinkwehavetowaitforawhile.

Howlongwillthiswaitbe?Ireallydon'tknow.Maybesixmonths...maybeayear.

Howmuchoftheblameshouldtheselectorstakefortherecentdefeats?Ican'trespondtothis.

DoyoutaketheblameforthisslumpinIndiancricket?Notatall.I'vetriedmybest.

YouwerequotedsayingbeforetheAsiaCupthatyougota'B'gradeteam.Isthistrue?Ineversaidthat.

Butyouwereunhappywiththeteamyougot...Yes.IdidnotgettheteamIwanted.

Hasyourexperiencewiththeselectorspromptedyoutothinkaboutthreateningtostepdownifyoudonotgettheteamyouwant?No,Ididnotthinkofthat.ButIwashappywiththeteamfortheSaharaCup.

YouweredisappointedwhenVinodKambliwasn'tconsideredfortheAsiaCup,butyoudidn'tplayhimwhenhecameintotheteam?Wecouldn'tpossiblydropanyonetoaccommodatehim.

InagrimmoodpriortoaselectionmeetingattheCricketClubofIndiain1997.SambaranBanerjeeistoTendulkar’srightwhileMPPandoveand

coachMadanLalarefacinghim.

WhywasDebasisMohantynotincludedwhenhefaredwellinthesecondTestagainstSriLanka?MohantybowledwellintheTestbutwedidnotwanttodropourmainbowlerVenkateshPrasad,andAbeyKuruvillawasbowlingwelltoo.

ButPrasadhadaninjuredshoulder...Thatwasn'taffectinghisbowling,onlyhisthrowing.

Yourownformhasn'tbeenverygood...Well,IgottwohundredsintheTestsagainstSriLankasoIdon'tthinkanythingiswrong.Youhaven'tgotthebigscoresintheone-dayers;itlookslikeyouwanttohiteveryballoverthetop.Doyouthinkthiscavalierapproachisdoingtheteamanygood?

WhenIhit,peopleclap.Whenthingsgowrongpeoplestarttocriticise.Iamnotgoingtostopplayingmynaturalgamesimplybecausethatgetsmeruns.

Shouldyoubatlowerdown?Youshouldn'tbeaskingthisquestion:mostofmyrunshavecomeasanopener.

YoujusthavetocomparemyrecordbattinglowerdowntowhenIhaveopened.

ButthepublicfeelstheteamwilldobetterwithyoucominglowerdownasthereisnotmuchdepthinthebattingafterNo5or6...Wedon't have toplan according to the cricket lover.Wehave todowhat theteamasawholethinksisgoodforit.Mostofthembelievethatmyopeningisideal.Butwedon'thavefixedideals.Ifthesituationdemands—asintheAsiaCupfinal—Iwillcomelowerdown.Andifneeded,I'lldothatinCanada.

Ayearascaptain...haveyoudonejusticetothejob?Wehaven't really playedour full strength this one year.Wehave not had theservicesofJavagalSrinathfortheWestIndiesandSriLankatours.Ithinkwe'vetriedourbest.It'sjustthatwehavenothadfavourableresults.

September14,1997

SparktoFlame

S

AjitTendulkar

Who better to talk about the radiance of SachinTendulkar thanhisbrotherAjit,whoknowshisgamelikenootherexpert.It’sapieceeveryyoungcricketershouldreadbeforeheaspirestobiggerthings.

ince Sachin started playing cricket at such a young age, I guess he wasalwaystheyoungestoneintheteam.

IthinkwhenhefirstplayedfortheCricketClubofIndia(CCI),hewasjustabout15andmostoftheothersintheteamwerealreadyfirst-classplayers.HewasplayingalongsidethelikesofSandeepPatilandRaviShastri,sobignamesdidnotmatterthatmuchtohim.AndIdon'tthinkSachinwaseveroverawedbythefactthathewasplayingfirst-classcricketasa15yearold.

HisRanjidebutwasagainstGujaratandhescoredacenturyinthatgame.Hisattitude right from the beginningwas to think positive and believe that everymatch providedhimwith an opportunity to prove himself.His first real breakwas in the same seasonwhen he scored 76 againstDelhi in theRanjiTrophysemi-finals.

Most of the top Bombay players were away on tour and the side wasdependent on him. That match showed that Sachin had the 'big match'temperamentwhichissoessentialtosucceed.

Playinganoff-sideshotintheFaisalabadTestagainstPakistanonthe1989-90tour.

Raj Singh Dungarpur was the chairman of selectors then, and he had seenSachinfromhisCCIdays.Hewantedayoungerteam,ateamforthe90's,andIguessSachinfittedinwiththoseplans.

When he was picked for the tour of Pakistan in 1989, we were a littlesurprised.Iguessfromthetimeofhisrecord-breakingeffortsinjuniorcricket,wefeltthathisplayingforIndiaatage16wassomethingreallyspecial.Sachinwasatfirstalittleconcerned.Afterall,PakistanhadbowlerslikeImranKhan,WasimAkram and the emerging talent ofWaqarYounis. I think for awhile,Sachinwonderedwhetherhewouldreallybeupto the task.Pakistan isnotaneasyplacetotour,butSachinwasinthecompanyofsomeofhisseniorsfromtheBombayteamlikeSanjayManjrekar,andtheyreallyhelpedhim.

Hewas extremely tense inhis first, and thenwhenhewashit in the fourth

TestbyaWaqarbouncer,thereweresomedoubtsoverwhetheritwouldleaveamarkonthegame.ButinthesameoverthathewasstruckbyWaqar,hehithimforacoupleofboundaries.

Psychologically, thatwas an important breakthrough. It showed that Sachinwas ready for the big league. By the time the one-dayers arrived, Sachin'sconfidencewasback.Anytensionthathefeltatthestartoftheserieswasgone.

Thatoneover inQuettawherehestruck26runsoffAbdulQadirwasproofthatSachinhadarrived.

Hewasalwaysaconfidentcricketer.NowthatheknewwhathecouldbeattheRanjiTrophy level,hecould repeat inTestcricket too. I think itwasafterthattourthatImranremarkedthatSachinwouldgoontobecomeagreatplayer.

OnhisnexttourofNewZealandhehadagreatchanceofbreakingMushtaqMohammad'srecordtobecometheyoungestplayerever toscoreaTestmatchhundred.Hewasoutat88toabadshotandafterwardsIspoketohim.

I thinkhis basic attitude has always been to learn fromhismistakes and tokeep improving all the time. It was the attitude that enabled him to make atransitionintothebigleaguesoquickly.Afterthat,Sachinscoredrunsallovertheworld, but tomymind the one knock that reallymademe realise his fullpotentialwashiscenturyagainstSouthAfricain1992.

ThatinningsinJohannesburgshowedthatSachinwasnowinthetopleagueofplayerssincetherunswerescoredagainstoneoftheworld'sbestattacks.

September16,1997

D

Sachin’sHavingaBallKhalidA-HAnsari

Relieved from captaincy, Sachin Tendulkar hit theright notes in a one-day tournament in Dhaka,Bangladesh.KhalidA-HAnsariwas there towitnessthestartofMohammedAzharuddin’ssecondandlaststintascaptain.

HAKA:Thebuzzat theNationalStadiumbeforeyesterday'sIndependenceCup cricket match was that neither the Indians nor the Pakistanis were

particularlykeentoplay.

The ostensible reason was bad light caused by the heavy blanket of smogwhich had enveloped this capital city for a week, denying Dhakaians even aglimpseofthesun.

Moreover, given the track record of the Bangladesh team, its lack ofinternational experience and the result of the previous day's game whichvirtuallyensuredIndiaaplaceinthefinal,itwasallbutcertainthatIndiawouldplay Pakistan in the three match championship decider, because barring thehighlyimprobable,theresultsoftoday'sPakistan-Bangladeshclashisaforegoneconclusion.

As it turnedout, the light improvedappreciablyenablingcommencementofplayanhourafterthescheduledtimeof9:00a.m.

And the sun shonebrightlyuponMohammedAzharuddin andhismenwhofashionedanimpressive18-runwinoverPakistandoingapowerofgoodtotheteam'smoralewhichhadplumbedthedepthsinrecenttimes.

However, it isearlydaysyetandoneshouldavoidthetemptationofgettingcarriedawaybyanoccasionalvictoryoverPakistanwhoatanyrate,arewithouttheservicesofWasimAkramandWaqarYounis.

In his two innings since his “demotion”, SachinTendulkarhasgiven110percenttocaptainandteam.

Havingsaidthat,twowinsoutoftwointhenewyearaugurwellfortheteamunderAzhar’ssecondavatarascaptain.

Inhistwoinningssincehis“demotion”,SachinTendulkarhasgiven110percenttocaptainandteam.And,relievedofthecaresofcaptaincy,heisobviouslyenjoyinghimselfonceagainashisvintageknocksof54and67onconsecutivedaysand fourcatchesandone for24yesterdaysoeloquentlydemonstrate.Hewas decidedly done injustice in not being named man of the match againstPakistan.Thatapart,Tendulkar’sbodylanguagespeaksforitselfashe,indeed,farrevelleddespitethepressureofleadership.

Havingstooduptothereprehensiblebullyingtacticsofthenationalselectioncommitteeinthematterofdecidingthebattingorder,Azhar’spositiveapproachin promoting himself toNo 3 and letting ground, climatic and state ofmatchconditionsdeterminestarbatsmanTendulkar’spositionhaspaidoffsofar.

Anyteam’sbestbatsmenshouldbegiventheopportunitytoleadthefrontandfrom the position in which they feel most comfortable without asinineinterference.

These comments are beingmade in the fullest belief that premature value-judgementscanbemeaningless,misleadingandtherefore,misplaced.

Their validity is, therefore, strictly restricted to the twomatches which theIndianteamhasplayedinthistournament:oneagainstgreenhornsBangladesh,wooden spoonist in world rankings, the second against arguably the weakestPakistan team in recent times with the possible exception of the one whichplayedagainstusinTorontolastSeptember.

SkipperMohammedAzharuddinseeksTendulkar’sopinionduringtheIndependenceCupatDhakain1998.

This three-nation contest affords the players themselves, the teammanagement and selectors an excellent opportunity to improvise, experiment,takestockandchalkoutanactionplanfortheforthcominghomeseriesagainstthe Australians — provided we are prepared to learn our lessons. Alas, ourcricket history records that we adamantly refuse to do so and are, therefore,condemned to repeatourmistakes.Of theIndianbatsmen,onlyTendulkarandAzharhaveliveduptoreputations.Aquestionmarkstillhangsovertheopeningpair.IfTendulkarwillopen"asandwhen",theproblemremainsunsolved.Theformercaptainhasclickedinbothpositionshehasbattedinhere,butapolicyofchopandchangecannotpossiblybe in the team'sbest interest in the longrun.Thesoonerthisissueisresolved,thebetter.

SouravGangulyhaspromisedmuchbutfallenshortofreproducinghisrecentpurplepatch.NavjotSidhu,runoutinthefirstmatch,playedacameoinningsof

36 off 42 deliveries yesterday but the indecision regarding his position in theline-upcanbetherecipeforneurosisineventhemostbattle-scarredveteran.Ofthe other batsmen/all-rounders, Ajay Jadeja and Robin Singh have yet toestablish their credentials whereas Sairaj Bahutule's two outings to date havebeenundistinguishedwithbothbat andball.Hewent for53 runs inhis sevenoversagainstPakistanbut,tobefair,therehasbeennothinginthewicketforthespinners.

ForJavagalSrinath,whohas returnedfiguresof fivefor23and twofor40,his shoulder injury appears a distant memory. Debasis Mohanty lookedmenacing against the inexperienced Bangladeshis but was prodigal whenbowlingtothePakistanis,AamirSohailinparticular.

HarvinderSingh,broughtintothesquadyesterday,claimedtheprizewicketsofIjazAhmed,SaeedAnwarandAzharMahmoodbutconcededasmanyas47runsinhiseightovers.Moreover,IjazandSaeedwerepalpablevictimsofover-confidence.

India's ability to capturewickets at regular intervals and exert pressure hasbeen impressivebutwemust not lose sight of the fact that theoppositionhasbeeneitherweakorcocky—orboth.

January12,1998

C

Shabash,SachinKhalidA-HAnsari

After being dismissed for four in the first innings byShane Warne, Sachin Tendulkar struck back incommandingfashionintheheatanddustofChennai.His155onaturningtrackagainstthebestspinnerintheworldcontributedtoWarne,ultimatelyratinghimasthebestbatsmanhehadbowledto.

HENNAI: Authoritative batsmen of the superlative kind, a sportingdeclaration,aggressivecaptaincyandlethalbowlingbythehomesidesetthe

stageyesterdayforaprobableIndiavictoryinthefirstTestagainstAustraliaattheMAChidambaramStadium.

ThecornerstoneofIndia'seffort,however,wasaclassicunbeaten,chancelessinningsof155bySachinTendulkar,whohasservedunmistakablenoticetotheAustraliansthathewillbethebiggeststumblingblockintheirmissiontodefeatIndiainIndiaforthefirsttimein29years.

The touring Australians have been unabashed admirers of the boundlessbatting talent of the former India captain. No less a legend than Sir DonaldBradman has termed him the greatest batsman in theworld today, onewhosetechniqueandstyleresemblehisown.

Not that any proofwas required for the legend's assessment, but Tendulkaryesterday demonstrated that he is fast learning to curb his impetuosity, toexerciserestraint,toextendscoresof50to100andmore.

Blessed as he is with limitless talent, he has often been his worst enemythrowingawayhiswicketwhenallsetbutboredwithtreadingthestraightand

narrow,extemporisingtheunusual,theinnovative,theaudacious.

Tendulkarhimselfdoesnotconsideryesterday’sknockhisgreatestbuttherecanbenodenyingthatitmustrankamongtheclassierofhis15centuriesin59Tests. The fact that it was achieved in oppressive 37 degree C (40 degree Cambienttemperature)heatandhumiditymakesitallthemoreremarkable.

Tendulkar’s contribution, as indeed those of Mohammed Azharuddin andRahulDravid,mustbeevaluatedinthecontextofawicketwhichwasnotatallconducive for playing strokes what with the ball coming on to the batlethargically,theoddoneturningandbouncingbrutishlyattheendofwhichtheAussie bowlers had created a roughon their follow–through andwhichShaneWarneexploitedincharacteristicfashion.

Tendulkar’s contribution, as indeed those ofMohammed Azharuddin and Rahul Dravid, must beevaluatedinthecontextofawicket...

Dravidfell toonesuchnastydeliveryafterTendulkarhadnarrowlyescapedbeingbowled the firstball fromGavinRobertsonwhohasmadeadreamTestdebuthere.

ThesavageassaultwhichTendulkarandAzhar (the latter started tentativelybutgrewrapidlyinconfidence)launchedonShaneWarneinparticularpresagedanearlydeclaration.

Butmany among the cognoscentewere taken abackwhenAzhar closed theinningsaftersettingtheoppositiontheidenticaltarget—348—aswassetforIndiainthefamous1986Madras(asitwasthenknown)tiedTest.

SomeamongtheAustralianpresspartyopinedthatMarkTaylorwouldneverhavedeclaredatthatstage.OtherswereevenpreparedtoofferattractiveoddsonanAustralianwinbutAzhar,obviouslybelieving in theabilityofhisbowlers,waspreparedtorisksackclothandashesinhiscourageouspursuitofvictory.

But all this was before Javagal Srinath andAnil Kumble, inspired by theircaptain’s sporting declaration and a positive attitude manifest in the form ofaggressive field placements and imaginative bowling changes, struck lethalblowswhichlefttheAustralianinningsinshambles.

AddressingthemediaattheCricketClubofIndia,MumbaionbecomingcaptainofIndiaforthesecondtimein1999.

WithMarkTaylor,MichaelSlaterandGregBlewettbackinthepavilionforjust31,itwilltakeamonumentaleffortonthepartoftheremainingbatsmentosave—letalonewin—thisTest.

March10,1998

WithVivekRazdanandSalilAnkola(left)atapartyonthe1989-90tourofPakistan.

IWouldBowltoSachinwithaHelmetOn:Lillee

B

ClaytonMurzello

DennisLilleemadeasurprisevisittoBangalorefromChennai and performed the role of guestcommentator.Andwhenhewasnotbehind themike,he chatted up with his former captain Ian Chappelland partner in prime Jeff Thomson as the writerwaitedthreehoursoutsidethecommentarybox.Lilleewas mighty impressed after watching SachinTendulkarget177.

ANGALORE: Dennis Keith Lillee. The name conjures up images ofshatteredstumpsandbeleagueredbatsmenwhohadtoputupwithhispace

inthe1970sandtheearly1980s.

The former Australian pace ace, who once held the record for the mostnumberofTestvictims—355,wasintheGardenCityyesterdaytowatchthesecondday'sproceedingsofthethirdandfinalTestbetweenAustraliaandIndiaattheChinnaswamyStadium.

For the past several years, Lillee has been involved with the MRF PaceFoundationatChennaiwhichhashelpedtobringtosurfaceseveralfastbowlingtalents, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad being the most prominent ofnames.

Lilleemethisfriendsandadversariesduringtheday'splay,includingformerAustralian skipper IanChappellunderwhosecaptaincyLilleeemergedagreatfast bowler, his opening partner Jeff Thomson who is doing televisioncommentaryandSunilGavaskarwho,itmayberecalled,stagedawalkoutattheMelbourneCricketGroundin1980-81afterbeingdeclaredoutlegbeforewickettoLillee.

ThoughhedidnotplayinternationalcricketonIndiansoilduringhis13-yearTestcareer,hehascountlessadmirershere.TheonlyseriesinIndiaheldinthe1970swasheldin1979,butLilleecouldnotmakeitduetohisinvolvementwithKerryPacker'sWorldSeriesCricket.

Drivesduringthe1998homeseriesagainsttheAustralians.

Excerptsfromaninterview:

YourimpressionsonSachinTendulkar...He is the best player in theworld, no doubt about that.He is one of the bestplayersIhaveeverseen.Ijustcan'ttalkhighlyabouthim.Ithinkheisamarvel.

Howwouldyouhavetackledhim?HowwouldItacklehim?Withahelmeton.Ireallydon'tknow.Youdon'tknowunlessyouareright there.Itdependsonthewicketandconditions.Let'sput itthisway,Iwouldhavenotgivenup.Iwouldhavegivenmyeverything.

IhaveplayedagainstgreatplayersinthesamemouldasTendulkarlikeVivRichards, Barry Richards, Garry Sobers, Rohan Kanhai, Gordon Greenidge.Theywereallbrilliant.Youtrytoworkthemoutwhilebowlingtothem.Ifit'syourday,yougetthemout.Ifyoudon't,thentheygettheruns.

DoyouthinkSachinhasalotofVivRichardsinhim?I think he is his own player. He is aggressive like Viv was, there's no doubtthere.He'sadifferentplayeraswell.He'sgotmoresofttouchthanVivandyoulearnthatonpitcheslikethese.He'snotquiteasexplosiveasVivbutthen,theybothhavegreatqualitieswhichmakegreatplayers.

WouldyoubesurprisedifTendulkardoesnotgoontobreakyourcountrymanAllanBorder'srecordruntallyof11,174Testruns?There isnoreasonwhyheshouldn't.Barringinjuryheshouldmore thancrossoverthattally.

March27,1998

WavingtoateammateafterleadingIndiatovictoryintheCoca-ColaCupfinalagainstAustraliain1998.

AGeniusCalledTendulkar

S

AyazMemon

The first of Sachin Tendulkar’s tons at Sharjah in1998wasthemoredramaticoneofthetwo.Indiahadto perform splendidly even to qualify for the finalagainstAustraliainamatchthatwasinterruptedbyasandstorm.Here’s how Tendulkar did it for India toqualify.

HARJAH:Oneof theproblemsof assessinggenius is that limits are neverdefined.Justwhenyouhaveafixonthem,theyexceedtheirearlierbarriers,

andthechaseforanewdefinitionbeginsagain.

Forinstance, it iscommonly,andjustifiably,believedthatSachinTendulkarisagreatcricketer.But justhowgreat, remains intriguinglyindeterminate.Forinstance,henowseems twice thecricketerhewas lastyear.And lastyear,hewas rated one of the best. By simple inference, he must be the number onecricketerintheworldthisyear,andthosewhodisputedthatsurmisewouldhavebeen compelled to hasty revision of their opinion after seeing hismagnificent143yesterdayagainstAustralia.

TheinningswasnotgoodenoughtowinIndiathematch.Butitwasbrilliantenoughtosnatchaplaceinthefinal,andsensationalenoughforall thepeopleassembledhere—spectators,colleagues,critics,opponents—toacknowledgethatTendulkarwasthemasterofbatsmanship.

"Wehaveseenoneofthegreatestinningsofourtime,"saidformerAustraliancaptainandTVcommentatorRichieBenaud.Andhecouldhardlybefaultedforoverstating the case. Perhaps only Kapil Dev has played a better, moresignificant inningsforIndia(175notoutagainstZimbabweinthe1983WorldCup),butTendulkar’soverallinfluenceinonegamemaytakesomebeating.HedismissedMarkWaugh for 81with a cunning leg-spinner, luring thewell-setbatsmanintotop-edgingadrivetoawidedeliveryafternegotiatingtwoontheoffstump.Twentyrunslater,heranoutSteveWaughwithadirecthitfromdeepsquareleg.

These would have been enough good deeds for an ordinary mortal to be

pleasedwithhisday’swork.ButTendulkarwasnotsatisfied.Hestrodeoutlatertoplayatourdeforce.IndiahadactuallydonewelltorestrictAustraliato284with somegood, restrictive bowling and tight fielding in the last 10 overs.Atonestage,withMarkWaughandMikeBevaninthemiddleadding90runsforthe fourthwicket, a score in excess of 300 seemed a certainty.ButTendulkarstymiedMarkWaugh’s assault, never let SteveWaugh settle down, watchedBevan make another superb hundred, then came out to bat and revealed theenormityofhistalent.SteveWaugh,captainandgreenbaggyjunkietothecore,hadclaimedrecently thatBevanwas thebestone-dayplayer in theworld.Forhalfthematch,andconsideringwhathehasdoneinthistournamentasyet,thisdidnotseemlikeanidleboast.Butthreehourslater,theAustraliancaptainmayhavemadeanamendmentinhisrating.Hehadhisbreaks,hecouldhavebeenrun out a few times, and even had one catch dropped when he was past hishundred.But thebrillianceofTendulkar’s innings laynot in themere runshemade, the strokes he played, the sixes and fours he hit (though not a trifling,whatwithninehitsreachingthefenceandfivegoingover),buttheexcruciatingcircumstancesinwhichhebatted.

The brilliance of Tendulkar’s innings lay not in themererunshemade,buttheexcruciatingcircumstancesinwhichhebatted.

Hestartedwithtwoaudacioussixesovermid-wicketoffMichaelKasprowicztobreaktheshackles,thenbefriendedcautioncuttingoutthebigshots,intentonpreservinghiswickettoensurethatIndia’sprimarytargetofreachingthefinalwasachievedbysimpletacticsandsomesupportfromhiscolleagues.

By themiddleof the innings, thatsupporthaddisappeared,SouravGangulyhad flattered to deceive, NayanMongia, promoted in the order, had departedafterplayingagem,butalastoobriefaspell,andMohammedAzharuddinandAjay Jadeja, unable to adjust yet to the slowwickets here, had fallen cheaplyagain.At138forfourin29overs,IndialookedliketheyweretakingtheflightbackhomeonThursdayinsteadofplayingthefinalonFriday.

Fortunately,Tendulkar foundasensibleally inVVSLaxman,whoacceptedquickly that he had to play second fiddle to themaestro and after a phase ofanxious jabbing and plodding, concentrated on giving Tendulkar the strike.A

sandstormthathitSharjahwaslikethegodspayingobeisancetothechosenoneof cricket. The 20-minute stoppagemade India's target to qualify stiffer (103runs in14overs),but italsomadeTendulkarevenmoredetermined.After thesandstorm,camethethunderstorm—fromhisbat.Kasprowicz,broughtonforhis secondspell,wasdriven straightandhigh fora rousing six.SteveWaugh,calledtheIcemanforhisplaciddemeanourevenintheworstcrisis,wascloutedforasixovermid-wicketandstraight-drivenforafour.TheAustraliancaptaincouldnot remaincucumbercoolandkicked thepitch repeatedly in frustration.Tendulkarracedtohishundredrapidly,andIndia'stargetwhittleddownquicklytowithin gettable limits.By now hewas lambasting everything and anybody,includingtheoverlyaggressiveFlemingforahugesixoverlong-on.BynowtheAustralian fielders and bowlers were like dying ducks in a thunderstorm.Tendulkarwasnowchasingvictory,butatiredhookshotsawhimplaylateandedgetothewicketkeeperinstead.

Themomentum of thematch collapsed after that, after India, well on theirwaytovictory,settledhappilyforbeingin thefinal.Thebattlehadbeenwon,thewar remains to bewon.Meanwhile, there is time to toast themagnificentexploitsofageniuscalledSachinTendulkar.

April23,1998

RunsandRosesfromSachin

S

AyazMemon

Sachin Tendulkar not only gave consistency a goodname on April 24, 1998 when he scored anotherhundredbutalsoprovedbeyonddoubtthatthereisabig difference between great and legendary. Somebirthdaytorememberthis!

HARJAH:SachinTendulkar decided to gift hiswife a century onhis 25thbirthdayandmadetheAustralianspayforit.Anunblemished134(131balls,

12x4,3x6)flowedfromhisbatastributetohisbetterhalfwhohaddecidedtoskiphisbigdaysothatTendulkarcouldfocusonthefinals,leavingthehaplessAussiesshatteredtopiecesbythisovertsentimentalism.TheCoca-ColaCupinSharjah circa 1998,with the passingof time, couldwell become an importantchapterinthehistoryofgreatmodernromances.

The Australians are tough competitors and not known to be good losers.Nevertheless, SteveWaugh was honest andmagnanimous in defeat. "He is agreatplayer,"hesaidofTendulkar,"andthereisnothingmuchyoucandowhenheisinthisform."ThatinitselfisadequatecommentonTendulkar'sdominanceinthematch.

Itwas anotherbrilliant performance froma cricketerbeginning to reach thezenith of his skill.Besieged by birthday greetings from a record crowd at theSharjahStadium,Tendulkarperkedhimselfuptoputupavirtuosoperformance.Compared to themelodramatichundredonWednesdaywhichenabledIndia toreach the final, thisonewasmorecontrolledbutno less scintillating.Oncehehadgothiseye in,Tendulkarwasamanwithamission.Hebattledwithsuchruthlessefficiencythattherewasnaryachanceforthebowlersorfielders.

WithShaneWarnebeforetakingonAustraliainthe2001MumbaiTest.

And if itwasnot against the intrinsicAussie competitive spirit, theywouldhavestoodandapplaudedthemethodicalannihilationattheendofeveryover.

Indiaweresetafairlystifftargetevenallowingforthefactthatthiswasthebest batting wicket of the tournament. No other side had chased 273 in thistournament, and during the luncheon interval, it seemed that Azharuddin hadmade a grave error in opting to field after winning the toss. But Tendulkar'smarvellousknock,withexcellentsupportfromtheskipper,finallymadethetasklookridiculouslyeasy.

Whenhenotcheduphis15thhundredinlimited-overinternationals,Indiahadpulledawayfromthepressureofscoring,puttingoutmore runs thanballsperover.A huge six greeted the return ofTomMoody in his second spell, and abiggeroneawaitedKasprowiczinhissecond.

By this time,Tendulkarwas revvedup likea fighterplane ready fora finalassault on the specified target. He would have loved dearly to take India tovictory himself, but an atrocious decision by umpire Javed Akhtar saw himdeclared leg before to Kasprowicz bowling round the wicket, with the ball

clearlymissingoffstump.

Akhtarwas to compound this errorbydeclaringAzhar caughtbehindwhentheballhadclearly touchedhispad.Butby then, theAussieshadsurrenderedtoomuchtomakeadifferencetotheoutcome.Itwasmuchtoolittletoolate.

TheTitanichadwellandtrulybeensunk.

April25,1998

SirDonBradman’sresidenceatHoldenStreetinAdelaide.

WithSirDonBradmanathisAdelaidehomein1998.

SachintoMeetBradman

S

AyazMemon

WhenitwasreportedthatSirDonBradmansaidthatSachin Tendulkar played in similar fashion to him,Tendulkarhadnohesitation insaying that itwas thebest compliment he had ever received. MeetingBradmanathishomeinAdelaidemusthavegiventheIndianmasterabiggerboost.Here’sthescooponhisvisit.

achin Tendulkar, acknowledged universally as the finest contemporarycricketer, has been invited Down Under as a special guest, for the 90th

birthdaycelebrationsofSirDonaldBradman,stillratedasthefinestbatsmantohaveplayedthegame.

SirDonturns90onAugust27,andthemissivetoTendulkarhascomefromtheSouthAustralianCricketAssociation(SACA)whichhasorganisedaseriesofeventsfortheoccasion,includinga'GrandBradmanDinner'for1300specialinvitees at theAdelaideConventionCentre. Tendulkar, it is learnt fromMarkMascarenhaswhosecompanyWorldTelmanageshisaffairs,hasaccepted.

Bradmanhimselfwillnotattendthedinnersincehewants tospendthisdaywithhisfamily.ButSACAchiefexecutiveMichaelJDearehasstatedinhisfaxreceived today, to thestar Indiaplayer, that,"Iunderstand thatSirDonaldhasputasidesometimeforaprivatemeetingwithyouduringyourvisit."TendulkarbecameacelebrityinAustraliawhenSirDonsaidacoupleofyearsagothathe(Sachin)wastheplayerwhoremindedhimmostofhimself.

August16,1998

Lookinguptotheheavensaftercompletinghis1999WorldCupcenturyagainstKenyainBristolsoonafterhisfather’sdeath.

‘ThisTon’sforDad’

B

AyazMemon

What a way to come back to professional life afterdealing with your biggest personal loss. It was hisfatherRameshwho instilledgood values inhim,andlikeagratefulson,hegavehima100tosmileaboutfromabove.

RISTOL:WhoscriptsSachinTendulkar'slifestoryanyway?

Sixdaysafterencounteringpossiblythebiggesttragedyinhis26-yearoldlifeandwiththeaddedpressureofevenmoreexpectationfrommillionsofIndians,hereturnstothistournamentandgiveshissidethekissoflifewithahundredofrarequalityandunendingthrills.Whatnext?

Okay, so thiswasKenya and not SouthAfrica, but none ofTendulkar's 21previous ODI hundreds could have been as dynamic, as crucial or asexcruciatinglydifficult.Crickethadbeenfarthestfromhismindinthefivedayshewasaway,inwhichhehadalsologgedmanythousandmilesoffatiguingairtravel.Bothmentallyandphysically,heshouldhavebeenvulnerableexcept,astheKenyansdiscoveredtotheirchagrin,theusualhumanlimitationsdon'tseemtoapplytotheyoungmaster.

"Ihavenotbeenabletowipeofftherecenteventsfrommymindcompletely,"saidTendulkarafter thematchbeforededicating thecentury to thememoryofhisrecentlydeceasedfather,"andmakingahundredisalwaysdifficult,againstanyopposition.ButIdidnotfeeltiredatall,andenjoyedtheinnings.”

WithbrotherAjitattheairportafterlandinginMumbaitoattendtheirfather’sfuneralin1999.

The capacity crowd, which appeared to have turned up solely to seeTendulkar, was palpably overjoyed. The Indian team, understandably lessdemonstrative, could not have been less happy. The dismal events of the lastweekvirtuallyfinishedofftheirprospectsofreachingtheSuperSixstage;nowthere was some light at the end of the tunnel. Even the normally reticentMohammed Azharuddin strode down to the edge of the boundary near thepavilion to greet Tendulkar and the other centurion Rahul Dravid and thumpthemontheirbacksaftertheIndianinningshadbeencompleted.Why,heevenmanagedasmile!

May24,1999

K

SachinQuitinDisgustKhalidA-HAnsari

SachinTendulkar shocked the cricketingworldwhenhe landed up at the Cricket Club of India oneafternoon and announced his decision to quit ascaptainafterthecompletionoftheTestseriesagainstSouth Africa. Here’s a piece about what could havetriggeredoffhisdecision.

halidoscopelearnsfromreliablesources that thedecisionbyIndiancricketcaptainSachinTendulkartoresignafterthecurrentTestseriesagainstSouth

AfricawastakenoutofdisgustatbeingembroiledintheunseemlycontroversyconcerningMohammedAzharuddin.

While handing in his resignation to Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI)selectioncommitteechairmanChanduBordeattheBrabourneStadium,CCI,yesterdayafternoon,Tendulkar reportedlyexpressedhis anguishatbeingdraggedunnecessarilyintotheimbroglioforwhichhehasnostomach.

He is said to have stated in no-nonsense terms that although he enjoys theresponsibilityofcaptaincy,atthesametimehevalueshis"clean"imageandthathewasdisappointedthatnothinghadbeendonebythoseconcernedtohelphimpreserveit.

ThiswasobviouslyareferencetotheunsavourycontroversybetweenformerTestcaptainKapilDevNikhanjandBCCIsecretaryJaywantLele.

SelectioncommitteememberstriedtheirbesttodissuadeTendulkar,assuringhimthattheyweresolidlyandunitedlybehindhimandthattheywerepreparedtogivehimtimetobecomea"great"captain,buttheskipperstoodhisground.

After concerted persuasion, the world's best batsman agreed to captain theteam for theTest series only, because the firstTest against theProteas is justfourdaysaway.

InarecentinterviewwithIndiaTodaymagazine,Tendulkarhadcategoricallyassertedthathewasnotpartofany"conspiracy"tokeepAzharuddinoutoftheteam.Hestatedthathehad"noproblem"withanyplayerinthe10yearsthathehadbeenplayinginternationalcricket.

Itwill be recalled that this column had suggested ("Save 'treasure' Sachin",February2) that 'national treasure'TendulkarbepersuadedtostepdownofhisownaccordintheinterestofIndiancricketandforhisowngood.

Whateverbetheextenuatingcircumstances,Tendulkar'sresignationshouldbecommendedforbeinginthebestinterestofIndiancricket—albeitindirectly.

By accepting 'moral responsibility' for the team 'debacle' inAustralia, as heterms it,Tendulkarhasseta shiningexampleofaccountabilitywhichsomeofhisteammates,nowincreasinglyperceivedasbeingmercenaries,woulddowelltoemulate.

One can well imagine the degree of agonywhichmust have gone into thecaptain'smomentousdecisionever since the teamreturned from thedisastroustourDownUnder.

However,what ultimately settled the issuewas the fact that Tendulkarwassicktohisgillsoftheragingnation¬widecontroversyoverAzharuddin.

The timing of the announcement has led to all manner of unfortunate, butpredictable,speculationinacricketenvironmentthatisperenniallychargedwithrumoursofsinistercloak-and-daggerhappenings.

The fact that Tendulkar beat a hasty retreat after reading out his tersestatementatyesterday'spressconferenceandthatBCCIsecretaryJaywantLelewasnowhere tobe foundafter facingavolleyofdisconcertingquestions frommedia-personsdidnothelpmatters.

SachinTendulkarwavestothecrowdduringtheDelhiTestagainstPakistanin2007.

InacontemplativemoodbeforeapracticesessionatMIGCricketClubinMumbaiin2004.

Selection committee chairman Chandu Borde put many misgivings to restduringyesterday'srathertumultuouspressbriefingthatthestatementexpressinghisdecisiontoquithadbeenreceivedbyhiscommitteebeforethemeeting.

This countered the suspicion that the resignation may have been promptedduring themeeting by the inclusion ofAzharuddin,whose exclusion from thetourofAustraliareachedcataclysmicproportions.

By agreeing to play two Test matches in the same team as Azharuddin,Tendulkarhasputpaidtoalldiabolicaltheoriesthathehasanypersonalanimusagainsttheformercaptain.

Thesoonerthisdistastefulcontroversyisended,thebetterwillIndiancricketbeserved.

Azharuddin's"unanimous"inclusionintheteam,alongwithNayanMongia,isanimplicitadmissiononthepartoftheselectorsthattheyerredinleavingthem

outofthesquadwhichtouredAustralia.

The suspicion that theybowed to pressure from thepublic andpossibly theBCCI is inevitable but it would be grossly unfair to draw conclusions on thebasisofspeculation.

Asfarasthiscolumnisconcerned,theformercaptain'srecallisretrogradeinthecontextoftheselectors'expresseddecisiontogiveyoungplayersachance.TheonlyjustificationforAzhar'srecallcanbetheirrecentlystatedobjectivetostrikea(judicious)balancebetweenyouthandexperience.

"Wethoughthe(Azhar)wastheneedofthehour,"explainedBorde.

In his injury-aborted knock at the historic Brabourne Stadium yesterday,Azhar demonstrated, with apologies to William Shakespeare (Antony andCleopatra), that age has not yet "withered him, nor custom staled his infinitevariety" with a dexterous flick to leg off the hips off the second ball that hefaced,thefirstbeingatestingbouncerfromLanceKlusener.

TheabsenceofcoachKapilDevNikhanjatyesterday's selectioncommitteemeetingiscuriousintheextreme.

When questioned, Lele stated thatKapil had been invited but did not "turnup",addingthathewasnotawareofthereasonsforthesame.

Kapil's sharp reply recently to a journalist's query as inwhetherAzharwasmissedinAustraliatotheeffectthat"wemissedSunilGavaskartoo",hisremarkthat the former skipper was "not popular" in the Indian dressing-room, hisgeneralapproach to theunfortunatecontroversywhileon tour inAustraliaandthe"head-on-the-line"interviewonStarTVhaveonlyservedtounderscorethecoldwarbetweenthetwoformercaptains.

Onbalance,theselectorsdeservekudosfornominatingawell-balancedteamthathasaneatblendofyouthandexperience.

The dropping of Venkatesh Prasad in favour of Ajit Agarkar is perhapsbecauseofthecaptain'sfaithintheMumbaiall-rounder.TheinclusionofNikhilChoprapresumablyhasbeendictatedbythetourists'knowndiscomfortagainstspinbowling.TheinductionofyoungstersMohammedKaif,MuraliKartikandWasim Jaffer is praiseworthy in the wake of the Australian nightmare whichnecessitatesdrasticmeasuresinfavourofyouth.

The dropping of two regulation catches by Mongia in the current match(BCCIPresident'sXIvsSouthAfrica)willcausetheraisingofeyebrowsbutthe

needforexperienceasabalancingelementandthefactthatMongiaiseasilystillthebestwicketkeeper-batsmaninthecountryjustifyhisrecall.

February21,2000

Cheerstothe100-TestMan

M

SouravGanguly

Sourav Ganguly has had a good look at SachinTendulkaronandoffthefield.Andfromtheotherend,especially in one-day cricket, a format of the gametheyexcelledinasopeningpartners.Gangulyturnsbacktheclocktoatimeevenbefore

hefirstplayedwithTendulkarforIndia.Boyswillbeboys!

y relationshipwithSachinTendulkargoback toourunder-15yearswhenwebothwereselectedinthenationalcampinIndoreunderthecoachingof

VasuParanjape,averydearpersontomeandall inmyfamily.Hewasaveryyoungboy then, a boywith enormous talentwhohad raisedhopes of being averysuccessfulplayer.

Fifteenyearshavepassedsince thenandIcanbethehas transformedeverydream and everyone's hopes into reality. I still remember the day when oneafternoon,myroompartnerAbhijitChatterjeeandIwokeuptofindourroomfloodedwithwater andour suitcases floating around. Itwas thehandiworkofnoneotherthanMrTendulkarandhisbosompalVinodKambli,waitingforusoutside thebalconywithhugegrinson their faces.Theyhadput tubsofwaterunder the door to wake us up as I had asked him to give a wake-up call forafternoonpractice.

It gives me immense pleasure to see the heights he has reached and thestandardshehassetforalotofotherstofollow.Sachinisanationalicon,rightlyso,andoneofthemostpopularandrespectedpersonsinIndia.HeisoneofthebestcricketersIndiahasproducedalongwithSunilGavaskarandKapilDevbutisuniquetohavebrokenallrecordsandsetonesthatcanbecomeveryhardtobeat.

Thewholeworldknowsabouthisabilitybutwhatamazesmethemostishishunger and desire to succeed every time hewalks out to play for India. Thisgame ishis lifeandheknowsonlyone thing in theworldand that is to scoreruns.

Thereisnofussandnotheoryinthewayheplays.Hekeepsitsimple,sticksto the basics and when you talk to him about batting, you realise howuncomplicateditis.

The whole world knows about his ability but whatamazesmethemostishishungeranddesire.

He uses a big, heavy bat,whichwas probably heavier in his younger days.And when you ask him the reason, Sachin feels he can’t hit the ball off thesquarewithalighterbat.

Ithasbeenapleasureformetowatchhimfromtheotherend.WehavebeenplayingtogetherforsevenyearsnowandIhavebeenfortunateenoughtowatchsomeofthebestone-dayandTestinningsever.AmonghisbestTestinnings,hishundredatPerthagainstAustralia(1991-92)wouldberankedtopmostandtheoneatHeadingley(2002)ontheseamingpitchwouldbeveryclosetoit.

The best one-day innings would be at Sharjah against Australia in 1998though I have seen a lot of other breathtaking innings that have changed thecourseofagame.He isanabsolutematch-winnerand that iswhatmakeshimdifferentfromtherest.

Sachin is a very tense andGod-fearing person. I remember sharing a roomwithhimin1991inAustralia.Thosedayswedidnothavethesystemofstayinginsingleroomsaswedonow.Hewasawaketillfourinthemorning,unabletosleepashehadtobatthenextmorning.Evennowtherearetimeswhenhehastoldmethathehasstruggledtosleep.Musicishisabsolutepassionandthatishow he relaxes hismind to get ready for the game.He has different kinds ofmusic to keep him going for the day.When I see himwith headphones on, Iknowimmediatelyheisveryfocused.Whenonesitstowriteabouttheman,onedoesnotknowwheretofinish.Itakethisopportunitytowishhimgoodluckforhis100thTest. It is amajormilestone for anyTestplayerand Iknowhewillplay many more before he retires. Sachin will set his own records and as acolleague I will really be surprised if he does not score 100 internationalhundreds.Welldone,Sachin.Ithasbeenanhonourplayingwithyou.

September4,2002

Relishingastroke

TheBestBatsmanofHisEra

I

IanChappell

Ian Chappell puts the who-is-greater-SachinTendulkar-or-Sir Don Bradman debate to rest bystressing on Bradman being at a different level. Healso waxes eloquent on Tendulkar’s craft before his100thTest—againstEnglandattheOvalin2002.

sSachinTendulkarabetterbatsmanthanSirDonaldBradman?Probablynot.Isitimportant?No,Tendulkardoesn'thavetoplayagainstanAustralianteam

brandishingBradman.

What really counts is thatTendulkar is thebest batsmanof his era; slightlybetter than Brian Lara and comfortably ahead of Steve Waugh or any otherfrontline batsman. The only player who currently matches Tendulkar forconsistentlydestroyingattacksisAdamGilchristandit'sunfairtocomparehimwith someone who bats in the middle order and can fall back on hiswicketkeepingtoretainhisplaceintheside.

Nevertheless, it's batsmen like Tendulkar, Lara and Gilchrist who keepopposingcaptainsawakeatnight—playerswhocancarveupattacksanddoitforprolongedperiods.ThoseplayerscanquicklychangethecourseofamatchbutunfortunatelyforTendulkarandLara,sooftentheystillfinishonthelosingsidebecausetheirteam'sbowlerslackpenetration.

TherewasatimeafterLarascoredhismagnificent277attheSCGin1992-93when I felt the left-hander was marginally superior to Tendulkar. Both wereadventurousandskilfulplayerswhocouldcarveupoppositionbowlersbutLaratended to do it with a greater degree of safety. Lara didn't hit a six in thatmarathondisplayattheSCGbutnowadaysheattemptstohitbowlersoverthetopregularly.

AiringhisviewstocommentatorIanChappellatthetossduringtheone-dayseriesinSriLankain1996.

That,andLara'sinabilitytoharnesshismindonaregularbasishaveresultedinhisfallfromgracebutwhenhedoesfullyutilisehispowersofconcentration,as he did againstAustralia in 1998-99 and Sri Lanka in 2001-02, he's still asformidableasTendulkar.

However,Tendulkarhashandledhis famewithgreatequanimityandon theoddoccasionwhenhismindhaswaveredonthefield,he'squicklybeenabletore-focuswithdramaticeffect.There'snobetterexamplethanhisrecentcenturyat Headingley, which came at a time when people were starting to wonderwhetherhiscareerhadreachedthesummitandwasonthedownhilljourney.

InfullflightagainstPakistanduringtheMohalione-dayinternationalin2007.

HisconcentrationwassuperbatHeadingleyanditwasaninningsspicedwiththe right amount of determination and flair. To top it off, that innings wasn'tplayed invainas Indiawenton towin thematchandsquare theseries,whichmusthavegiventhehighlycompetitiveTendulkargreatsatisfaction.

The finest innings I've seen the littlemaestro playwas at Chennai in 1998whenSachinwonabattlewithShaneWarne,whichresultedinafamousIndianvictory.Thiswasaclassiccaseoftwochampionsgoingintobattleagainstoneanotherwiththeresultofthegamehingingontheoutcome.

Tendulkarhadpreparedfor thismomentbypracticingagainst formerIndianleg-spinnerLaxmanSivaramakrishnanbowlingintospeciallyprepared'rough'inthenets.HewasreadywhenWarnecamearoundthewicketanddispatchedtheleg-spinnerwithferociouspowerthroughandovertheon-side.

WarnehadtoalterthethrustofhisattackbutTendulkarhadgainedtheupperhand.By the timeTendulkarhad raced to155notout, thegamewasvirtuallywon and all that remained was for the bowlers to complete mopping upoperations.

Thiswas a perfect exampleof thevalueof a counter-attack and there is nobetterexponentinthemoderngamethanthemightyMumbaimidget.

The fact that Tendulkar has handled fame so well and has maintained anattackingoutlook throughouta longcareer isa tribute tonotonlyhis skillbutalso his wonderfully alert mind. He's certainly had to cope with more thanBradman when it comes to the weight of expectation of his fans and theglobalisationofthemoderngame.

InhiscareerBradmanonlyhadtoacclimatiseto10differentvenues(fiveathomeandfiveinEngland)whileTendulkarhasplayedat49differentgroundsinall10Testplayingcountries.IronicallyTendulkar's100thTestisatthegroundwhere Bradman failed to score in his final innings when needing only aboundarytoaverageahundredinhisremarkablecareer.

Tendulkar's momentous occasion will afford him the rare opportunity of atriumphoverBradman.

September5,2002

J

BigRunsinBigWorldCupBattleKhalidA-HAnsari

The mother of all World Cup battles — India vsPakistan at Centurion in 2003. Sachin scored, Indiawon.

OHANNESBURG: India crushed Pakistan by six wickets in a memorablePool'A'matchintheICCWorldCupatCenturionParkonSaturdaytosecure

aberthintheSuperSixroundofthetournament.

India's epic victory, their fourth in as many World Cup matches againstPakistan,was largely the result of a classicknockof98bySachinTendulkar,ablyassistedbysomeeminentlysensiblebattingbyYuvrajSingh(50notout),RahulDravid(44notout)andMohammedKaif(35)afterPakistanhadscored273, thanks to an elegant inningsof101bySaeedAnwar.After all's said anddone, it was largely India's superior jazba, allied with better teamwork,disciplineandself-belief thatprevailedoveradispiritedPakistanteamthathasbeenrentasunderbyinternalstrife.

DuecreditmustalsogotoIndia'sbowlingattack—toZaheerKhan(twofor46),JavagalSrinath(onefor41)—andtothehighleveloffielding.

Even as he strode out to bat, Sachin Tendulkar's demeanour bespoke grimdetermination, ahere-and-nowurgency tonotonly set Indiaauthoritativelyoncoursetovictorybutalsotoputtorest,ontheworld'sbiggestcricketingstage,allasininedebateconcerningtheworld'spremierbatsman.

Hestartedoffwithaflurryofsavage,bludgeoningstrokeswhichseemedtosuggestthat,althoughtheycameintheaftermathofMrJaswantSingh'sUnionBill, he was not budgeting for runs in the initial stanzas of the run-chase.Virender Sehwag followed suit almost dutifully, almost matching the geniusstrokeforstroke.

ItrainedsixesandfoursasthepairputShoaibAkhtar,bowlingatfullthrottlein the 150-kph speed zone, and Waqar Younis, now only a shadow of hisdevastatingself,tothesword.The50oftheinningscameoffonly32deliveriesamidfreneticwavingofinnumerabletricoloursinthepackedstands.

GangulydepartedwithoutscoringtoleaveIndiainasomewhatperilousstateat53 for two.ButMohammedKaif,whowason thevergeofbeing excludedfrom thismomentousencounter,helpedTendulkarput the inningsbackon therailswhilehelpinghimcrossthe12,000ODIrunmark.

Kaifdroppedanchor,remainingscorelesswhileTendulkar,whowasgrantedareprieve by Abdul Razzaq at mid-on off Wasim when on 32, imperiouslyplunderedrunsfromallpointsoftheground'smeridian.

Butoncehehadsettledin,Kaifdemonstratedadelectablearrayofstrokesinaninvaluablecameoof35runs.AninspiredpassagesawhimcoverdriveWaqarfortwoconsecutivefours,thenflicktheskippertothesquarelegfence,followedbyanimmaculatestraightdrivethatwouldhavedonecredittoSunilGavaskar.

Tendulkarwas beginning to feel the effects of cramps in his footwhich heaggravatedwhilegoingforasharpsinglewhenon98.

He collapsed at the bowlers' end and was attended to by physio AndrewLeipus. The very first over after resumption saw him back away awkwardlyfrom a snorter from Shoaib, who had smelt his prey. The nasty deliveryricochetedoffthebattoYounisKhan,whoscoopedupabrilliantrunningcatchinches from the ground as he dived full stretch forward. Tendulkar's 98 hadcome off just 75 balls and included one six and 12 fours. Batting withcircumspection,RahulDravidandYuvrajSinghavoided furtheralarm to steertheteamtoaconvincingwin.

Blazingawayandprovidingcompleteentertainmenttohisfans.

Waqar Younis's predictable decision to bat after winning the toss on a flatwicket in bright sunshine under an azure sky was vindicated when PakistaniopenersSaeedAnwarandTaufiqUmarbluntedtheinnocuousIndianpaceattacktoputon58beforeUmarwasbowledbyZaheerthroughthe'gate'.

The stream of Indian fans, many decked out in the team colours, in the18,000-capacityCenturion Park stadium, had further cause for rejoicingwhentheenormouslytalentedAbdulRazzaqfelltoabrilliantone-handeddivingcatchtohisrightbyRahulDravidoffAshishNehratomakeit90fortwoin20overs.

Theout-of-formInzamam-ul-Haq,arguablyamong thefinestbatsmen in the

world, having scored just 10 runs in his previous four innings, proclaimedhisintent when he smote the first delivery faced-off Anil Kumble — over thebowler'sheadtothefence.

However,Inzamam,wholooksapictureafterhavingshed14kgs,felltowhathas become the stuff of jokes— run out bySehwag after scoring 6. Pakistanwerenow98forthreeattheendof22overs.

Butathoroughlyprofessionalfourthwicketstandof73betweenSaeedAnwarandYousufYouhanaput thePakistan inningsonasteadycourseuntil JavagalSrinath,bowlingwithnaggingaccuracyinthechannel,hadYouhanacaughtbyZaheerKhanatdeepextracoverinessayingaloftedcoverdrive.

Indian skipper Ganguly failed to ring the requisite bowling changes thatwouldhavepreventedthebatsmenfromsettlingdown.Inanunimaginativeactofwishfulthinking,hepersistedinordinatelywithNehrawhowentfor74runsandbowledhis two left-handedpacebowlerswithalmostmetronomic tedium.Theincomprehensibletacticsuitedthebatsmenjustfine,thankyou.

AnilKumble,whowasincludedinthesideinpreferencetoHarbhajanSinghbowled economically (none for 51 in 10 overs), but one felt that Sehwag,MongiaandGangulyhimselfcouldhavebeengivenlongerspellsinpreferencetotheprofligateNehra.

SaeedAnwar,whohadbeen in thecricketingwilderness for sixmonths forreasonsrangingfromlossofdaughtertoreligiouspursuittoinjurytoomissionby selectors, rose to the occasion in an innings of pristine artistry that wasrepletewithwristycutsandexquisiteflicksonbothsidesofthewicket.Hefellfor 101, scored off 126 balls, bowled byNehra but not before he had helpedstabilise Pakistan's innings in conjunction with Younis Khan (32) and RashidLatif(29notout)tosetIndiaadefensiblescore.

SCOREBOARDPakistan: S Anwar bNehra 101, TUmar b Zaheer 22, ARazzaq cDravid bNehra12,Inzamam-ul-Haqrunout6,YYouhanacZaheerbSrinath25,YounisKhancMongiabZaheerKhan32,SAfridicKumblebMongia9,RLatifnotout29,WAkramnotout10.Extras(b-2,lb-7,w-11,nb-7)27.Total273for7in50overs.Fallofwickets:1-58,2-90,3-98,4-171,5-195,6-208,7-256.Bowling:ZaheerKhan10-0-46-2,Srinath10-0-41-1,Nehra10-0-74-2,Kumble

10-0-51-0,Ganguly3-0-14-0,Sehwag4-0-19-0,Mongia3-0-19-1.

India:STendulkarcYounisKhanbAkhtar98,VSehwagcAfridibYounis21,SGangulylbwbYounis0,MKaifbAfridi35,RDravidnotout44,YuvrajSinghnotout50.Extras(b-1,lb-3,w-19,nb-5)28.Total276for4in45.4overs.Fallofwickets:1-53,2-53,3-155,4-177.Bowling:Akram10-0-48-0,Akhtar10-0-72-1,Younis8.4-0-71-2,Afridi9-0-45-1,Razzaq8-0-36-0.

March2,2003

WithwifeAnjaliatafunctionin2010.

TheWomanWhoKnowsSachinBest

AnjaliTendulkarinterview

SachinTendulkar’sbetterhalfisnotknowntoprovidethemediawith soundbytesandextendedviews.Thisrare interview was conducted by former IndiabatsmanandcoachAnshumanGaekwad forhisbookonthebattinggreat.

WhatkindofpersonisSachinathome?Heisaverynormalkindofpersonathome,asallhusbandsare.

Doeshehelpinhouseholdchores,likeinthekitchen,shoppingetc?He does sometimes but not in everything. He will not do dusting and otherroutinework, but helpswith the cooking sometimes.He is extremely fond ofnon-vegetarianfoodandlovescookingithimself(smiles).Hethinksheisaverygoodcook,thegreatest.

Whatkindofafatherishe?Heisagreatfather,hedotesonthekids.Helovesplayingwiththemwheneverheisathome.Hebecomesonehimselfwiththem.Heteasesthem,tossesthemanddoeseverythingelseanormalfatherdoes.

Whatkindofclothesdoeshelike?Yes,helikesdesignerstuffbuthedoesnothaveanyparticularbrand.Hebuysanything that he likes.Heprefers dressing casually.He likes designer t-shirts,jeans,watchesetc.Heavoids formalclothingwhichhewearsonly forofficialfunctionsandbigparties.Otherwisehelovesandlivesinhisdenimsandtees.

Whatkindofclothesdoeshelikeyoutowear?Hedoesnotlikemewearingskirtsorultra-modernclothes.Mostlyhelikesmeto wear salwar-kameez, saris or jeans. Most of the time I am traditionallydressed. Sachin is very particular when it comes to my hair-styling too. He

prefersitbeingsimple.

Whatistheonethingyoulikemostabouthim?TherearelotsofthingsIlikeabouthim,butonequalitythatIreallylikeisthathedoesnothavedoublestandardsinlife.Heistruetohimselfandveryawareandintouchwithhisroots.Hehasnotletsuccessandfamegotohishead.Hedoesnotbehavelikeasuperstarathomeorinpublicandisverydowntoearth.

Isthereanythingyouhateabouthim?Nothinginparticular.Heisaverylikeableman.

Hasheeverletyoudown?NEVER.Hehasalwaysbeenthereformeandalwaysgoneoutofhiswaytodothingsforme.

Hasheevergoneoutofthewaytoexpresshisloveforyou?Oh,hehas.LastValentine'sdayhewasbusyon tour,andhecalledmeadaybeforeValentine's.HeaskedmewhatIwasgoingtobedoingforValentine's.ItoldhimthatImaygoandpurchaseasmallbraceletformyselfasaValentine'sgift,andhesaidokay.

AnjaliTendulkardrivesSachinandtheirkids,ArjunandSarahomefromMumbaiairportontheIndianteam’sreturnfromPakistanin2004.

But that was not the end of it. Early next morning, on Valentine's Day, thedoorbellrangandwhenIopenedthedooramanhandedmeasmallparcelinabrown envelope. He said, "Sahab ne bheja hai". When I opened it, I was inseventh heaven, for what was inside really made my day. It was a beautifuldiamondnecklace thatSachinhad sent forme. Itwas a beautiful surprise.Hemusthavereallygonethroughalotoftroubletogetitorganisedfromwherehewasinlessthan24hours.

Sachin(alongwithwifeAnjali)raisesatoasttochildhoodfriendRickyCoutoonhisweddingday—January30,2005.

Ifthereisonethingthatyouwouldliketochangeabouthim,whatwoulditbe?Iwould like to changehis stubbornness.He is very stubborn andoncehehasmadeuphismindtodosomethinghewillnotresttillhehasfinisheditatanycost,nomatterwhattheconsequences.

Whatisthefunniestthinghehaseversaidtoyou?(Laughs)When he toldme to go and inform 'his' parents about ourmarriageplans.

Howdoyouhandleitwhenwomentrytogetclosetohimandflirtwithhim?Doyouhateit,getjealousorwhat?I reallydonotget jealousorhatewomenwhentheydoall thisstuff,but Igetirritatedattheirbehaviour.However,thisisnormalformeasIunderstandthatheisasuperstarsoallthesethingsareapartandparcelofhislife.

Doyouhavethesamepassionforcricketthathedoes?Doeshetalkcricketwithyou?I ammarried to a cricketer, and I like towatchhimplay.Other than that,myknowledge of the game is very limited.He rarely talks about the game tomebecause he thinks I do not know anything about cricket. He has lengthydiscussionswithhisbrotherAjitonthetopic.

Whenwasthelasttimeyouhadanargumentwithhim?Noargumentstilldate,butyeswedodiscussalot.Itryandtellhimtogooutand have a good time with us, without bothering about the world, which heavoids.Iunderstandwhyhefeelsthatway,butthenIkeeptellinghimtolethishairdown.

ExcerptsfromSachinTendulkar:JewelofIndiabyAnshumanGaekwad,publishedbySaistarPublications.

April24,2003

DuringaninterviewwithMiDDAYbeforehis30thbirthdayin2003.

SachistheArtofCoping

T

ClaytonMurzello

What’s Sachin Tendulkar like when the going getstough in termsof injuries?This interview, conductedat his home inBandra,Mumbaimay give you a fairidea.

heweatheroutsideSachinTendulkar'sBandrahousedepictsthestateofhiscricketinglife—gloomy,butnotdark.Andlikeweareconvincedthat the

sunwillcomeout,Tendulkarknows thathewill takeguardsoon.Since1999,he'snotbeen in thebest sportinghealth.Yet, there are indications thathehasmanagedtotideoverthecrisiswithcharacteristicpoise.

Askhimaquestionabouthowhehascopedwithback,foot,fingerandelbowinjuriesandhe'llsoonaddthatyouforgottheshoulderandhamstringinjuries.

Excerptsfromaninterview:

Since 1999, you have suffered fromback, foot, finger and elbow injuries.Whatisthemindsetofatopsportsmaninsuchsituations?

Ihavecarriedalotofinjuriesforthelastsixyears.Ihadabadhamstringinjurybefore the lastWorldCup and a shoulder injury towards the end of theWestIndiestourin2002.Ifyouaregoingtoconsistentlypushyourselfhardandtothelimit,injuriesaregoingtohappen.Inanysport,it'sverynormaltoseeplayersgodownwithinjuries.Somehowthingsgowrong.WhereIamconcerned,it'spartandparcelof sportbut Iwouldprefer to carryonwith theotherparcelwhichdoesn'thaveanyroomforinjuries.

DelightedafterafruitfulsessionwithabowlingmachineatMIGCricketClub,Mumbaiin2002.

Ihaveovercomemostof theobstacles.This(tenniselbow)hasbeenaroundforayearnow—sinceAugust18lastyear.IhavetobementallytoughwhichIampreparedtobe.

Howcriticalwasthebackinjuryin1999?It happenedwhile Iwas playing (againstPakistan inChennai, 1999). I got anattackofcramps.Everythingstartedcramping—forearms,theareabetweenmyindexfingerandthumb.

Iwasfindingitdifficulttostretchmymuscles.ThesituationwassuchthatIhadtocarryonsomehow.Itstartedbecauseofdehydration.Whateverfluidsyoutake, theheat sapsyou.Yousawwhathappened toMohammadKaifwhenhewasbattingagainstAustraliathere(in2004).

Kaifisprobablythefittestmemberofthesideandithappenedtohim.Hehadprobablybatted half the number of hours ofwhat I did.He scored64while Iscored136.It’sallaboutkeepingyourselfproperlyhydrated.

Talkingabouthydrating,notmanypeopleknowthatIhadtosetanalarmjusttodrinkwateratnight.Iusedtomakeitapointtostuffmyselfwithwaterandsleep.Itisnotwhatyoudothatmorning,itiswhatyoudo10-12hourspriortothegamewhichisimportant.

“NotmanypeopleknowthatIhadtosetanalarmjusttodrinkwateratnight.Iusedtomakeitapointtostuffmyselfwithwaterandsleep.”

Haveyoufeltuncertainaboutyourfuturewhenyouhadtheseinjuries?

Honestly,Ineverthoughtlikethat.Ifyoustartthinkinginthatdirectionthen...as they say... the body reacts to howyou think. If the thinking is not healthy,thenthebodywilltakelongertorecover.Imakealltheefforttothinkthatit’sgoingtogetbetteratsomestage.

Havealltheseinjuriesmadeyouadifferentbatsman?

Nottheinjuries.It’sjustmyageandprobablymymaturity.Everythingchangeswithtime.Ifeelpeopleshouldbewiseenoughtoacceptthatbecauseeverythingchanges.ThegreatestexampleisAmitabhBachchan.Heplaysdifferentroles.

Similar is the case with the other sportspersons. Great players like VivianRichards,SunilGavaskar,AllanBorder—theyallrepresentvariedstyles.

When I first got into the team I was very aggressive while others likeVengsarkarandRavi(Shastri)werenaturallyatadifferentlevelaltogether.Thenlater,therewereAzharuddinandSidhu.

Now, I have reached that level and guys like Viru (Sehwag), Yuvraj andothersareplayingdifferentroles.Itisallaboutwhattheteamneeds.Iftheteamwantsmetogooutthereandgobang,bang,Icandothat.Youhaveeachguydoingdifferentthings.

Eventuallywhen thingscome together, itclicks. It'snot importantwhat fivepeoplesitting100metresawaythinkabouthowyoushouldplay.It'sabouttheteam.

Doesthefactthatyou'vecomebackeachtimeprovideinspirationinthesetimes?

Yes...itdoes.IknowIhaveovercomesomanyobstacles.Formybackinjury,IwenttoAustraliatofixitanditworked.I'vejustgottobepatient.Eachinjuryisgoingtohaveadifferenttimeframeforrecovery.Ihavegottorespectthat.

Whatmakesyousopositive?I've worked hard for this and there are people around me who have workedequallyhard.Withtheirsupport,Ifeelextremelyconfident.It'sverytough,butwiththemshowingmethelightattheendofthetunnel,Igetmoredetermined.

Iwanttoplayforsometime.Iamnotjustlookingatthenextfewmatchesbutatabroaderperspective.Idon'twanttoplayacoupleofgamesandseethingsgowrong.

It'smy family... thewaywe interact at homehas helpedme to be positive.Also,thedesiretoplayforIndiamakesmethinkinthatdirection.Togettothetop,youhavetohaveasupportstaffandforme,thatismyfamily.

August21,2005

India’sSunnySide

N

IanChappell

Sachin Tendulkar never tires from saying that hedoesn’tplaywithrecordsinmind.However,gettingtoCentury No 35 — against Sri Lanka in Delhi —patentlyprovidedhimasenseofreliefsinceeveryonehadkeptaskinghimwhenitwouldhappen.Thefigure35 was significant. It took him past his idol SunilGavaskar’smarkof34Testhundreds.OvertoIanChappell...

owherecomesthereal'LittleMaster'.Thesewordswerespokenatthe1996WorldCup opening ceremony by SunilGavaskar and hewas referring to

PakistanbattinggeniusHanifMohammad.

BothHanifandSunilweresimilarinstature,wentbythesamenomdeplumeandhadadistinctthirstforruns.AtthesametimeasSunnyspokethesewords,aboutahundredmetresaway,outinthemiddleofEdenGardens,wasapotentialthirdmemberof the 'LittleMaster' club,SachinTendulkar.Who is thebestofthethree?

WellSachin is themost aggressive,Sunilhad the toughest jobashehad tofacetheWestIndiespacebowlersatthepeakoftheirprowessandHanifistheonlyonetohaveaTesttriplecenturytohisname.AtthetimeGavaskarspokethosewords in1996 itwashard to imagine thatanyonewouldattain letalonesurpasshisrecordof34Testcenturies.Nownineyearson,TendulkarhaspassedGavaskar'smarkandhasbecomeTestcricket'smostprolificcenturymaker.

Fornighon adecadeTendulkar andanotherdiminutive strokemakerBrianLarahaveviedfor the titleofbestbatsman inworldcricket.Tendulkarhit thesceneasaprecocious talent,16yearsofagebutextremelymature in thinking.No bowler could tie him down and he cemented his reputation as a player ofimmenseskill andcourageby first scoringacenturyat theSCGasa teenagerandthenamonthlatergoingonebetterbyamassingabrillianthundredonthebouncyWACApitchagainstafourprongedAustralianpaceattack.Herewasaplayer of great skill and nerve who wasn’t intimidated by any opponent andabout whom Sir Donald Bradman observed, “He’s the batsman who most

remindsmeofthewayIplayed.”

How tough is it to scoreacenturyat theWACA?Well, the first timeSunilGavaskar played there for the World X1 he was out cheaply to a ball fromDennisLillee thatclimbedoffagood lengthandpassedhisnose.“Areall thepitchesinAustralialikethis?”heaskedmethatnight.

“Why?”Iresponded.“Becauseif theyare,”saidSunny,“Imightaswellgohomenow.”

Gavaskarwasonlyjoking;hewasneveronetoduckachallenge,asinstancedby thegreat tourhehadof theCaribbean in1975-76whenAndyRobertsandMichaelHoldingwereinfullcry.Agreatmimicandraconteur,GavaskarlovesrecountingastoryofbattingatSabinaParkinKingston.Afterthreebouncersina row, Holding finally bowled a good length ball and one of the many fastbowlingfans in theaudience immediatelycalledout,“HeyMikey,bowlhimabouncer.”

Gavaskarcoulddrivetheoppositiontodistractionwithhis immensepowersofconcentrationwhileTendulkarjustdrovethemtotheboundary.

Technicallyas soundasanyopener I’ve seen,Gavaskarhad thepatienceofJob. However, he never missed a scoring opportunity and would pounce onanythinglooseandeitherdriveitthroughtheoff-sideorflickitoffhispadsasthoughitwasanannoyinglittleinsect.Hewasfleet-footedandthisallowedhimtogetquicklyintopositionandevenagainstthefastestbowlershehadtimetodefendordeflect.

Fast bowling never bothered Gavaskar but mention slow scoring andimmediately his antenna rises. Ask him about the 1975World Cup match atLord’sandscoringonly36in60oversandhealwaysreplies,“NoIan,ina60-overmatch.”

AsafellowcommentatorIhaveenjoyedhiscompanyonmanyoccasionsandheisquickwithastoryandkeenonaglassofwine,aslongasit’safterthe20thinthemonth.Ihaven’thadmanyopportunities tomixsociallywithTendulkarbutwhen Ihaveheappealsasamanwhoenjoysagood timeandappreciateshumour.

WithfellowbattinglegendSunilGavaskaratthereleasefunctionofCricketatFeverPitchbyKhalidA-HAnsariattheCricketClubofIndiain2006.

India have been fortunate to have two such different but equally successfulbatsmen.Gavaskar could drive the opposition to distractionwith his immensepowers of concentration while Tendulkar just drove them to the boundary.Neither has been fortunate enough to regularly have great attacks to fullycapitalise on their mammoth run scoring skill but their teammates have hadmanyoccasionstothankthemforputtingvictoryoutoftheopposition’sgrasp.

Tendulkar and Gavaskar have continued a trend of highly successfuldiminutive batsmen in world cricket. There have been precious few batsmendeserving of the title ‘Little Master’ but when it comes to compiling TestcenturiesthetwoIndiansareoutontheirown.

December11,2005

SachinTendulkarbeinginterviewedinamake-uproomin2008.

LookintothatMirror,Sachin

I

IanChappell

Probably, the most controversial of all articles onSachin Tendulkar was written after the 2007 WorldCup by Ian Chappell, hitherto an admirer ofTendulkar. The comment piece sparked off reactionsfrom all over the country. Not unexpected thoughconsideringtheiconinvolved.

n the fallout from India's early demise at theWorld Cup one of the majordecisionswillconcernthefutureofSachinTendulkar.

BeforeanybodyelsemakesadecisiononwhatwillhappentoTendulkar,theplayerhimselfhastohaveagoodlonglookinthemirroranddecidewhathe'stryingtoachieveinthegame.Atthemomenthelookslikeaplayertryingtoekeoutacareer,buildonaglitteringarrayofstatistics.Ifhereallyisplayingforthatreason and not to help win as many matches as he can for India then he iswastinghistimeandshouldretireimmediately.

WhenyouthinkthatforadecadeBrianLaraandTendulkarwentheadtoheadin a wonderful battle of stroke play to establish who the best batsman in theworldwas,theyarenowworldsapartineffectiveness.

Lara'squick-footedtiptoethroughaterrificinningsagainstagoodAustralianbowlingattackwhentherestoftheWestIndiestopordersuccumbedeasilywasindirectcontrasttoTendulkar'sstumblingeffortinthecrucialSriLankamatch.

The amazing thing about Lara’s brilliant career is the fact that he hasn’tchangedhisstyleatallover17years.Thisisacredittohistechniqueandmentalstrength, as the aging process generally makes a player more progressivelyconservative. Tendulkar hasn’tworn aswell; his last three or four years havebeenashadowofhisformerself.

SpeakingtotheelectronicmediaatBrabourneStadiumin2004.

HisdoublecenturyattheSCGinJanuary2004wasaclassiccaseofagreatplayerreallystruggling.Hecametothecreaseoutofformanddespiteamassingall those runs and batting for in excess of 10 hours he was no closer torecapturinghis best touch thanhehadbeenwhenhehad startedout. Itwas atribute to his determination but it was a sad sight to see; there are enoughaverageplayersaroundsothatyoudon'twanttoseeaclassyonereducedtothatlevel.

Tendulkarhasn'tbeenasluckyasLara;theIndianbatsmanhassufferedalotofinjuriesinthisperiodwherehisplayhasdeterioratedandthereisnothingthatmelts your mental approach quicker than physical handicaps. Lara has beenrelativelyfreefrominjuryandhecertainlydoesn'thavetheweightofnumbersriding on his shoulders that Tendulkar does. However, the population of theCaribbeanmightbesmallbuttheyareextremelydemanding.

DespiteallthefussandtheoddcontroversythathassurroundedLara'scareerhehasremainedhimself;asiftoassert—thisismygameandthisishowIplay.

For whatever reason Tendulkar hasn't been able to maintain his extremely

highstandardsforthelastfewyearsandunlesshecanfindawaytorecapturethismentalapproachhe'snotdoinghisteamorhimselfanyfavours.

If Tendulkar had found an honest mirror three years ago and asked thequestion;"Mirror,mirroronthewallwhoisthebestbatsmanofall?"

Itwould'veanswered,"BrianCharlesLara."

Ifheaskedthatsamemirrorrightnow,"Mirror,mirroron thewallshouldIretire?"

Theanswerwouldbe;"Yes."

March30,2007

SachinTendulkarexultsafterreachinghiscenturyagainstAustraliaatthe

SydneyCricketGroundin2008.

ActofWillinSydney

S

PeterRoebuck

SachinTendulkar’s thirdTest hundred at the SydneyCricket Ground came during the most controversialTest in recent times.Despitehis century effort, Indiaendeduplosing.ForgetMonkeygateandsavourwhatcamebeforethat.

YDNEY: Sachin Tendulkar's reaction upon reaching three figures at theSydneyCricketGroundtoldthetaleofhisinnings.

His response came asmuch fromhis heart as his head.Apush through thecovers took him to the coveted tally and the crowd stood to cheer. Just for amoment theIndianappearedfrozen,as if theaccomplishmentofafeat long inthemakingwastoomuchtoabsorb.

After a pause that lasted an age, he slowly raised both arms towards theheavens and stood staring with something akin to ecstasy etched in his face.Clutching his bat and helmet he raised his arms a second time, punchingupwardslikeagladiatorwhohadlookedimmortalityintheeyeandsurvived.

Itwasnotsomuchthathehadconqueredafieldorafierceopponent.Hehadconqueredhimself.

Tendulkar stayedwitharmsaloft for several seconds.Everything seemed tobehappeninginslowmotion.HarbhajanSingh,afriskycounterpointtoagraveelder,dashedacrosstoembracehiscolleaguebuthispartnerhadwithdrawnintosome etherealworld of private contemplation and hardly seemed to recognisehim.

As the ovation finally faded Tendulkar walked towards square leg to givehimselftimetorecoverandthenwentbacktowork.StuartClark'snextdeliverywasmetwithadiscouraginglystraightbat.

Attimesofheightenedemotionitseemsalmostimpertinenttodelveintotheinnermost thoughts of the performer. Perhaps, he was thinking about a fatherwhose passing moved him deeply. Perhaps, he was remembering previous

successesonaground that relisheshim.Ormaybehewas reflectingupon thepassingoftheyears,knowingthathecouldnotexpecttotreadthispathagain.Accordingly,hehadsteeledhimselftoproducesomethingspecial.Atstumpseverydayhehad repaired to the indoornets to tightenhisgame.

Presumably, he was working on his back foot drive, the shot that had beenbringinghimdown.Batsmenofthiscalibredonotallowbadhabitstotakehold.

It was an innings notable for its construction and control. As much as anexhibition of batsmanship, it was an act of will. Every thought was precise,everydecisioncertain,everystrokeseemedtobecarvedinstone.It isnot thathisbattingwasthrillingorthatanyflamboyantstrokeswereplayed.Indeed,hehardly produced anything exceptional till three figures had been reachedwhereuponhefedtheboundaryatthirdmanwithuppercutsandcraftysteers.

Rather his innings was satisfying, in the manner of a perfect chess game.Throughout,hisheadwasimmaculatelystillandhiseyesremainedfixedontheball.Somehowhisbatappearedbroadofbeam,anillusioncreatedbypresentingthefullfaceofthebladetoeverydelivery.Notforhimtherubberymovementsandwristyflickscommonplaceinthesubcontinent.Hardlyonce,too,didhelifttheball,preferringtokeepitscorchingtheturf.

CutsduringtheDelhiTestagainstPakistanin2007.

Tendulkar set about building his score methodically and meticulously.Exuberanceistheprerogativeofyouth,wisdombelongstoelderswhoseeknotglory but achievement. Bafflingly Tendulkar is sometimes chided by his ownconstituencyforadvancingslowly,asifitwerefitforamantoremainforeveryoung.Now,heremindedsupportersthatage,too,hasitssatisfactions.

Unperturbed, he kept tucking the ball away, keptcollecting runs, gradually gathering momentum. NottheleastdistinguishingfeatureoftheIndian’sinningslay in his willingness to play second fiddle to variouspartners.

MostlyTendulkarpushedthescorealongwithsuperblyconstructeddefensivestrokesplacedintogaps.Itwastheinningsofanoldpro.Hisfirstrunofthedayhadcomewithapushwideofmid-onandanalertscamper.Already thebrain

wasticking.Foratime,hisattackingstrokesfoundthefieldsmen,afrustrationthat did not upset him. Unperturbed, he kept tucking the ball away, keptcollecting runs, gradually gathering momentum. Not the least distinguishingfeature of the Indian’s innings lay in his willingness to play second fiddle tovarious partners. Tendulkar watched as Sourav Ganguly unfurled numeroussweet strokes before his untimely dismissal. Later he was happy to supportHarbhajanasthespinnerplayedwiththeutmostspirit.Tendulkardidnottrytodominatethestrike,didnotpanicaswicketsfelltothesecondnewball.Nothingwasallowedtodisturbhisresolve.Throughout,heconcentratedonservingthesidethebestwayhecould.Byscoringahundred.

January05,2008

TheGreatAdelaideConnection

I

MikeCoward

Never say neverwhen it comes to SachinTendulkar,butyoucan’tblameevenoldhandsiftheythoughtthefourth Test of the 2007-08 series was his last inAustralia.Here’ssomethingontheSachinTendulkar-Adelaideconnection.

t is only right that Sachin Tendulkar should play his last Test match inAustraliaatAdelaideOvalforhehasaveryspecialaffinitywiththiscityof

churchesandChappellsandfestivals.

ForthiswasDonBradman'shometownfor66yearsandin1998India'slittlemastercamehereespeciallytopayhomagetothegame'sgreatestbatsmanonhis90thbirthday.

Itisapartofthegame'srichlore,ofcourse,thatBradmansaidhecouldseesomethingofhisyouthfulselfinthewayTendulkarplays.

While he has always been acutely embarrassed by any comparison withBradman, such an endorsement guaranteed Tendulkar would be deified evenbeyondthevastHindupantheon.

At the annual Testmatch dinner at theAdelaideOval pavilion on Tuesdaynight,hetoldanaudienceof1140thathismeetingwithBradmanintheloungeroomofthefamilyhomeatKensingtonParkinAdelaide’sleafyeasternsuburbswillforeverbeetchedinhismind.

LikeBradman,Tendulkarhascarried theexpectationsofanationeach timehehasbattedandsuch is the Indiandiaspora today thathe isaprisonerofhisfame even outside his homeland. Bradman often spoke of the intolerablepressuresoflivingeverywakingmomentinthepublicgaze.

Also like Bradman, Tendulkar receives an extraordinary amount ofcorrespondence. Recently, he received a letter from the Bradman Foundationexpressing the hope that he could find a way to make a gesture for thebetterment of the Bradman Museum at Bowral in the southern highlands of

NSW.

He was thrilled to be approached and after some consideration signed afavourite short-sleeved jumper he used in Australia. Given he was back inBradman’s townTuesdaynight,he tucked the jumperunderhisarmashe leftforthedinnerandduringthefunctionpresentedittoBobHorsell,thechairmanofCricketNewSouthWales,who is inAdelaide for theTestmatch. Itwas adelightfulgestureandwaswarmlyapplauded.

AsidefromhisvisitsasIndia’smasterbatsmanwhichbeganin1991-92whenhewas 18, hewas also inAdelaide for treatment for a severe back injury in1999.AndtothedelightofRodMarshandWaynePhillips,thenprincipalsatthethenCricketAcademy,heinsistedonlivingwiththestudents inasingleroomamongthedormitoryaccommodationoftheDelMonteguesthouseatsuburbanHenleyBeach.

He is,ofcourse,among themost self-effacingofmenwhohascarriedhimselfwithgreatdignity throughoutaremarkablecareer.

Tendulkar laughedwhenreminded thathehadonceasked“MrPhillips” forpermissiontoleavethedigstobuyfishandchipsatnearbyHenleySquare.

Heis,ofcourse,amongthemostself-effacingofmenwhohascarriedhimselfwithgreatdignity throughouta remarkablecareer.LatenextyearhewillhaveplayedintheTestarenalongerthanBradmanwhosecareerstretchedfrom1928to1948.

Itisapresumption,ofcourse,thatTendulkarwillnotagainreturntoAdelaideOvalforTestcricket.Afterall,hehasbeenblessedwithsuper-humanpowers.Thatsaid,itdoesseemmostunlikely.Hewillbe35onApril24andIndiaisnotscheduledtoreturnhereforTestmatchesbefore2011-12.

WaitingforhisturntobatinthenetsattheGabbainBrisbaneonthe1991-92tourofAustralia.

OnTuesdaynighthegavenothingawayabouthisimmediatefuturealthoughobviously he will play against Australia in India in October. He said he wassimplycontenttoenjoyhiscricketwithoutmakinganyrigidplans.Certainlyhewasrelaxedandgratefulthathestillhasthewillandstrengthofmindandbody

tocompete.

Itisnevereasytosaygoodbyetosomeonewhohasgracedthegameinsuchamannerandbroughtusgreatjoy.Thereisasenseofprivilegeathavinglivedinhistimebutatthesametimeadeepregretthathewon’tbebackagain.

Weexperiencedthesameconflictingemotionsherejust26monthsagowhenBrianLara bade farewell to cricket in this country. Larawas then sixmonthsintohis37thyear.

Overtheyearstherehasbeenmuchanimateddebateastowhoamongthetwo,TendulkarorLara,hasbeenthepre-eminentbatsmanofthecontemporarygame.Lara,themore classicalof the two,wasnever indoubt thatthedistinctionbelongedtoTendulkar.

Over the years there has beenmuch animated debate as towho among thetwo,TendulkarorLara,hasbeenthepre-eminentbatsmanofthecontemporarygame.Lara,themoreclassicalofthetwo,wasneverindoubtthatthedistinctionbelongedtoTendulkar.Indeed,hefamouslyobserved:“Sachinisagenius,I’mameremortal.”

These days that tribute is even inscribed on coffee mugs available from amerchandiseshopbeneathTendulkar’srestaurantneartherenownedGatewayofIndiainMumbai.

ThosewhodidnotseeBradmancanboasttheysawTendulkarandLara.Anditisaveryproudclaimindeed.

If this is theend forTendulkar as aTest cricketer in this country it ismostappropriate his stage will be the world’s most classically beautiful cricketground.

January24,2008

ImportanceofBeingHonest

SanjjeevKSamyal

Eventhemostgiftedofcricketershavetolabourinthenets. Proof of this comes in the form of this piecewritten after Sachin Tendulkar contributed to IndiaregainingtheBorder-GavaskarTrophy.

AllfocusbeforewalkingouttobatforMumbaiinthe1994-95season.

JAMTHA(NAGPUR):Itisaseasonofretirements.Twoofthefivestalwartshave already called it quitswhile the pressure is building onRahulDravid.

Thebiggestname,SachinTendulkarhas,however,consistentlysaidthatheisinnomoodtocallitadayyet.Duringthisserieshehasannouncedhisintentionswiththebattoo.HissequenceofscoresinseveninningsagainstAustraliasofarreads—13,

49,88,10notout,68,47and109—anaggregateof384atanaverageof64.00.Throughout this series he has batted with consistency and in importantsituations. The only thing missing was a three-figure knock. He fulfilled thatdesire too by reaching his 40th century on the opening day of the fourthTestagainst Australia at the newly built Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadiumyesterday.

Thanks to Tendulkar’s knock and half-centuries by 100-Test man VVSLaxman and Virender Sehwag, India rallied to 311 for five. The Mumbailegend’s146-runpartnershipwithLaxmanwasthehighlightoftheday.ItcameatatimewhenIndiahadlostdebutantMVijay,RahulDravidandSehwagin29deliveriestowardstheendofthefirstsession.

Tendulkarmay have a good record againstAustralia.But it’snot thathe justwentout thereand turnedonthemagic.

Butitdidnotcomeaseasilyasitlooked.Tendulkarmayhaveagoodrecordagainst Australia. But it’s not that he just went out there and turned on themagic.Hesweatedforhoursandhours,diligentlypreparingfortheseries.

While teammateswereplaying the IraniTrophy,Tendulkarwasmaking themostofthetimehehadonhandwithintense,plannedtrainingsessions,dividinghis time betweenNational CricketAcademy, Bangalore, andMumbai CricketAssociation’sindoorcricketacademyatBandraKurlaComplex.

His close friend, Atul Ranade, who was training with him at the BKC,described the training sessions as ‘intense’. Observing his practice sessions,former India player Chandrakant Pandit, MCA’s Indoor Cricket AcademyDirector, who had witnessed Tendulkar’s preparation, predicted Tendulkarwouldbeunstoppableinthisseries.“Hewouldcomeat7:30a.m.andtraintill

almost1:30to2:00p.m.Hewouldbatforhoursintheindoornetsandthenbatoutdoorsforhours.Hedidrigorousstrengthtrainingaswell,”saidPandit.

“He was unbelievably focused. I remember once I crossed him as he wasgoing to bat and our eyes met. But he was in a trance and saw throughme.Normally,wewisheachotherbutIrealisedhewasfocused,”revealedPandit.

It wasn’t just long training hours, his latest success is a result of properplanning.TheAussieswonthe2004serieswithdefensivefieldsandkeepingittight.Theirgameplanwastoplayonthebatsman’spatienceandthenthrowinateaserwhichiswideofftheoff-stump.PanditsaidthistimeTendulkarwasreadyfor this attack. “He thinks about the opponent’s plans and his practice iscarefully planned.Hepractised leaving the ball outside the off-stump andonecould see he was very comfortable with that line and length.” Certainly,Tendulkarislookinggoodforacoupleofyearsmore.

November7,2008

TendulkarwithsonArjun,daughterSaraandwifeAnjaliposewithhisMadameTussaudswaxmodelatafunctioninMumbaiin2009.

It’sChennaiYetAgain!

Y

ClaytonMurzello

In1999againstPakistaninChennai,centurionSachinTendulkarwitnessedaspinelessdisplayfromtherestof the batting order which helped Pakistan grabvictory from the jaws of defeat. The last day of theChennaiTestagainstEnglandin2008wasanapttimeforhimtoremindbattingpartnerYuvrajabout1999.The reminder played some role in India ensuring awinagainstKevinPietersen’steam.

esterday's epic unbeaten 103 against England at Chennai has probablyconvinced Sachin Tendulkar that there is justice in this game, something

whichhemayhavenotbelievedin,onJanuary31,1999.

MAChidambaramisSachinTendulkar'shappiesthuntingground(fivetonsinnineTests)butthisgroundalsogavehimhismostpainfulmomentonacricketfield nine years ago when his 136 against Pakistan went down the nearbyBuckingham canal at Chepauk through India's 12-run loss toWasimAkram'steam.

Itwasasimilarmatchsituationyesterdaybut this timeTendulkarensureditwasahappyendingbynotthrowingitaway.Overnineyears,lessonshavebeenlearntandhehasaddedanewchaptertohiscricketinglife.

Tendulkar told me yesterday that visions of that 1999 disappointmentappearedduringhisinningsyesterday."Yes,Ididthinkofit,"headmittedfromhis hotel room in Chennai. India benefited from Tendulkar's presence as heplayedgoodshepherdtohisjuniorbattingpartnerYuvrajSingh."IwentdownandtoldYuvrajthatit'sstillnotover;don'tthinkit'soverandIhaveexperiencedit(acloseloss)sodon’trelax,”Tendulkarrevealed.

ReturningtothepavilionafterbeingdismissedbyPakistan’sSaqlainMushtaqfor136inthe1999ChennaiTestwhichPakistanwonby12runs.

Atonestagehehadtorelayamessagemoreemphatically:"YuvrajplayedashottoMontyPanesarwhichlandedinbetweenshortmid-wicketandlongon.Itoldhimnottodothat.Hewasconfident,butsomesmallthingcancauseasoftdismissal and it only needs a wicket-taking ball to a new batsman to cause

furtherdamage,"Tendulkarexplained.

Yesterday, itwasnotonlyTendulkar,whowasdoing the talking. "Wekepttellingeachotherthatwehavetostaytheretilltheveryend,"hesaid.

In 1999, Nayan Mongia was dismissed playing a rash shot just when itappeared that thepairwould takeIndiahome.India lost their last fourwicketsforfourrunsafterTendulkarandMongiaputon135.

Chasing271forvictory,TendulkarplayedagemagainstthelikesofAkram,WaqarYounisandSaqlainMushtaq.

At254 for six,Tendulkardecided to takeonSaqlain againbut this timeheloftedonetomid-offwhereAkramaccepteditwithglee.Theatmosphereattheground resembled amorgue; probably the dressing room too and in the pressbox, the pen pushers' cynicism rose alarmingly but was ultimately true:Tendulkar gone andwith it, thematch.Later, themedia learnt that oneof hisbesthundredswasscorednotonlyunderduress,butinphysicalpaintoo.Saqlainintensified his effort and Pakistan went on to win by 12 runs. It was aheartbreakerforthewholeofIndiabutnothinglessforTendulkar.

Hewasmorethanmisty-eyedafterthatlossandwasinnomoodtoattendthepost-matchpresentation.Tendulkarwouldhaveextractedsomepleasureingoingback to thatdressing roomseatbut ashe saidyesterday, "they've changed thedressingrooms."

December16,2008

LiftingtheTitanCupafterbeatingSouthAfricainthefinalatMumbai’sWankhedeStadiumin1996.

My20GreatestMoments

AstoldtoClaytonMurzello

A few minutes here, a few minutes there! Tendulkarfound time to think, select and elaborate on his 20greatest moments for this special piece tocommemoratehis20yearsofinternationalcricket.

ThefirsttimeIputonmyIndiacapItwas agreatmoment forme. If I amnotmistaken,ChanduBorde,our teammanagerhandedmemycap,but therewasnopresentationceremonylike theyhavetoday.

MyfirstTesthundredIt came at Old Trafford in 1990. Manoj Prabhakar helped me with somedeterminedbattingattheotherend.Iwasnotatallsurprisedbywhathedidthatday because I had played with him earlier and I knew that he was a terrificcompetitor.WepreventedEnglandfromwinning.

Counter-attacking114atPerthThis ton is a favourite of mine. Australia had four quick bowlers (CraigMcDermott, Merv Hughes, Mike Whitney and Paul Reiffel) but I thoughtMcDermottwasthemostchallengingtofaceinPerth.Throughouttheserieshewastheirmainbowler.

BowlingthelastoveragainstSAinthe1993HeroCupSouthAfricaneededsixrunstowininthelastover.Therewasnoplanformetobowl that over but I said I am very confident of bowling it successfully. Iconcededjustthreeandwewon.

82(off49balls)againstNZasopenerin1994Iwasthevice-captainthenandourregularopenerNavjotSinghSidhuwokeupwithastiffneck.IrequestedAzhar(MohammadAzharuddin)andAjitWadekar

(cricketmanager) to ‘justgivemeoneopportunityand Iamveryconfidentofplayingsomebigshots.AndifIfail,I’llneverevercometoyouagain’.

I requested Azhar (Mohammad Azharuddin) and AjitWadekar (cricket manager) to ‘just give me oneopportunity and I am very confident of playing somebig shots. And if I fail, I’ll never ever come to youagain’.

WinningtheTitanCupin1996South Africa were playing terrific cricket right through the tournament. Weadoptedadifferentstrategy.AscaptainIchosetohavefivefieldersontheon-side. I toldRobinSinghnot tobowl seambut cutters into thebodyandmakethemscoreeverythingontheon-side.Maybethatcameasasurprisefor them.Thiswasonelow-scoringgamethatIcanneverforget.

1997SaharaCupwinoverPakistanWewerewithoutourtopthreebowlersforthistournamentwhichIledIndiain.Wewerewithout Javagal Srinath,VenkateshPrasad andAnilKumble butwehadAbeyKuruvilla,HarvinderSingh,DebasisMohantyandNileshKulkarniasnewcomers.ItwasafantasticeffortandwebeatPakistan4-1.Incredible!

Scoring155againstAustraliaatChennaiin1998IthoughtgettingusedtothatanglefromShaneWarnewasimportant.BeforetheTest I not only practisedwith Laxman Sivaramakrishnan but NileshKulkarniand SairajBahutule inMumbai too. They gaveme a lot of practice. I clearlyremember saying to my friends after I scored a double hundred for MumbaiagainstAustraliathatWarnehasnotbowledasingleballroundthewicketandIknowthathewilldoitintheTestseries.

1998SandstormhundredinSharjahagainstAustraliaAnothermemorablehundredagainstAustralia inaserieswhichwasheldaftertheTestseriesathome.Therevisedtargetandsandstormmadeitchallenging.Itfelt really good to followup that hundredwith another one in the finalwhichwasplayedonmy25thbirthday.

MeetingSirDonBradmaninAdelaide

Without doubt, the most riveting moment in my off-field career. The trip toAdelaide in1998withShaneWarnewas truly special and tomeethimonhis90thbirthdaymadeitevenmorememorable.Itwasgreattospend45minutestoanhourtalkingcricketwithhim.

CelebratingIndia’striumphinthesemi-finalofthe1993HeroCupattheEdenGardens,Kolkataafterbowlingabrilliantlastover.

Returningtothepavilionafterscoringabrilliant,match-winning82off49ballsagainstNewZealandatAucklandin1994.

BeatingEnglandatLeeds,2002SanjayBangar played beautifully for his 68 and he put on a good partnershipwithRahulDravid,whoplayedsuperbly.IremembergoingtobatafterteaandAndrewFlintoffwasbowlingalotofshortpitchstuffroundthewicket.Imovedpretty well the next day and I remember leaving deliveries off MatthewHoggard,who bowled a few overs outside the off stump. I pacedmy inningswell(193)andwentpastSirDon’stallyof29Testhundreds.

Match-winning98vsPakinWorldCup2003TherewasthatsixoffShoaibbuttherewereothershotswhichIfeltgoodaboutin that match. I was playing with a finger injury and the finger wouldn’t

straighten. I avoided fielding practice through the tournament because I wasexperiencing a lot of painwhile catching. I gave fielding practice to the teamthough.

FirsteverserieswininPak(2003-04)Undoubtedly,oneofthetopserieswinsinmycareer.Remember,Pakistanhadagoodsideandwewentthereandwonconvincingly.

Ijustcouldnotsleepandwokeupat8:00a.m.tocatchamorningflight.Iwastryingeverypossiblethingtobefreshforthenextday’smatch.

35thTesthundred(vsSriLankainDelhi,2005)TherewasthispressurewhichwasbuildinguptogopastSunilGavaskarintheTestcenturytally.TheroomserviceandhousekeepingpeopleinmyhotelonlyspokeaboutgettingCenturyNo35. Iwasgladand relievedwhen ithappenedbecauseIcouldthenstartenjoyingthegameagain.

Nottingham2007TestwinoverEnglandWehavealwaysmanaged tocomebackwellafteradefeator savingamatch.Thisisaclassicexample.WeescapeddefeatintheopeningTestatLord’sbutcamebacktowininNottingham.

PerthTestwininAustralia,2008We were determined to win this Test after what happened in Sydney. Weshouldn’thavelostinSydneyconsideringwewereinagoodpositiononthefirstdayitselfbutthen,theworldhasseenwhathappened.(Referringtoumpiring.)

Tri-seriestriumphinAustralia,2008NotonlyIndia,butallothersidesfoundAustraliatoohardtobeat.MyhundredinthefirstfinalatSydneywassatisfyingbutthesecondmatchinBrisbanewastough.Wewenttobedat3a.m.inSydneyafteraday-nightgame.Ijustcouldnot sleep andwokeup at 8 a.m. to catch amorning flight. Iwas trying everypossiblethingtobefreshforthenextday’smatch.Thenextdaywewonthetossandbatted.Itwasquitehumidsotheconditionsweretough.Weknewthatthe

first half hourwas crucial. I thought even if I don’t get runs quickly, it’s finebecause if we don’t lose early wickets, the big stroke players can alwayscapitaliseonthestartandthat’swhathappened.

GoingpastBrianLara’sruntallyinMohali,2008Becomingthehighestrun-getterinworldcricketdoesn’thappenovernight.Laraisaspecialplayerandagoodfriend.Werespecteachotherimmensely.TogopasthistallymeantthatIhavecontributedsomethingtocricket.

ChennaiTesthundredagainstEngland,2008Awesome feeling to get that hundred which I dedicated to the people ofMumbai.Itwasaveryemotionaltime.ItwasimportanttostaytheretilltheendandIremembertellingmybattingpartnerYuvrajSinghthatit’sstillnotoversodon’trelax.IrecalledthatclosegameagainstPakistanin1999whenwelostby12runs.

175againstAustraliainHyderabad,2009IknowmybodywellandIknowhowmuchIcanpushsoIwasnotsurprisedtoscorea175attheageof36.EvenifIhadtocompletethose20runsbyrunningthem, Iwasabsolutely fine. Iwasa fewruns shortofcompleting17,000ODIrunsbeforethematchbutthatwasn’tplayingonmymind.However,everynowand again it appeared on the scoreboard. That’s not important to me. Theimportantthingwastogooutandwin.

November15,2009

S

HailtheMaster!KhalidA-HAnsari

The incredible aspect of Sachin Tendulkar came tofore yet again—against SouthAfrica atGwalior in2010.HisODIdoublecenturywastoogreatafeatnottowaxeloquentaboutfromDownUnder.

YDNEY:Ifourchestsarepuffedwithjoytoday,ourheadsaloftwithpride,our sense of belief in our ability to conquer the world sky-high, we, as a

cricket-crazy nation, owe a debt of gratitude once again to the inspirationalSachinRamesh Tendulkar for becoming the first human to break the 200-runbarrierin2961internationalODImatches.

Tendulkar's brilliant, flawless, historic, unbeaten 147-ball knock inGwalioryesterdayinhis442ndgamein20yearsofinternationalcricketinacareerthathasseenhimobliterateallmannerofTestandODIrecords,wasvintageSachin,onethatwillrankalongsidehisbestinthelimitedoversversion.

The Little Master's achievement yesterday was all the more commendablesince it came in humid conditions against the fiercely competitive attack andathleticfieldingofoneofthemostformidableteamsintheworld,onethatranksamongthetopthreeinbothTestandone-daycricket.

Italsobore testimonytohisadmirablephysical fitness in that,atage37,heremainedunbeatenafterbattingthrough50overs,despitesufferingfromcrampsinthelast10overs.fromcrampsinthelast10overs.

His incandescent display was illumined with 25 thrilling fours and 3

imperious sixes, butwas also notable for 56 sprinted singles and13 twos, theresultofflawlesstiminganddeftplacements.Tendulkar's accomplishments in a star-studded career, starting with his

unbeaten326intheGilesinter-schoolfinalandhisunbeatenstandof664withVinodKambliinaninter-schoolmatchforShardashramSchoolontheveryday—February24(in1988)—aretoowell-knowntobearrepetition.

Suffice to say that even after 47 Test and 46ODI centuries (a total of 93)againstallcomersallovertheworld,thediminutiveGoliath(notanoxymoronin this context) said after yesterday'smemorable innings that hewould like toplayanother50-overODIinnings.

On the evidence of yesterday's performance, and given that Tendulkar isshowingnotracesoflosinganyofhismagicalpowers(10ofhishundredshavecomeinthelast12months),thereisnoreasonwhytheself-effacinggenius—agentle,compassionatehumanbeingifevertherewasone—shouldnotcompleteacenturyofcenturiesintheverynearfuture.

Thankingtheheavensafterbecomingthefirstmantoscoreaone-dayinternational200,againstSouthAfricainGwaliorin2010.

Significantly, Tendulkar dedicated his record yesterday to "all people ofIndia...whostoodbymeandsupportedme."

When he scores his 100th century, it will surely be another reason for allIndianhearts (he stresseshe is Indian firstbeforeall else), to swellwithprideagain.

February25,2010

ThereWillBeNoLackofCommitmentfromMe:Sachin

T

ClaytonMurzello

SachinTendulkar’squestforperfectionisonlyoneofthe reasons why he is viewed as the greatest Indianalive. His desire to achieve more even beforecompletelysavouringthegloryofthelastachievementisanother.

hatSachinTendulkar is no sucker for big celebrationswasmanifest in thefactthathewasinhisGwaliorhotelroomnotlongafterhelpingIndiatoone

oftheirmostmemorablewinsinone-dayinternationalcricket.

Onadaythatsawhimbecomethefirstbatsmantoscoreadoublehundredinone-day international cricket, he was as normal as ever. Quite clearly,Tendulkar'sability tokeephis feet firmlyon theground isasadmirableashiscricketingskills.

Excerptsfromatelephonicchat:Howdoyoucelebrateondayslikethese?

Idon'tdomuch.Iamjustsittinginmyroomrightnowandwehavetopackourbags.

I'venotdoneanything(meaningcelebrating).

Ifthere'samessagetopeoplewhoexpectgreaterthingsfromyou,whatwoulditbe?AllIcansayis,thepassionisstillthere.Iwillalwaysgooutandgivemybestandwhateverhastohappenwillhappen.Frommyside,therewon'tbealackofcommitment.

So,doyoufeelontopoftheworld?Idon'tknow.Honestly, I'venot thoughtabout it. It isdifficult toexplain rightnow. I've got a lot of text messages and have responded, but it's (doublehundred)notsunkinyet.

What'sthemostspecialmessageyoureceivedtoday?(Laughs)They(well-wishers)havevariousthingstosayandIrespecteachandeverymessage.Somemayuse50words;somemightsayitintwowords,buttheappreciationismostimportanttome.

Doesthedoublehundredseemspecialbecauseithascomeinyour21styearofinternationalcricket?Well,theseasonhasbeenagoodone.Ihaveenjoyedeverything...rightfromthefirsttouroftheseasontoSriLanka.

Didyousurpriseyourselfwiththisknock?Iwasstrikingtheballwell,butIdidn'tthinkof200.Whenhittingtheball,youdon'tstartthinkingofadoublecentury.AllIdidwascontinuewiththebatswingandflow.

Evenafter scoring100, Ididn't thinkof it.When Igotclose to180or soandtherewereeighttonineoversstilltogo,that'swhenIrealisedIhaveachance,and from the other end, Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni played some fabulousshots.Ijustlookedtorotatethestrikeandhitboundariesinbetween.

RIGHT:InajoyousmoodattheOvalinLondonafterIndia'sseriestriumphoverEnglandinthe2007Testseries.

Dhoni'sinnings(68off35balls)wasquiteamazing...Absolutely. He and Yusuf (Pathan) played some incredible shots and it wasfantastictoseesuchpower-packedhitting...justsuperb.

YouwerecaptainwhenSaeedAnwarscored194atChennaiin1997.What

didyouthinkof194asascore?Didyouthinkthatitwasincredibleandimpossible?Onehundredandninetyfourisahugescore,butatthatstage,Iwasjustthinkingaboutthematch.RecordsaremeanttobebrokenandIfeltsomeday,somebodywilldosomethinglikethis.

Butyoudidn'tthinkofdoingityourself?Youcan'tgooutandsay,'todayIamgoingtoscoreadoublecentury.'Itdoesn'thappenthatway.Icertainlydidn'tfeelthatwayinthemorning.Ihitacoupleofshotsandfeltgoodanddidnot look toomuchahead.At thatstage, it isaboutwatchingtheballascloselyaspossibleandfindingthegaps.

Thelastthreeyearshavebeencritical,hugelysuccessful...Yes,afterthe2007WorldCup,rightfromthenexttourtoBangladesh.Thenwewent to Ireland and fared well against South Africa. There has been a lot ofenthusiasm,passionandIhaveenjoyedeverymoment.

February25,2010

Bat-onBaatonMein!

S

HemalAshar

ThispieceisaresultofSachinTendulkar’s firsteverinterview. It was conducted at an Irani restaurantnear Shivaji Park with Sachin’s brother Ajit inattendance. As you will discover in the piece, hefancied limited overs cricket rather than the longerversion.

SachinTendulkar has endorsed quite a fewbats in his 22-year international career.Here’sapiece that caused somemirth.

ach yaar. These divorce cases are becoming just as fataafat asT20 cricketthesedays.Yesterday, just like that,SachinTendulkar, saidgoodbye tous,

old bats. From today,we hear that he is picking up a newwillow.We couldbecome the classic weeping willows but, then, since the divorce has beenamicable,let’srememberthegoodtimes.Infact,werememberwithalaughhowwehavesenttheballcrashingtotheropes,orsoaringaboveheadsasSachwasathismostdestructive.Asbats,itwasfuntoseethebowler’sfacecrumble,hisshoulders sag andhis footsteps falter, asSachin swungus around.We alwaysgavealittlechuckleandevensledgedthebowlerabit,butIadmitwehadtobemorecarefulsincestumpmicrophonescamein.

Imagineabatbeingbooked for sledging!Haha, I betwecouldhavemadehistory.

Everybody thinks it is easybeingSachin'sbat, but sometimes,wehavehadhard times too. In fact, during the 2003World Cup as Sachin carted ShoaibAkhtar all over theground, thenoisewasdeafening.Weactuallyburst an eardrumandhadtovisitanENTspecialistafterthatinnings.

Like, ineverymarriage, therehavebeenheartbreaksalongwith thehurrahs.Like after the Shoaib drubbing, the way Sachin got out on four in the 2003WorldCupfinal.Fromdeafening,thenoiseinthatstadiumwasdeathlyall thewaybacktothepavilion.

Remember,howweformedalittlepuddleoftearsinChennai,1999?Sachinmade a ton against Pakistan, but we still lost the match. Losing to Pakistan,made even us bats,whomany call inanimate, taste bitter ashes in ourmouth.When Sachin would get bowled for a duck, he would sometimes hit us hardagainstthegroundindisappointment.

Then, back home, it would be back to practice as he knocked the livingdaylightsoutofus.Itisgoodweareastoughasteaktruly,becauseevenasweretire,comesthenewsthatwe,asSachin'sbats,mightsoonfacemurdercharges.Formurderingnumerousbowlingattacks all over theworld.Oops.Got to runandlookforalawyertoapplyforbowl...err,bailwemean!

October25,2010

InacheerfulmoodatafelicitationfunctioninMumbaiorganisedafterhis35thTestcentury.

TrainingwithastumppriortoMumbai’sIraniCuptieagainstRestofIndiaatChennaiin2003.

ExtraordinaryCenturionRulesSuperSportPark

C

SaiMohan

Thevenuenamewasaptforcricket’sgreatestcentury-maker and for Sachin Tendulkar, to get a landmark50th Test ton here was certainly special. However,therewasaholdonthecelebrations.

Celebratinghis50thTestcentury—againstSouthAfricaatCenturionin2010.

ENTURION:ThemostprofoundmemoriesofSachinTendulkarwereofanIndianteamfailingtogetpasttheline,despitethelittlemasterstrokinghis

waytoagem.BeitPerth1992,Birmingham1996,CapeTown1997orChennai1999. That, in a nutshell, sums up his career. And fittingly, when a geniusreachesthepinnacleofhisfeats,thesongremainsthesame.IndiarequiredamiraculousefforttosavetheTest.Tendulkarobligedwitha

breathtakingknock(107notout)—oneofhisfinestefforts inrecent times. Itdidn't includehiswidestarrayofstrokes,andyetrose to theoccasion.Maybe,thegodswishedforthedayTendulkarreachedhiszenithtonotberememberedforyetanotherIndialoss.Maybethat'swhytherewasadownpourjustminutesafterhereachedhishundred.

It is aknown fact thatTendulkar's record inSouthAfrica is not asgoodaswhathedoesinEnglandorAustralia.Askedif thisknockgotthatmonkeyoffhisback,Tendulkar said: "Everyknock isgoing tobedifferent.Everydayyoucan'tgooutandplayinthesamemanner.Everytimeyouwalkouttothemiddle,you have to contend with different surfaces and bowling attacks. The ball isgoingtodosomethingdifferent.Ialwaysplanmyknocksbasedonthesefacts.Youcannotgooutwithafixedsetofplans."Askedtocomparethisknocktohisinningsof169atCapeTown in1997,Tendulkar said: "It (CapeTown)wasadifferentscenario.Iplayedalotmoreaggressivelythatday.Itisimportanttobespontaneousandjudgethesituation.Youneedtobeclever."

So,wasthatbowlingattacktoughertocontendwith?

"Everyattackhas itsownstrengthsandweaknesses. Ialways try to identifythatandsoIfeelgoodasabatsman.Irespecteveryattack.

Idon'tliketocompareknocksorattacks.Weallevolvewithtime.

Irespectmyoppositionineverywalkoflife.That'showIhavealwayslookedatlife."

WhenIndiawererestrictedtosixdownatlunch,India'sinningswasdoneanddusted.

ThePressherewasalreadypreparingforIndia'spostmortem.Havingreached95withabeautifulhitover long-off, thecrawlfrom95to100broughtout thebest in the crowd,whichhadbeenwaitingwithbatedbreath.Everyball drewcollective"ooohs"and"aaaahs"fromtheanxiouscrowd.

Eventually, it has turned out to be a huge relief. Finally, the subjectsurroundingthemilestoneisdealtwith.ButnoneofitwillmattertoTendulkarifIndiacan'tsavetheTesttoday.

December20,2010

HistoryHere!

ClaytonMurzello

A look at the stories behind Sachin Tendulkar’scentury efforts, some of them extracted from hisformerteammates.

1990:SUNNY'STIPDOESTHETRICKSachin Tendulkar's first Test hundred — at Old Trafford in 1990 — was amatch-saving effort. An evening before the Test was spent at former IndiawicketkeeperFarokhEngineer's placewhichwas graced by somemembers oftheIndianteamincludingTendulkar.

Theyoungbatsmanthrivedontheopportunityofspendingsomequalitytimewith SunilGavaskar,who advised him not to chase the ball on those Englishtracks. "Wait for the ball," was Gavaskar's advice. Tendulkar took that veryseriouslyandhelpedhimselftoamasterlyhundredafewdayslater.

1992:ITALLHAPPENEDATTHESCGThenextTesthundredfromthebladeofSachinTendulkarcameinSydneyonthe1991-92 tour toAustralia.VeteranRaviShastri tookadoublehundredofftheAustraliansledbyoldwarhorseAllanBorderandgotsomelipservicefromhisaggressiveopponentswhilepilingontheruns.

WhenTendulkarnoticedwhathisbattingpartnerwasbeingsubjectedto,heisbelievedtohavetoldShastri:"Iwillgiveittothemtoo."Wedon'tknowwhetherTendulkar (19) wanted to return the favour in terms of words or deeds butShastritoldhimtojustdohisthingwithbatinhand.

Andhedidexactlythat—scoredaclassy,unbeaten148whichmadehimtheyoungestevertoscoreaTestcenturyattheSydneyCricketGround.

ReachinghisfirstTesthundredinAustraliaduringtheSydneyTestof1992.

1992:WHO'SSCAREDOFWACACRACKS?Tendulkar has alwaysmaintained that his finest hundredwas scored atPerth'sWesternAustraliaCricketAssociation (WACA)ground in 1992.His 114wasscored against the likes of pacemen Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, PaulReiffelandMikeWhitney.

WicketkeeperandusefulbatsmanKiranMore,withwhomheputon81runsfor the ninthwicket, remembers: "Therewere huge cracks on the pitchwhichyoujustcouldn'ttakeyoureyesoff.Infact,someofthecracksweresowidethatyou could actually put your hand into them.Butwe decided to try and forgetaboutthisandenjoyourselveswhilebuildingapartnership.

"To see him hitting the Aussie quicks on the up through the covers wasexhilarating.Notonlyforme,butalsoforthoseintheslipcordonandelsewhereonthefield.

"On more than one occasion I think I heard tough nuts like Allan Border,DeanJonesandMarkTaylorsay...'Jesus,thisissomethingspecial'."

MyMostUnforgettableWorldCup2011Moments

AstoldtoClaytonMurzello

SachinTendulkarhasexperiencedseveralhighnoonsin his career, but the 2011World Cup win took thecakewith all its icing—undoubtedly his finest hourfromateampointofview.

Unforgettabledressingroommoment:Themoment thewinningrunswerescored,I jumped.Viru(Sehwag)whowasnexttome,jumpedtoo.Weweresittinginthedressingroomandpraying.

Unforgettablepartofthecelebrations:Gettingthetrophyinourhands,andthepoppingofchampagne.Also,whentheteamliftedmewiththetricolourinmyhand.Thatwastheultimatefeeling.

Unforgettableinningsthatyouplayed:IwasbattingreallywellagainstSouthAfrica,butintermsofimportance,it'sgottobetheoneagainstPakistan.

Unforgettableinningsfromyourteammates:Thereweremany!The oneViru played in the first game againstBangladesh,Yuvraj Singh playedmany, SureshRaina,GautamGambhir,ViratKohli... alltheguyschippedin.

Unforgettablebowlingspell:Zaheer Khan bowled some very important spells. In the semi-final, AshishNehra bowled well.Munaf got some important wickets too. Harbhajan SinghandRAshwinbowledwelltoo.Everyonehaschippedin.ThatiswhyIcallitathoroughteamperformance.

Everyonedidtheirjobandsomewheretheymadeanimpact.

Unforgettablecaptaincymove:We set a 6-3 field against Pakistan at Mohali. Their opening batsman,MohammadHafeez tried toplaya sweepshotoffMunafPatel andgotcaughtbehind.Ithoughtthatwastheturningpointofthematch.

Everyone chipped in.That iswhy I call it a thoroughteam performance. Everyone did their job andsomewheretheymadeanimpact.

Unforgettablecatch:The oneViru caught off ShahidAfridi. Thematchwas verymuch alive thenbecauseMisbahandAfridiwerebattingandweneeded two-threebigoversatthatstage,sothatwasanimportantcatch—aneasyone,butimportant.

Unforgettabletensemoment:Thereweremanymomentswhenwewerereallytenseespeciallyinthelastthreematches—weknewtherewouldbenosecondchance.

April5,2011

RIGHT:CarriedbyhisIndiateammatesafterwinningthe2011WorldCupbybeatingSriLankainthefinalattheWankhedeStadium,Mumbai.

‘IHadaDream’

ByClaytonMurzello

Believe it or not, the seeds of determination to helpIndia win the 2011 World were sown in Indiancricket’s darkest phase of recent years — the 2007WorldCupdebacle.

DidyoueverdreamthatyouwouldwintheWorldCupattheWankhedeStadium?Thatwasmydream—afterwelostin2007.Itookupthatchallenge.Isaid,thenextWorldCupfinalis inMumbaiandthisiswhereIwouldwantthetrophy.AndIstartedworkingtowardsthat.

Whenexactlydidyoustartthinkingaboutthe2011WorldCup?Afterthe2007WorldCup—whenwegottoknowthatthenextoneisinIndiaandthefinalwouldbeheldinMumbai.ThatiswhenIfeltthatthisistheplacewherewehavetoliftthetrophy.

Howcouldyoubesopositive?Afterall,itwasadismaltimeforIndia...ourcrickethadjustcrashed...Yeah, it was really tough.My family and friends really supportedme at thatstage. It was probably the toughest phase of my career and I was reallydemoralised.

ButtalkingwithfriendsandfamilyabouttheWorldCupinIndiaatthattimewassomethingwhichmotivatedme.

The final match in Mumbai... that was greater motivation because this iswhereIgrewupplayingcricket.Iwantedtodosomethingreally,reallyspecialhereinIndiaandMumbai.

DoesthisWorldCupwinsendoutastrongmessageaboutnevergivinguponadream?

Absolutely!Ifirmlybelievethatoneshouldneverevergiveupinlifeandthatissomethingwhichhappenedinmycase.Itisnevertoolate.Evenafter21years(ofinternationalcricket),youcanstillgooutandwintheWorldCup.

TrainingatMIGCricketClub(Bandra)in2005.

Duringthe2003WorldCup,youkeptsingingandlisteningtothesongJaaneKyaDhoondtaHaibyLuckyAli.WhatwasyourfavouritesonginthisWorldCup?Thistime,IwaslisteningtoU2'sWhereTheStreetsHaveNoName.Mostofthetime,Iwaslisteningtothissongforpleasureandsatisfaction.

April5,2011

Sachin:Now,ICanMoveOn

O

ClaytonMurzello

After a one-year wait, Sachin Tendulkar scored hismuch awaited 100th international century. Here, hetalks about the sense of relief he experienced inDhaka.

fthemanyphonecallsSachinTendulkarreceivedinDhakaafterbecomingthefirstmantoreach100internationalcenturies, thecallfromhisbrother,

Ajit,wasprobablymostspecial.

Ajitwas the onewho took youngSachin toRamakantAchrekar's coachingnets at Shivaji Park in 1984 to kick off a journey whose end Sachin doesn'texactlyrelishtalkingabout.

"Ajit's was the first call I got. Yes, it was special because he has beenphysicallyandmentallywithmethroughout.It'slikehehasplayedwithmealltheseyears,"SachintoldSUNDAYMiDDAYfromDhakayesterdayevening,whereheisplayingtheAsiaCup.

"Likeme,myfamilymembersarehappyandrelieved.This(ton)waspendingfor a while and they have seen me go through these times. They are alldelighted."

Hisfellowcricketershavecalledhis100century-featthegreatestachievementinthewillowgame.Whatdidhedowhenhereturnedtothedressingroomafterscoring114(whichultimatelyendedupinalosingcause)againstBangladesh?"IwenttomyroomandthefirstthingIdidwaslightagarbattistoGodandthankhimforthismoment,”hesaid.

ShowingwhattheIndiacrestonhishelmetmeanstohimafterreachinghislandmark100thinternationalcentury-againstBangladeshinMirpuron

March16,2012.

Hisspiritualmomentwasnotfollowedbytears,butathoughtprocessthathasbeenthebasisofhisgreatness;aformulatostupendoussuccess—theabilitytoenjoy themomentandmoveon. "This (100th international century) ishistory.Now,Icanmoveonandnotthinkaboutit.Peoplewereonlytalkingaboutthis(record)."

Once,while recallinghisyoungerdayswhenheused to comehomeafter abattingperformance,Sachinhadsaid,"Wecelebratedbydistributingsweetsandthatwaswhereitstopped.WhatIdidthenextdayonthefieldwasimportant."

Today,Sachinwillwalkout foryetanotherbattleagainst India'sarch-rivalsPakistan, an opponent against whom he has enjoyed a good record in Cupencounters.HewasMan of theMatch (85 off 115 balls) in India's last gameagainstPakistan—atthe2011WorldCupgameinMohali.

March18,2012

ObsessedwithStats,butWhataPlayer!

T

IanChappell

Former Australia captain is critical of Tendulkar’s200th Test-related retirement announcement anddwellsonhisgreatimpactonthegame

hechoiceofSachinTendulkar toretireafterplayinghis200thTestwasanunfortunateone;itreinforcedhisrecentobsessionwiththestatisticalsideof

the game. Nevertheless, Tendulkar’s fascination with milestones, whichappearedtobethedrivingforceinthelatterpartofhiscricketlife,shouldonlybeaminordistractionfromwhatheachievedinthebulkofhisillustriouscareer.

Tendulkarburstonthesceneasabreathoffreshair;supposedlyaboyamongmenbutinrealityamasterlordingitoverthosewhowerehopingtoteachhimalesson.Heplayedwithaswashbucklingfreedomthatonly theyoungwhofearnothingcanproduce.Whereotherssawdanger,Tendulkaronlysensedascoringopportunity and I suspect it was this desire to dominate the bowling thatattractedSirDonaldBradman’sattention.

Bradman’s affection for Tendulkar’s batting was not surprising; a young,shortbatsmandominatingmuscularfastbowlerswasenoughtomakeanyonesitupandtakenotice.WhenTendulkarachievedthisfeatonatemperateSCGpitchasanineteenyear-olditwasexceptionalbutwhenrepeatedtheperformanceonthelethalWACAgroundsurfaceitwasotherworldly.

ThelastgoodbyewithabatinhandonNovember15,2013.

ItwasonethingforTendulkartodominateonhisownsurfacesbuttoachievethis euphoric state on pitches thatwere completely foreign to him andwhich,hadflummoxedplayersasgoodasSunilGavaskaronfirstmeeting,wasenoughtoconvincethecricketworldthatherewasaspecialtalent.

Overtheyears,TendulkardishedoutmuchpunishmenttoAustralianattacks.InadditiontothatexceptionalPerthinnings,myfavouriteswerehisTestcenturyinChennaiin1998andtwoexquisiteOneDayhundredsintheSharjahheatlaterthatsameyear.

TheChennai centurywas admirable because of the preparationhe put in toface Shane Warne and the way he then applied the lessons to beat theopposition’schampionwhenthematchwasinthebalance.ThisclashwasTestcricket in all its glory; two champions meeting head-on with the one whoprevailedguaranteeinghissidevictory.

Thetwodeserthundredswereadmirablefortheirdominanceandthefactthattheywere achievedwhen not only the gamewas on the line but also India’sfuture in the tournament.The first century steered India into the final and theseconddeliveredthetrophy.

Tendulkar’s influenceon thegamehascomefromhison-fielddeeds,whichhavedelightedhislegionoffans.However,hisgreatestlegacyhasbeenthewayhe’sinspiredthecurrentgenerationofIndianstobatwithaflairthat’sgenerallyabsentintheplayoftheothercountry’swillowwielders.

October14,2013

Fridaythe15th:NobetterplacetobethanWankhede

T

HaritNJoshi

A significant day in Indian cricket when SachinTendulkarbattedforthelasttimeinaTestmatch.

hegatesopenat7.30am—agoodtwohoursbeforethestartofthesecondday’splay.Chantsof‘Sachin,Sachin’reverberateattheWankhedeStadium

evenbeforetheIndianteamstepsonthefield.Abankholidaymeanslesspeoplehavetostayawayfromwork.

Ahugeroargreetstheteamastheystarttheirwarm-up.ItgetslouderastheLittleMasterstepsonthefield.

ItgetsdeafeningwhenTendulkarandCheteshwarPujarawalkintobat.ThecrowdwanttoseetheirheroTendulkartakestrike,butPujarafacesuptoTinoBest.

The Saurashtra player takes a run off the fourth ballwhich is greeted by ahugeroar—unthinkableforaruninTestcricket.

Tendulkar, overnight on 38 is ready.The crowdgo bonkers as he takes hisfirstrun—asingletomid-wicket—offthelastballoftheovertoretainstrike.Back-to-back fours off Shane Shillingford — a back foot punch and paddlesweep—aregreetedwithdeafeningapplause.

West IndiespacerBest is tryinghisbest todisturbTendulkar’s rhythm.Butthe batting maestro is composed. Tendulkar effortlessly ducks his bouncers.Withthebattinglegendthreeshortofahalf-century,Bestappealsemphaticallyfor a caught behind, but the ball seems to brush Tendulkar’s sleeve beforereachingwicketkeeperDineshRamdin.Thetensionispalpable.

BattlingWestIndies’pacerTinoBestonDayTwooftheMumbaiTestonNovember15,2013.

Tendulkar’s wife Anjali is seen breathing a sigh of relief when the umpiredoesn’traisehisfinger.

Fewballs later, aTendulkaresque straight drive offBest brings up his 68thhalf-centuryastheWankhedeeruptsinjoy.Thecheersrefusetodiedown.

The battingmaestro raises his bat, acknowledges the crowd and his familyseatedinthePresident’sBox.

Best’snextballtoTendulkarisabouncer.Itcertainlydoesnotgodownwellwiththecrowd.Chantsof‘Tinosucks,Tinosucks’emerge.

Runs are now flowing fromTendulkar’s blade.Hopes of a hundred appearlargewhichwouldbeafairytale-likeendtohiscareer.WhileBestisinnomoodtoturnofftheaggression,Tendulkartakesthehumourousroute.HegivesBestalight‘punch’onhisshoulder—agesturewhichmaymean,“keeptryingyourbest.”

Later,themasterbatsmanracesto70.

At74NarsinghDeonarine surprisesTendulkarwithextrabounce.Trying tocut, he edges toDarrenSammy at first slip. Themute button atWankhede ispressed. Everyone’s shell-shocked. Tendulkar waits for a while, stares at thepitchbeforetakingthelongwalkback.Hethendecidestoturnaround,raisehisbatandhelmettoacknowledgethecrowd.

Soon,therearemoreemptyseatsattheWankhedethaneverbeforeintheday.ForMumbaikars,Testcrickethasbecomelonely.

November16,2013

EmotionalSachinBidsAdieu

I

ClaytonMurzello

In three days, it was all over – Sachin Tendulkar’sfinalflinginTestcricketandthesecondIndiavsWestIndies Test in Mumbai. Of course, the latter didn’tmatterasmuch.

twaseloquenceallthewayinTendulkar’sfarewelltocricketattheWankhedeonSaturday.Onlythestone-heartedwouldn’thavebeenmoved.

Youneededahard-as-a-new-cricket-ballhearttonotshedatearornotendurea rugged throat on Saturday afternoon. The inevitable happened. SachinTendulkarwalkedawayfromapitchinwhitesforthelasttime.Thiswasafterdoingalapofhonourwithhisteammates.Here,atthepitch,hewasalone.Hebowedinrespect,ingratitude,deepestappreciation,touchedthepitchwithbothhandsandthendrewthemtohischest.

Earlier…

The lunchbreakwasdelayedwhen theWest Indieswere twowicketsawayfromdefeat.“Cantheydothat,”askedthepunditsinthepressbox.“Onlyifninewickets are down,” someone said. Not that it mattered. Soon, the last WestIndieswicketfell,butalleyeswereonthemanwiththefloppyhat.RaviShastriwasseendownatthefarendboundary,walkingthroughthegroundtoconductthe presentation ceremony. He was the first non-playing member to wishTendulkar after the game. Only fitting, considering Shastri had been a seniorcolleagueandlateramentor/advisor.

Lunchwasreadyforthemedia,buttherewereveryfewtakers.Allwaitedfortheotherawards tobeoveranddonewith, forShastri tocallonTendulkar togivehisspeech.Asa ritual,Tendulkaralwaysspenta fewmoments to tap thepitchwithhisbat so that thecrowdcouldsettledown. In thiscase,heput themicrophone to use and requested them to settle down. The speech was justperfect.Not profound, but thorough andwell-prepared just likehewent abouthiscricket.

Probably,themostemotionalbitswerewhenhementionedhislatefather,thepersonhemissesmost inhis lifeandwhenhestressed thathewouldmiss the‘Sachin,Sachin’chants.Hedidn’tleaveoutthemedia,whosupportedhim‘tillthismorning.’ForhimtorememberhislateagentandfriendMarkMascarenhaswasafineact.

Afterthespeech,it’sbacktoworkforthejournos.No,wait,thereisthelapofhonour.Lateron,IhearMahendraSinghDhoniinitiatedtheprocessofcarryinghismostcelebrated teammateonhisandViratKohli’sshoulder.Suddenly, theWankhede Stadium looked fuller and noisier than what was witnessed in themorningwhentheWestIndiessuccumbedwithoutafight.

In the back row of the press box was Uday Gharat, the scorer, whoseTendulkar inscriptionsonscoresheetsdatebacktohis‘A’divisionclubdebutforCCI in1988.Gharat, official score sheet inhand, appears sad,butdoesn’texpressitinwords.

Forsome,therearememoriesofSydney2004,whenSteveWaughwasliftedbyhisteammatesathisfarewellbashattheSydneyCricketGround.

TherearenomemoriesofWaughspeakingatlengthonhishomeground,buthis lengthy press conference — also attended by his family — cannot beforgotten.WillTendulkaraddressthemedia,askafewoptimistjournalists.Theydon’tgetayesforananswer.Understandable,feelafew,consideringhesaidsomuchinhisspeech.Dhoni’sabsenceatthemediabriefingdoescauseasurprise.Whyshouldacaptainstayawayafterwinningaseries,isafairquestion.“He’stiredofcarryingTendulkar,”quipsareporter.

Manof theseriesRohitSharmaarrives.Hespeakseloquentlyon the retiredmaestro:“Wewantedtogivethisspecialmansomethingspecial—aserieswin.I’m happywe could ensure he went out on a winning note. That was a veryemotionalspeech.Wewereallemotional.Ididn’tknowhowtoreact.Iwasonlylookingathim.IknewitwasthelasttimeI’dbewatchinghiminwhites.”It’stimeforsometodrytheireyesandpullthemselvestogether.Butit’shard.Ifyoueverneededanewcricketball-likeheart,itwasonSaturday.

November17,2013

WalkingoffemotionallyafterpayingrespecttotheWankhedepitchonNovember16,2013.

StatisticsSachininTestcricket

SachininOne-DayInternationals

SachininT20Internationals

AllrecordsupdatedasonNovember16,2013

COMPILEDBYRAJNEESHGUPTA