Sachin Tendulkar - The Living Legend (Part III)

[littlemaster1982]

[html:18409ab5ef]
http://i26.tinypic.com/xnrcr8.jpg
[/html:18409ab5ef]

Full name Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

Born April 24, 1973, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra

Major teams India, Asia XI, Mumbai, Mumbai Indians, Yorkshire

Nickname Tendlya, Little Master

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak, Legbreak googly

Height 5 ft 5 in

Profile
____________

Sachin Tendulkar has been the most complete batsman of his time, and arguably the biggest cricket icon as well. His batting is based on the purest principles: perfect balance, economy of movement, precision in stroke-making, and that intangible quality given only to geniuses, anticipation. If he doesn't have a signature stroke - the upright, back-foot punch comes close - it is because he is equally proficient in each of the full range of orthodox shots (and plenty of improvised ones as well) and can pull them out at will.

Though he has adopted a noticeably conservative approach in the last quarter of his career, there are no apparent weaknesses in Tendulkar's game. He can score all around the wicket, off both front foot and back, and has made runs in all parts of the world in all conditions.

Some of his finest performances have come against Australia, the overwhelmingly dominant team of his era. His century as a 19-year old on a lightning fast pitch at the WACA is considered one of the best innings ever to have been played in Australia. A few years later he received the ultimate compliment from the ultimate batsman when Don Bradman confided to his wife that Tendulkar reminded him of himself.

Blessed with the keenest of cricket minds, and armed with a loathing for losing, Tendulkar set about doing what it took to become one of the best batsmen in the world. This was after he was turned away from a fast-bowling camp in Chennai by Dennis Lillee.

Tendulkar's greatness was established early: he was only 16 when he made his Test debut. He was hit on the mouth by Waqar Younis but continued to bat, in a blood-soaked shirt. His first Test hundred, a match-saving one at Old Trafford, came when he was 17, and he had 16 Test hundreds before he turned 25. In 2000 he became the first batsman to have scored 50 international hundreds, and in 2008 he passed Brian Lara as the leading Test run-scorer and the first to 12,000 runs. He currently holds the record for most hundreds in both Tests and ODIs - remarkable, considering he didn't score his first ODI hundred till his 79th match.

Tendulkar's considerable achievements seem greater still when looked at in the light of the burden of expectations he has had to bear from his adoring but somewhat unreasonable followers, who have been prone to regard anything less than a hundred as a failure. The aura may have dimmed, if only slightly, as the years on the international circuit have taken their toll on the body, but Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world.

_______________________________________________

Sachin : The Cricketing Almighty - Part I (http://www.mayyam.com/hub/archives/Sports_Archives/t7966_________Sachin___The_Cricketing_Almighty____ ____.html)

Sir Sachin Tendulkar - The Greatest Cricketer Ever- Part II (http://forumhub.mayyam.com/hub/viewtopic.php?t=12191)

[littlemaster1982]

[html:aa95970207]
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2540/3725080775_1884b1b2ba_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2588/3725080777_75b4c2edee_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3450/3725080767_5a2fcc1254_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2546/3725080769_a95ca8cb8c_o.jpg
[/html:aa95970207]

[littlemaster1982]

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar - Player Profile (http://content-www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/35320.html)

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar - From Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sachin_Tendulkar)

Sachin statsguru from Cricinfo (http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/stats/analysis.html?search=sachin;template=analysis)

List of International cricket centuries by Sachin Tendulkar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_International_cricket_centuries_by_Sachin_ Tendulkar)

List of ODI Awards for Sachin Tendulkar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ODI_Awards_for_Sachin_Tendulkar)

List of Achievements by Sachin Tendulkar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achievements_of_Sachin_Tendulkar)

Quotes on Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=23803&tid=2518627111577419134&na=4)

Sachin Tendulkar Test Match Batting Analysis (http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/player/35320.html?class=1;orderby=batted_score;template=r esults;type=batting;view=innings)

Sachin ODI 50s (http://www.kingofcricket.com/ODI_50.aspx)

Articles on Sachin (http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=23803&tid=2503475796209621771&na=1&nst=1)

[littlemaster1982]

Quotes on Sachin

"I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two...hi compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel! in reference to Sachin Tendulkar."
- Sir Don Bradman
________________________________________

"Sachin is cricket's God" - Barry Richards
________________________________________

"Don't bowl him bad balls, he hits the good ones for fours."- Michael Kasprowicz
_________________________________________

"I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player" - Shane Warne.
__________________________________________

"You have to decide for yourself whether you're bowling well or not. He's going to hit you for fours and sixes anyway." - Shane Warne
___________________________________________

"You take Don Bradman away and he is next up I reckon." - Steve Waugh
____________________________________________

"I have seen God. He bats at number 4 for India" - Mathew Hayden
_____________________________________________

"He's 99.5 percent perfect" - Viv Richards
_____________________________________________

"Cricketers like Sachin come once in a lifetime, and I am privileged he played in my time" - Wasim Akram
______________________________________________

"Sachin Tendulkar is a genius. I'm a mere mortal" - Brian Lara
_______________________________________________

"On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual.
Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century.

This Genius can stop time in India!!" - Peter Rebouck - aussie journalist
_________________________________________________

"There are only two kinds of batsmen: Sachin Tendulkar, and the rest." – Andy Flower
_________________________________________________

"I was bowling to Sachin and he hit me for two fours in a row. One from point and the other in between point and gully. That was the last two balls of the over and the over after that we (SA) took a wicket and during the group meeting i told Jonty (Rhodes) to be alert and I know a way to pin Sachin. And I delivered the first ball of my next over and it was a fuller length delivery outside offstump. And i shouted catch. To my astonishment the ball
was hit to the cover boundary. Such was the brilliance of Sachin. His reflex time is the best I have ever seen. Its like 1/20th of a sec.

To get his wicket better not prepare. Atleast you wont regret if he hits you for boundaries."

-Allan Donald in an interview to Cricket Talk.
____________________________________________

" Tendulkar is editing the highlights too fast " - Jeremy Coney in a match vs Newzealand 1994, Auckland, 27th March. Sachin opens in an ODI for the first time. Goes on to make 82 off 49 balls.
_____________________________________________

Ten do (Tendu), Ten don't! – Amul Ad.
_____________________________________________

"One Straight Drive from Sachin Tendulkar is worth all the money you spend to watch the entire match" – Peter Roebuck

[littlemaster1982]

Sachin's memorable innings (ODIs)

Sachin's 143 Against Australia In sharjah 1998 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXRkHervQJc)

Sachin 134 1998 at Sharjah (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3xYBiGBtAo)

Sachin Tendulkar Vs Glenn McGrath (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVcpV_38JLc)

Sachin in 2003 WC (with Tubthumping track) (http://ishare.rediff.com/video/cricket/sachin-tendulkar/505165)

Sachin Tendulkar hits Caddick out of the ground WC 2003 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A3PSnEUJWw)

Sachin Tendulkar 95 vs Pakistan Independece Cup 1998 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrpC84gH6mo)

Sachin Tendulkar 41(26) vs Pakistan Independence Cup Final 1998 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwMx4eHZxY4)

Sachin Tendulkar 1996 WC (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3046568537842924351&hl=en)

Sachin Tendulkar 97 vs Pakistan 2007 (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3if3m_sachin-tendulkars-vintage-innings-o_sport)

Sachin Tendulkar 94 vs England 6th ODI at Oval 2007 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-sVljdlUtg)

Sachin Tendulkar 117 vs Aus CB Series I final 2008 (http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1180486/sachin_tendulkar_117_1st_final_australia_vs_india/)

Sachin Tendulkar 91 vs Aus CB Series II Final (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIdjstKV_HQ)

Sachin Tendulkar 163 vs Newzealand 2009 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTUqBqU4f_E)

Sachin Tendulkar 98 vs Pakistan WC 2003 (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9135779971261085955)

Sachin Tendulkar vs England 5th ODI 2007 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGlaF-CAlPc)

Sachin Tendulkar 93 vs SA in Belfast 2007 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBkJ85ccK1o)

Sachin Tendulkar 118 vs Zim in Sharjah 1998 Part I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rvswMLNC1c)

Sachin Tendulkar 118 vs Zim in Sharjah 1998 Part II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvePS7y0u8A)

Sachin Tendulkar 118 vs Zim in Sharjah 1998 Part III (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eflqb6Uc28)

Sachin Tendulkar 118 vs Zim in Sharjah 1998 Part IV (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_71XejKJV94)

Sachin Tendulkar 118 vs Zim in Sharjah 1998 Part V (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnKc7UpFpPY)

Sachin Tendulkar 186 vs NZ in Hyderabad 1999 Part I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZdUpR2ZePg)

Sachin Tendulkar 186 vs NZ in Hyderabad 1999 Part II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOIGer-w2CE)

Sachin Tendulkar 146 vs Zim in Jodhpur 2000 Part I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-MRKuIrmG4)

Sachin Tendulkar 146 vs Zim in Jodhpur 2000 Part II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwpDDHG0rrQ)

Sachin Tendulkar 146 vs Zim in Jodhpur 2000 Part III (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvTOlHz6oIE)

Sachin Tendulkar 93 vs Pak in Hobart 2000 (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1021494380853079556)

Sachin Tendulkar 2003 WC Part I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSmArxGgNss)

Sachin Tendulkar 2003 WC Part II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc2vgeyay9I)

Sensational Sachin WC 2003 Part I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azJydtd-aZo)

Sensational Sachin WC 2003 Part II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnt_4SfVGLQ)

Sensational Sachin WC 2003 Part III (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd2hsBvNMA8)

Sensational Sachin WC 2003 Part IV (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCxYaHkFL7A)

Sensational Sachin WC 2003 Part V (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH8PTk6o1yI)

Sensational Sachin WC 2003 Part VI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpmU88DjX9s)

[littlemaster1982]

Sachin's memorable innings (Tests)

Sachin breaking Lara’s record of highest rungetter in tests (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCCbVvVNTTg)

Sachin Tendulkar interview after breaking Lara’s record (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNMaE5iwt2E)

Sachin 114 vs Australia at Perth 1992 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf-hfPpN9TE)

Sachin 136 vs Pak 1999 Part I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFyTUob8LF0)

Sachin 136 vs Pak 1999 Part II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2vvQ9wyh_g)

Sachin 136 vs Pak 1999 Part III (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNe2YtAXPOQ)

Sachin 136 vs Pak 1999 Part IV (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3104t7x3UFM)

Sachin 79 vs Aus 1998 part I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zqRUoZmvaw&feature=related)

Sachin 79 vs Aus 1998 part II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99aG0u0oxJI&feature=channel)

Sachin 79 vs Aus 1998 part III (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OeGcVT-nog&feature=channel)

Sachin Tendulkar 116 vs Australia in Melbourne, 1999 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKcdnxHMCjs)

Sachin Tendulkar 193 vs England 2002 Part I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wppB8eLGso)

Sachin Tendulkar 193 vs England 2002 Part II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYGWcwHcWx4)

Sachin Tendulkar 155 vs South Africa 2001 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9dxxpEoFy0)

Sachin Tendulkars first Test match 100 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P_sdYPh71I)

Sachin Tendulkar 169 vs South Africa 1996 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvJy8V0vpLc)

Sachin Tendulkar 241 vs Australia 2004 Part I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXwVi2Uc970)

Sachin Tendulkar 241 vs Australia 2004 Part II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvV1uhadg3g)

Sachin Tendulkar 241 vs Australia 2004 Part III (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmp_RgEf6cU)

Sachin Tendulkar 122 vs England 1996 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NEOucEzjU8)

Sachin Tendulkar vs Aussies in Mumbai 2001 (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9175699262769547045&hl=en)

Sachin - Larger than Life (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsih5jLiHNU) - Has footages of some rare knocks.

[littlemaster1982]

Features on Sachin

Lord of the Runs Part I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SU8qo3_nAI)

Lord of the Runs Part II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UHHqnctZEM)

Sachin Tendulkar - Million Dollar Babies Part I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1h9bpLYmVo)

Sachin Tendulkar - Million Dollar Babies Part II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG_nQp20tr8)

Sachin Tendulkar - Million Dollar Babies Part III (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_sU79W4isc)

Sachin Tendulkar - Million Dollar Babies Part IV (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zHNujMvGjI)

Harsha Unplugged - Sachin Tendulkar Part I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23Y6OT9gI1c)

Harsha Unplugged - Sachin Tendulkar Part II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAPEsPdwubY)

Harsha Unplugged - Sachin Tendulkar Part III (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWZLuuabGs4)

Harsha Unplugged - Sachin Tendulkar Part IV (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cN7gzs6-cM)

Harsha Unplugged - Sachin Tendulkar Part V (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfAATfAb2tg)

Sachin's first Interview (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMG1PaR4Vy4)

Legends of Cricket - ESPN (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7833939604115210937)

The whole world comes to a standstill when the Master bats. - Adidas Ad (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=815yomYKRNg)

[Wibha]

:swinghead:

[Nerd]

:bow:

LM, where is the poll?

[littlemaster1982]

:bow:

LM, where is the poll?

Going to add. Are the options OK? I have listed them in 100th page of previous thread.

[ajithfederer]

Sachin Tendulkar is the other India batsman in the last 15 years who has topped the batting chart. He first led the table in November 1994, while last time he occupied the number-one position was in August 2002 after the Leeds Test against England. Overall, Tendulkar has been the number-one batsman for 125 Tests between 1994 and 2002.

http://www.espnstar.com/home/news/detail/item293930/

:notworthy:

[littlemaster1982]

Poll added 8-)

[ajithfederer]

One option missing. Guys don't vote yet.

[Kalyasi]

241* against Aus va, athellam list laye irukka koodathu, He was struggling all throughout the innings and had 2-3 missed chances... He was not at his best during this innings... Even the 61 that he made against OZs in Melbourne this season was far better.... That's my opinion!!

Oru Sachin Stamp irukka vendamaa antha innigs ku intha list la varathukku!!

[littlemaster1982]

One option missing. Guys don't vote yet.

:oops: Don't know how I missed it.

[ajithfederer]

Can the last option be added now?. Looks like 2 votes have already been voted.

[littlemaster1982]

I tried but couldn't add or edit the poll options. Let's check with PR (probably delete the current poll and add the new one with all options).

[ajithfederer]

ok.

[littlemaster1982]

241* against Aus va, athellam list laye irukka koodathu, He was struggling all throughout the innings and had 2-3 missed chances... He was not at his best during this innings... Even the 61 that he made against OZs in Melbourne this season was far better.... That's my opinion!!

Oru Sachin Stamp irukka vendamaa antha innigs ku intha list la varathukku!!

Kalyasi,

That innings is an example for sheer determination. Not even a single cover drive. See the wagon wheel. And I don't remember him being chancy in that innings :?

[html:3f82a70fcf]
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3490/3725183683_3724b50f7e_o.jpg[/html:3f82a70fcf]

[ajithfederer]

Thanks for adding the last poll option.

[Kalyasi]

241* against Aus va, athellam list laye irukka koodathu, He was struggling all throughout the innings and had 2-3 missed chances... He was not at his best during this innings... Even the 61 that he made against OZs in Melbourne this season was far better.... That's my opinion!!

Oru Sachin Stamp irukka vendamaa antha innigs ku intha list la varathukku!!

Kalyasi,

That innings is an example for sheer determination. Not even a single cover drive. See the wagon wheel. And I don't remember him being chancy in that innings :?



http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3490/3725183683_3724b50f7e_o.jpg

Sheer Determination was there, But it had to be balanced with some very good stroke play to get a mention in this list.... Acc to me it was one of the innings where he was trying to get into form by making the bowlers bowl to him... And he was not completely determined to leave the balls bowled outside his off-stump, there were many of those occasions where Brad Williams was bowling wide outside off stump, Sachin was chasing them without any foot movement and was getting beaten..It was very ugly to be honest....The temperament level you would associate with some of the greats was not there with Sachin during that innings.... I was so pissed off seeing that innings from Sachin.......

194* against Pak @ Multan was also a similar kind of innings but he was far more convincing with his footwork.....

[ajithfederer]

http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2002/sep/04inter1.htm

Wasim Akram - his best is yet to come.

At the start of India's tour of Pakistan in 1989-90, a short, shy sixteen-year-old was the cynosure of all eyes. The seniors in the Indian team -- Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri and Krishnamachari Srikkanth -- were full of praise for India's youngest debutant, and naturally we were curious to know if Sachin Tendulkar was worthy of all that hype.

It was during the second Test in Faisalabad that the world first realised that there was something special about the cherubic youngster. It was a lush green wicket, possibly the greenest wicket I've seen in Pakistan, and Tendulkar was batting on 20-odd when a ball from me hit him. I immediately asked him if he was alright and he looked me in the eye and nodded. I was a 21-year-old then, so I did not give the matter much thought, but in retrospect that score of 50-odd was the first hint the world got about Tendulkar's special talent.

A similar incident took place in the fourth Test in Sialkot when Waqar Younis hit Sachin and gave him a bloody face. Sachin, of course, took some treatment and then continued batting.

More of that spark was visible during an exhibition game during which he hit Abdul Qadir for four-five sixes. Even though it was not an official one-dayer, it was being played in all seriousness like all India-Pakistan encounters. Moreover, Qadir was bowling at his peak in those days, and was treated with respect by the top batsmen the world over. Everyone who saw that match realised that Tendulkar would dominate the best bowlers in the world in time to come, and that he loved the challenge of playing and destroying quality bowling.

India and Pakistan have rarely played against each other after that, and it is one of my lasting regrets that I did not get to bowl against Tendulkar in Tests when I was at my peak in the early 90s. Of course, we have seen a lot of each other in one-dayers and bowling to him has always been a challenge I look forward to. Even when we are not playing India, I always follow the scorecards to see how Tendulkar is faring. He is one batsman I really like watching on television. Even if they are showing a repeat of an old match, I always watch the game as long as Tendulkar is around. Of late, I like watching Virender Sehwag too, which is saying a lot for these two guys, since I don't normally watch cricket.

As I mentioned earlier, it's really unfortunate that neither Waqar nor I could bowl to Tendulkar when we were at our fastest. In fact, when I watch him on television, I'm always plotting ways to get him out, after all he is a prized wicket.

I cherish all the occasions on which I have dismissed the little maestro. My favourite memory against Tendulkar was in Sharjah two years ago. He had just hit me over my head for a boundary and I followed it up with a slower one. He had expected a bouncer, normally a fast bowler's reply at being hit over the head, and the slower one fooled him completely and bowled him. When you get a batsman with Tendulkar's class bowled you tend to savour the memory.

Other Indian batsmen are often accused of relying too much on Tendulkar, but I can understand that happening. When you have a player of his class and calibre you are bound to expect a 100 from him every time. There has been the odd benefit game in which Tendulkar and I have been in the same team. Each time I would rely on him to win the match. If I felt that way during a benefit game, imagine what the expectations are when it's the real thing.

It is the way Tendulkar carries these expectations so lightly that makes him more special. I'm not too much into statistics, but one thing that has really impressed me about Tendulkar is the fact that his average has never been constant in either form of the game - it's only getting better and better. It's 55-plus in Tests and getting improving all the time. Can you blame any team for having that extra bit of expectation from a player who boasts of such credentials?

A whole nine years elapsed after his debut before I saw Tendulkar in Tests. That century in Chennai was an exhibition of batting of the highest order and many team mates of mine feel that it is the best Test innings they have ever seen.

During that series, I watched him as he handled the adulation and the extra pressure that comes with being the biggest hero of his country. I think the fact that he is a shy guy helps him keep his balance. I also hear that his wife is a wonderful person who understands the pressure on him and helps Tendulkar cope with it.

It's not easy being a superstar in this part of the world, and there are always those who try to pull you off the pedestal. I find articles and debates over Tendulkar's abilities really silly, coming as they generally do from people who have not played cricket at the highest level. They obviously don't know much about the game or are out to settle personal scores. One bad game or even an indifferent series does not mean that a player suddenly transforms from great to good-for-nothing.

If Tendulkar follows the pattern of other great batsmen, his best is yet to come. Most batsmen peak between 28 and 33, and Tendulkar is just at the beginning of this phase, so bowlers all over the world cannot breathe easy just yet.

One of the saddest aspects about the breakdown in cricketing ties between India and Pakistan is the fact that Pakistan fans have been deprived of one of the best sights in cricket - Tendulkar's batting. I'm sure Tendulkar too would like to have had another chance of playing and scoring a century in the country where he made his debut.

Which brings us to the question of how many centuries will Tendulkar end up with. If I have to make a prediction then I will say that he will end up with 50 tons in each form of the game. Anything less would disappoint Tendulkar's fans and more importantly, the great little man himself.

[ajithfederer]

What a crisp article. Wasim :clap:.

[Plum]

I dont think he's going to get 50 tons in even one form of cricket. Ricky's gonna do that for sure in Tests. ODI's - I am not sure but who knows, Ricky's a guy who capitalises on good form unlike Tendulkar so he's sure to get those records on test centuries and career aggregate of runs.

[ajithfederer]

Milestone man Koertzen praises Tendulkar, Lara

STAFF REPORTER 20:29 HRS IST

London, Jul 16 (PTI) Rudi Koertzen, who today became only the second umpire to officiate in 100 Tests, said Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara are the two cricketers he has highest regard for.

Less than a week after becoming the first umpire to stand in 200 One-Day Internationals, Koertzen today became the only person after Steve Bucknor to officiate in 100 Tests by taking the field in the second Ashes Test at Lord's.

Looking back on his career, the 60-year-old South African said he was fortunate to have seen Tendulkar and Lara bat from close quarters.

"I have been fortunate and privileged to have seen some of the greatest modern day cricketers very closely. It would be unfair to pin-point one or two players but I have to name Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar for whom I have the greatest respect and I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing them bat," he said.

http://www.ptinews.com/news/177986_Milestone-man-Koertzen-praises-Tendulkar--Lara

[Vivasaayi]

ericha m*@ira irukku BCCI karainga pandradhu

he is wonderful form...but deprived of test matches

[ajithfederer]

Few shots from March 1994/Auckland/ Ind vs NZ/ Tendulkar's first match as opener/First 2-3 minutes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEDsH1FcmYg)

[Nerd]

241* against Aus va, athellam list laye irukka koodathu, He was struggling all throughout the innings and had 2-3 missed chances... He was not at his best during this innings... Even the 61 that he made against OZs in Melbourne this season was far better.... That's my opinion!!

Oru Sachin Stamp irukka vendamaa antha innigs ku intha list la varathukku!!
I did not want to respond to this but this post kept haunting me because I was the one who nominated that innings.

I am sure all of you would have followed the series. I don't have the stats in my fingertips but Sach had made only about 100 odd runs in three test matches before that in that series. And almost on every occasion, he got out chasing deliveries outside the off stump.

He was struggling only for the first 70 odd runs, IIRC. Thats so typical of Sachin, ain't not. I mean whenever he goes out of form, his struggle to finding form is always ugly. Be it in a ODI in which he would take 40 odd balls to score 20 runs (that he would make up in the end is immaterial) or in a test match in which he takes 20 odd balls to get off the mark.

You all would have also seen his interview to the commentators right after the innings got over. He was grinning like a school boy and he himself rated that as one of his best. The determination, skill, perseverance, level-headedness etc., of Sachin while playing that innings automatically earns itself a place in the top 10, IMVHO.

[ajithfederer]

Agree with Nerd. Anybody can have a real bad day/matches/series. Method's aren't the same but the end result is what is needed and how it helped the team. That knock put India in a virtually unbeatable position for that match.

:thumbsup:.

[ajithfederer]

Sunil Gavaskar's letter to Sachin in August 1987

Dear Sachin,

I wanted to write earlier, but something or the other came in the way. Then I thought it better to write at the beginning of the new season rather than at the end of last season.

Congratulations on your performance last season. What was most impressive was the way you batted alone when the others around you were not contributing much. Keep it up.

Also please do not neglect your studies. My experience is that education helps you through bad patches in whichever career you choose.

So go ahead and God bless.

Regards,
Sunil Gavaskar

PS: Don't be disappointed at not getting the Best Junior Cricketer award from the B.C.A. If you look at the best award winners, you will find one name missing and that person has not done too badly in test cricket!!

(Full text of letter written to Sachin in August 1987.)

http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2002/sep/03sld3a.htm

[crajkumar_be]

Going through Kalyan's. LM's and Nerd's posts on that 241 innings. Ella posts-kume aamaam saamy podanum nu thonudhu... Ippadiyum sollalaam appadiyum sollalaam :oops:
I mean i don't consider it as one of Sachin's best like Kalyan, but i would understand if someone were to nominate it like Nerd did.

[P_R]

Ditto
Thanks CR. adhukkum ditto pOda mudiyAma, idhukkum ditto pOda mudiyAma irundhEn

[Plum]

Which was the innings ended by Adam Bacher - 155 or 169?

[littlemaster1982]

169. Capetown match - 1996.

[P_R]

:oops: I don't remember some of the innings above. Years pOdalaamE LM

[Plum]

155 in Bloemfoenein, 160 in NZ both are totally wiped out in my memory, unless 155 is the one where he had that whirlwind partnership with Azhar. The rest are familiar

[littlemaster1982]

:oops: I don't remember some of the innings above. Years pOdalaamE LM

Ungalukke gnabagam illaiya :shock:

1. 155* Vs Australia at Chennai 1998

2. 136 Vs Pakistan at Chennai 1999

3. 169 Vs South Africa at Cape Town 1996

4. 160 Vs New Zealand at Hamilton 2009

5. 155 Vs South Africa at Bloemfontein 2001

6. 114 Vs Australia at Perth 1992

7. 103* Vs England at Chennai 2008

8. 241* Vs Australia at Sydney 2004

9. 193 Vs England at Leeds 2002

10. 148* Vs Australia at Sydney 1992

[P_R]

vayasAgudhulla

I didn't know the Hamilton innings (slapping forehead now) and was confused between the two South Africa innings

[Plum]

vayasAgudhulla

I didn't know the Hamilton innings (slapping forehead now) and was confused between the two South Africa innings

aDa, same pinch :-)
(are you really 25 years old, man?)

[P_R]

155 in Bloemfoenein, 160 in NZ both are totally wiped out in my memory, unless 155 is the one where he had that whirlwind partnership with Azhar. The rest are familiar

155 is Sehwag's debut match.India lost four wickets in the first session itself and Sachin-Sehwag had a 200 run stand, both scoring centuries.

[P_R]

aDa, same pinch :-)[
thAyakka alias thaayu: unnai maari enna maadhiri chinna poNNunga
Sumathi: :shock:

(are you really 25 years old, man?)
Francis Anbarasan: kooda oNNu sErthukkunga

[Plum]

India lost four wickets in the first session itself

This is not much of a clue since this is routine for India in South Africa :-)

[P_R]

digr for nice pic

[html:ca6ff30142]http://im.rediff.com/cricket/2008/apr/24sld1.jpg[/html:ca6ff30142]

[crajkumar_be]

aDa, same pinch :-)[
thAyakka alias thaayu: unnai maari enna maadhiri chinna poNNunga
Sumathi: :shock:

:rotfl:
(kareksan: kanni ponnunga)



(are you really 25 years old, man?)
Francis Anbarasan: kooda oNNu sErthukkunga
:lol:

[crajkumar_be]

155 in Bloemfoenein, 160 in NZ both are totally wiped out in my memory, unless 155 is the one where he had that whirlwind partnership with Azhar. The rest are familiar

169 Neenga solradhu Capetown. Azhu Bhai 5 4s in 1 over thorugh midwicket region against Klusener. (idhe madhiri Eden Gardnes layum adippaaru.. ennikkai munna pinna irukkalaam aana ella foru-um Bhai region la dhaan :notworthy: )

[crajkumar_be]

Did anyone see the polygraph?
Urudhiya enna solraanga? Kambli sonnara illaya?

[P_R]

kareksan
theriyum..Plum'kkaga sanitize paNNEn. illainnA avar oru mArgamA digress paNNiruvAr

[littlemaster1982]

Video links added in the first page.

[Plum]

kareksan
theriyum..Plum'kkaga sanitize paNNEn. illainnA avar oru mArgamA digress paNNiruvAr

mudivE paNNittEngaLA? :lol:

[Nerd]

Video links added in the first page.
Stellar work LM :bow:

[littlemaster1982]

Thanks Nerd :)

[ajithfederer]

Yes :notworthy:


Video links added in the first page.
Stellar work LM :bow:

[littlemaster1982]

:ty: AF. All these links are collected from previous threads and most of them are your contributions. 200 pakkam padichadhula enakku kannula poochi parakka aarambichuduchu :lol:

Pls let me know if you come across anything that is missed here.

[ajithfederer]

Unga Compiling-ae nenachale :rotfl: :lol:

Adhu dhaan andha thread(s)-oda purpose-ae. Lots and lots of information on sachin :smokesmirk:.

:ty: AF. All these links are collected from previous threads and most of them are your contributions. 200 pakkam padichadhula enakku kannula poochi parakka aarambichuduchu :lol:


Edhu?? :shock:. Thirumba enna poi andha 200 page-ae paaka solreengala :lol2: :notthatway:


Pls let me know if you come across anything that is missed here.

[littlemaster1982]

:notthatway: If you just go through the links I posted, you might find some important matches missing (ex: 124 vs Zim in Sharjah). I got the links but the videos are deleted by Youtube :evil: Vera engavadhu kidaicha kudunga-nu solla vandhen :P



Edhu?? :shock:. Thirumba enna poi andha 200 page-ae paaka solreengala :lol2: :notthatway:


Pls let me know if you come across anything that is missed here.

[Nerd]

Enga konja naaLaa another Sach fan Sri-ya kaanom? Andha forum-la settle aagittaraa? :lol2:

[Sanguine Sridhar]

Enga konja naaLaa another Sach fan Sri-ya kaanom? Andha forum-la settle aagittaraa? :lol2:

I yam here ya! :D

orey pissi.

LM :clap: :clap: :notworthy: :notworthy: Good work mate!

[Vivasaayi]

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/410450.html

Arrguably the most magical moment for sachin fans has been listed in cricinfo "50 Magic moments"

Tendulkar goes after Warne

Two titans at the height of their powers come up against each other

Boria Majumdar

July 19, 2009


Sharjah, 22 April 1998


Cricket is perhaps the most individual of all team sports. What would it be, shorn of the drama of one-against-one contests?

In this particular case, both actors had etched themselves into cricketing folklore. Both were legends who had little but their egos at stake. And when skill, will, determination and effort all pad up to defend ego, it makes for fascinating viewing.

Shane Warne, injured shoulder ignored, round the wicket to Sachin Tendulkar on a Sharjah track offering some assistance was one such intriguing contest. Before the ball could come down and do its trick, Tendulkar had got to the pitch of it. And once the ball had been reached and the spin smothered, up came the heavy bat with lightning-quick speed to send it straight into the billboards at long-on. Warne had been conquered, Warne had been decimated. And he had been left with a vision that continued to haunt him.

Warne, wiping the sweat off his face in frustration, desperation, or bewilderment and appreciation, perhaps. The great Shane Warne, for once in his life, had thrown in the towel. Tendulkar had well and truly won the contest of the titans. And soon, India the Coca-Cola Cup.

epdi hypoda eludha vendiya vishayam idhu...sangakaras article madhiri chumma "mass" oda

[ajithfederer]

No. 25

Sachin ties 'em down

Six needed off the last over? Not on my life. Tendulkar bowls the perfect last over

Dileep Premachandran

June 7, 2009
Related Links
Players/Officials: Sachin Tendulkar
Matches: India v South Africa at Kolkata
Teams: India
Other links: 50 Magic Moments

Calcutta, 24 November 1993

Sachin Tendulkar had provided evidence of his steely nerve two years earlier at the WACA, picking up the final wicket against West Indies to give India the most improbable of ties. Now, when Brian McMillan's bold hitting threatened to silence a large crowd at the Eden Gardens, it was once again Tendulkar whom Mohammad Azharuddin turned to. For South Africa the match had appeared lost when Anil Kumble and Ajay Jadeja precipitated a slide to 145 for 7, but then McMillan and Dave Richardson added 44 to leave South Africa needing just six from the final over.

Two seasons earlier, at the same venue, on South Africa's return to the international game, Tendulkar had hit a brilliant half-century to thwart an inspired Allan Donald-led defence of a low total. But this afternoon, he had done little with the bat, making just 15.

Azhar's unexpected gambit perplexed many, but it also got the crowd buzzing. Richardson had been run out in the previous over, but South Africa didn't learn any lessons. With Tendulkar bowling seam-up, McMillan attempted two off the opening delivery. Fanie de Villiers was run out going for the second, which brought in Donald to face a baying crowd and an excited Tendulkar.

de Villiers' skill with the ball didn't quite extend to willow-wielding, and with Vijay Yadav providing plenty of advice and encouragement from behind the stumps, Tendulkar reeled off three successive dot-balls. Donald managed to scamper a single off the penultimate delivery, and McMillan was left needing to wallop four for victory. Azhar took his time setting the field, and with the noise building to an ear-splitting crescendo, Tendulkar gambolled in. McMillan had an almighty heave but didn't connect cleanly, and though the batsmen ran a single - McMillan chastising himself furiously - it was the Indians who raised the roof.

Dileep Premachandran is an associate editor at Cricinfo. This article was first published in the print version of Cricinfo Magazine
RSS Feeds: Dileep Premachandran

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/407722.html

[ajithfederer]

There is a news in orkut that Tendulkar has been named in an all time test eleven list. Did anybody here come across that??.

[ajithfederer]

Not bad vicky, We are playing some tests says FTP (http://static.icc-cricket.yahoo.net/ugc/documents/DOC_8B8C6843B96F351C24808491F1436D7E_1247146284480 _138.pdf)
3 Tests against Srilanka.
2 Tests against Bangladesh.
3 Tests against South africa.

ericha m*@ira irukku BCCI karainga pandradhu

he is wonderful form...but deprived of test matches

[littlemaster1982]

There is a news in orkut that Tendulkar has been named in an all time test eleven list. Did anybody here come across that??.

AF,

I couldn't find anything in ICC website or IBN Live. We have to wait till it appears in Cricinfo.

[MADDY]

http://ishare.rediff.com/video/Entertainment/Kamblis-Sach-against-Sachin-Tendulkar/655033

Kambli clearly says "yes" to a question "could sachin have saved you from the mess you were in" ........he also adds that he was the sacrificer in the friendship always.......

though it doesent seem to be a mudsling on sachin, it does speak abt jealousy of kambli......sun, dog, old thamizh saying :)

[crajkumar_be]

konja naala naan indha kelviya thaan kettutrindhen.. ayyappaattai theerthadharku nandri Maddy... Pavam eppadi paathaalum namma paya, pona pogattum.. :)

[P_R]

http://ishare.rediff.com/video/Entertainment/Kamblis-Sach-against-Sachin-Tendulkar/655033
:evil:
Enna sacrifice-aam ?

yArAvadhu muzhu program paathuttu sollunga

btw is the host the guy who comes in the film aamir ?

[equanimus]

btw is the host the guy who comes in the film aamir ?
Yes.

[littlemaster1982]

LM :clap: :clap: :notworthy: :notworthy: Good work mate!

:ty: SS :D

[littlemaster1982]

Glenn McGrath about Sachin (http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2002/sep/04inter3.htm)

The year 1989 was crucial for me because I had just moved from the country into Sydney to play first-class cricket. That was the time I heard of a teenager called Sachin Tendulkar, who had burst on to the scene and was being annointed as successor to the great Sunil Gavaskar. Three years elapsed, and after a century at Perth, he was being earmarked as the next best thing to Sir Don Bradman.
Australia is a country where they love sportsmen of high quality, and I have no doubt that outside of India, you will find Tendulkar's greatest admirers among my countrymen. His centuries in Sydney and Perth in India's 1991-1992 series, at age 19, ensured that his career would be one that all cricket lovers in Australia would follow closely.

Interestingly, I did not witness either innings, but many of my team mates did swear that it was batsmanship of the highest quality -- high praise for a bloke who had not celebrated his 20th birthday.

By the time I made my international debut Tendulkar was already being counted among the best batsmen in the world. Most bowlers knew that his was the crucial wicket in an Indian batting line-up that boasted of many talented batsmen.

I enjoyed some beginner's luck against the little man when I first bowled against him. It was at Sharjah, in 1994, when I first claimed Tendulkar, who chased a short ball and pulled it straight to mid-wicket, where Mark Taylor took the catch. It was not a brilliant ball but the jubilation among my team mates made me realise it did not matter. When Tendulkar is out, you don't quibble about the means; you just celebrate the end result.

That was the first of many contests we have had. It is interesting to note that every India-Australia match is heralded as a Warne versus Tendulkar duel. This has worked to my advantage because I am away from the spotlight and this has helped me get the champion's wicket on quite a few occasions. However, I have by no means got Tendulkar's number and I think the scoreline of our encounters is 50-50. I might have a slight edge in Australia, but in India Tendulkar is truly unstoppable.

I have never made a secret of the fact that I rate Tendulkar the best batsman in the business. As far as I am concerned he is technically the most sound player I have ever bowled to. Add to that the manner in which he plays, always trying to dominate the bowler. Among his contemporaries, Steve Waugh, Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul Haq are often compared to the little maestro. Each has his trademark, but Tendulkar combines all of their qualities to make him the best of the lot. Steve is all about determination and making the bowler earn his wicket. Inzamam possesses a good eye and his lazy elegance makes him one of the best players to watch. Lara has flamboyance, and when he gets in, he always scores big centuries.

But Tendulkar possesses determination, a good eye and has a very high rate of consistency as far as centuries go. This puts him on top of my list along with Waugh. Mind you, Steve is at the top by virtue of his performances in the last nine years, that is between age 28 and 37. Tendulkar has just entered that phase of his career.

As I have mentioned earlier, Tendulkar and I have had many interesting encounters. Of these, I rate his dismissal at Adelaide as the most controversial one so far. It may be recalled that Tendulkar, anticipating a bouncer, had ducked into a ball that kept low, and was hit on the shoulder. Umpire Daryll Harper had no hesitation in giving the batsman out, lbw. I did feel for Tendulkar because I had meant to bowl a bouncer, but the ball had pitched on an odd spot and kept really low.

Since Tendulkar is not the tallest guy around and because he was not offering a stroke, he was out in my opinion. Had he been standing up, the ball would have crashed into his pads and there would have been no controversy. But the world's greatest batsman had been hit on the shoulder and commentators and journalists debated on the decision for the rest of the tour. The incident became infamous as the shoulder-before-wicket dismissal, but Tendulkar never made a fuss about it and went on to score a century in the next Test.

Another interesting episode was during the India-Australia one-dayer in Kenya during the last ICC Mini World Cup. Tendulkar was really pumped up and was going after me from the start of the innings. For a change I was not doing the talking! The little champion was hitting me all over the place and giving me a verbal dose as well. I remember being hit for two sixes over my head, but what surprised me more was that Tendulkar, who is normally unflappable, gave me quite a mouthful between the two shots. I could tell he was really pumped up and determined have to have a go at me. That was the first and last time I saw him take on a bowler verbally.

Even though we have played a fair bit of each other in the last three years, I have hardly ever spent any time with Tendulkar outside of a cricket field. Like me, he has a son and a daughter though my kids are a little younger. From all accounts, he is a family man like me, who spends every minute he can at home. It's not easy to be a cricket icon in India, where cricketers are idolized more than filmstars are. I can't even start to think how I'd have coped with the kind of attention Tendulkar draws. That is what makes his humility and patience with fans even more admirable.

Tendulkar now has 30 centuries in 99 Tests, which makes it a hundred in a little over every three Tests. Assuming he plays another 70 Tests - that is the bare minimum knowing what the itineraries are like these days - he will score 20 more centuries. It's not just a mathematical deduction that makes me certain he'll get 50 hundreds.

I've bowled to the man in almost all parts of the world and I am convinced that for him the impossible number is attainable.

Via: Orkut Sachin Community.

[crajkumar_be]

As a West Indian would say, "Respect, maan!" :notworthy:

[ajithfederer]

:D.
Eventhough India lost the Test series 3-0, Tendulkar was awarded Man of the series.


As I have mentioned earlier, Tendulkar and I have had many interesting encounters. Of these, I rate his dismissal at Adelaide as the most controversial one so far. It may be recalled that Tendulkar, anticipating a bouncer, had ducked into a ball that kept low, and was hit on the shoulder. Umpire Daryll Harper had no hesitation in giving the batsman out, lbw. I did feel for Tendulkar because I had meant to bowl a bouncer, but the ball had pitched on an odd spot and kept really low.

Since Tendulkar is not the tallest guy around and because he was not offering a stroke, he was out in my opinion. Had he been standing up, the ball would have crashed into his pads and there would have been no controversy. But the world's greatest batsman had been hit on the shoulder and commentators and journalists debated on the decision for the rest of the tour. The incident became infamous as the shoulder-before-wicket dismissal, but Tendulkar never made a fuss about it and went on to score a century in the next Test.

:rotfl:.


Another interesting episode was during the India-Australia one-dayer in Kenya during the last ICC Mini World Cup. Tendulkar was really pumped up and was going after me from the start of the innings. For a change I was not doing the talking! The little champion was hitting me all over the place and giving me a verbal dose as well. I remember being hit for two sixes over my head, but what surprised me more was that Tendulkar, who is normally unflappable, gave me quite a mouthful between the two shots. I could tell he was really pumped up and determined have to have a go at me. That was the first and last time I saw him take on a bowler verbally.

[crajkumar_be]

:D.
Eventhough India lost the Test series 3-0, Tendulkar was awarded Man of the series.

:shock: Oh, this is freakin news for me! Wow

[Plum]

The batsmen compared to Sachin are Lara, Inzamam and Steve Waugh - so says Glenn Mcgrath. Looks like he didnt even consider Ricky Ponting :-)

[littlemaster1982]

The batsmen compared to Sachin are Lara, Inzamam and Steve Waugh - so says Glenn Mcgrath. Looks like he didnt even consider Ricky Ponting :-)

To be fair with Ponting, this article was written in 2002 (before Ponting hit that purple patch).

[crajkumar_be]

The batsmen compared to Sachin are Lara, Inzamam and Steve Waugh - so says Glenn Mcgrath. Looks like he didnt even consider Ricky Ponting :-)

To be fair with Ponting, this article was written in 2002 (before Ponting hit that purple patch).
Adhe adhe

[ajithfederer]

Yes.

Please look here. http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63867.html

This is the 3rd Test match scorecard.
Toss India, who chose to bat
Series Australia won the 3-match series 3-0

Player of the match GD McGrath (Australia)
Player of the series SR Tendulkar (India)



:D.
Eventhough India lost the Test series 3-0, Tendulkar was awarded Man of the series.

:shock: Oh, this is freakin news for me! Wow

[crajkumar_be]

Mikka nandri Stan
Idhellam koodava marappaanga :x

[ajithfederer]

:lol:.
Ungalayae sollikureengala Illai vera yaarayavadhu solreengala??

Actually I found about this only in the Last year or so, myself. :oops:.

Mikka nandri Stan
Idhellam koodava marappaanga :x

[crajkumar_be]

"Enna chonnen!"

[ajithfederer]

Oh ok.

Actually They were back to back Man of the series awards in Border Gavaskar Trophy for Sir. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achievements_of_Sachin_Tendulkar#Awards

[Plum]

AF, thats the point, isnt it? 2002 varaikkum rejeeted case-A irundha Ponting(that is like 7 years after he started playing), oru 5 year purple patchukkaga Ozzie supporters "better than Sachin"-nu solradhu evLO kEvalamAna, kENathanamAna vishayamnu prove aagudhu illaiya?

[ajithfederer]

And yes Regarding the poll, I voted for an almost flawless and my personal favorite innings of 169.

[ajithfederer]

Well you have a point. His Averages in India are again a case in point. BCCI are on my bloody hate list for not so many tours in India.

Even in today's australian Xi list published by cricinfo Ponting is a 12th man, whereas Thalaivar was a mandatory 4th in both Bradman's and Richie Benaud's list.

P.S: I am waiting for the ICC xi.

AF, thats the point, isnt it? 2002 varaikkum rejeeted case-A irundha Ponting(that is like 7 years after he started playing), oru 5 year purple patchukkaga Ozzie supporters "better than Sachin"-nu solradhu evLO kEvalamAna, kENathanamAna vishayamnu prove aagudhu illaiya?

[littlemaster1982]

Sachin's rare images (http://photobucket.com/dr_shishir).

Courtesy: Orkut Sachin Community.

[ajithfederer]

‘Chandu sir encouraged me to play my natural game’


“Chandu Sir helped me with my technique right from when I was 16. He always kept a close eye on me, told me what I was doing wrong and gave me pointers on how to rectify my mistakes. He never brought about a drastic change in my technique and allowed me to play my natural game. That was the key to my success,” said Sachin Tendulkar here on Tuesday.

Speaking at a function organised by the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) at the Balgandharva Rang Mandir to celebrate Indian cricketing legend Chandu Borde’s 75th birthday, the little master said, “He has influenced me greatly. What stood out was his passion for the game, as he never wanted anything in return for his invaluable advice.”



The function kicked off with a traditional Maharashtrian dance, followed by a description of Borde’s achievements. The other dignitaries present, including former cricketers Ajit Wadekar and Bapu Nadkarni, actor Nana Patekar and Mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale, also had high praise for Borde.


Borde made his debut in the 1954/55 domestic season for Baroda against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. A valuable all-round cricketer, He was a member of the Indian team between 1958 and 1970. He led India in the first Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in December 1967 and was the only Indian in the Rest of the World team that played against Barbados in a commemoration match the same year.



Following his retirement, Borde became a cricket administrator, serving as the chairman of national selectors. He has been honoured with various awards for his contributions to cricket, on and off the field. He was conferred with the Arjuna Award (1966), Padma Shri (1969) and Padma Bhushan (2002). In 2006, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) honoured him with the C K Nayudu Award.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-Chandu-sir-encouraged-me-to-play-my-natural-game-/492545/[tscii:6548edfc08][/tscii:6548edfc08]

[Vivasaayi]

But in cricinfo Indian fixtures,theres no test matches listed


Not bad vicky, We are playing some tests says FTP (http://static.icc-cricket.yahoo.net/ugc/documents/DOC_8B8C6843B96F351C24808491F1436D7E_1247146284480 _138.pdf)
3 Tests against Srilanka.
2 Tests against Bangladesh.
3 Tests against South africa.

ericha m*@ira irukku BCCI karainga pandradhu

he is wonderful form...but deprived of test matches

[Vivasaayi]

http://s683.photobucket.com/albums/vv193/dr_shishir/?action=view&current=learningsachin.jpg

podhuva kolandhainga bat pidikkum bodhu oru kaiya bottomlayum innoru kaiya toplayum pidikkum

tenduls appave bottom handled and both hands holding the bat togethor

idhellam apdiye varradhuthan illa

[ajithfederer]

Even the 7 match ODI series wasn't listed there so I checked in ICC website and got this link. This should be correct i think.

But in cricinfo Indian fixtures,theres no test matches listed


Not bad vicky, We are playing some tests says FTP (http://static.icc-cricket.yahoo.net/ugc/documents/DOC_8B8C6843B96F351C24808491F1436D7E_1247146284480 _138.pdf)
3 Tests against Srilanka.
2 Tests against Bangladesh.
3 Tests against South africa.

ericha m*@ira irukku BCCI karainga pandradhu

he is wonderful form...but deprived of test matches

[ajithfederer]

Sachin top taxpayer among Men in Blue

TNN 23 July 2009, 12:29am IST

NEW DELHI: There has been much talk of late about M S Dhoni being more sought after by advertisers than Sachin Tendulkar.

But if payment of income tax is any indicator, the little master is still way ahead of all other Indian cricket stars when it comes to earnings. Dhoni is a distant second, though catching up, in terms of tax paid, while Virender Sehwag is third.

Data on income tax paid by cricketers shows that Sachin has maintained a steady level of over Rs 8 crore for the last three years, 2006-07 to 2008-09. Behind him, there's been a reshuffle in the batting order.

Dhoni has moved up from third spot in 2006-07 to second last year with a Rs 4.7 crore tax bill. Rahul Dravid, who was Sachin's closest competitor in 2006-07 and a close third behind Dhoni in 2007-08, has dropped to fifth spot.

Heaviest Scorers

(Income tax paid in Rs crore and figures in brackets indicate last year's rankings)
Years 2008-09 2007-08
1. Sachin 8.1 8.7 (1)
2. Dhoni 4.7 3.4 (2)
3. Sehwag 3.1 1.9 (5)
4. Yuvraj 2.6 2.0 (4)
5. Dravid 2.4 3.1 (3)

[ajithfederer]

[tscii:08401865af]One summer in the life of Sachin Tendulkar

Ajay Naidu, TNN 23 July 2009, 12:26am IST

It is not often that Sachin Tendulkar gets a break from cricket. The few times he does, he somehow finds himself in London.


He may not accept it but he loves the English summer and tries to spend some quality time with his family and friends there. It may be his way of unwinding and getting fresh before the demands of a new season, or a new series.

Tendulkar's trip to London, this summer, was however extra special. For, he made his first-ever trip to Madame Tussauds where his wax figure came up recently, gracing the A-list lineup along with greats like Muhammad Ali, Tiger Woods and Jesse Owens.

He joined his contemporaries Brian Lara and Shane Warne but still he is the first Indian sports personality to be portrayed here. Tendulkar also caught up with Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, who incidentally is a huge fan of the little champion.

He also joined greats like Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras in the Royal Box to watch his favourite, Roger Federer, make history. He just has one little regret though: his plan of watching Michael Jackson didn't materialise due to the American icon's unfortunate, and unexpected, death.

"You can say it struck a jarring note on what was otherwise a great trip. Michael Jackson's death came as a shock because I was actually looking forward to his concert in London," Tendulkar told TOI in an exclusive interview.

"It was unnerving for me because I grew up listening to his music. I missed his concert in Mumbai, way back in 1996 because we were playing the Titan Cup final after five days. I was looking forward to this show."

On the positive side, Tendulkar made his first ever trip to Madame Tussauds. "My family had been there before but this was the first time for me. It was a terrific experience. All the personalities there are special. Their precision and accuracy in producing the wax figure is unbelievable," quipped Tendulkar whose wax figure came up at a cost of £150,000.

Yet another first for Tendulkar was catching up with Daniel Radcliffe. The Harry Potter star took Tendulkar's autograph at Lord's on his 18th birthday in 2007. But so engrossed was Sachin in obliging his fans that he didn't even notice signing up for Daniel.

"I first met him when we were touring England in 2007. After the Lord's Test, we drove down to Nottingham for the second Test and it was there that I got a call from my wife, Anjali, who asked me about my meeting with Harry Potter. I said, no, I haven't met him. But she insisted I did because the statement had come from Daniel himself that he got his best birthday present. As it turned out, just before the day's play at Lord's, I was obliging fans on my way back to the dressing room. And when you sign autogrpahs you aren't always looking up at the person. So I missed the opportunity to meet him and say hello to him then. However, this time around I met him at Lord's during the T20 World Cup and I got a chance to say hello to him."

A summer in London is incomplete without a trip to the Centre Court at Wimbledon. Tendulkar, who grew up admiring John McEnroe, made an appearance at the Royal Box to watch Federer make history. "I am a huge Federer fan, so obviously I was backing Federer. But at the end I didn't want a loser there."

Tendulkar, who knows former champion Michael Schumacher and Australian Mark Webber on the Formula One circuit, hasn't had the chance to meet Federer. "I would love to say hello to him sometime somewhere," says Tendulkar.

While he isn't too passionate about golf, Tendulkar enjoys following Formula One. But, after the limits on spending this season, this year's Formula One has been different. "To be honest, this year I haven't been able to follow much. And, this year, it hasn't been the same."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4809373.cms[/tscii:08401865af]

[Vivasaayi]

fine af

:)

[ajithfederer]

Allan Donald on Sir (http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2002/sep/04inter2.htm)

Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the world. Which is why I find it amusing when critics suggest that he plays well only at home. Do they realise that they are talking about a guy who has scored centuries in almost all the Test-playing countries?
He only played at the start of his career in Pakistan and has not played too much in either Zimbabwe or Bangladesh - the two new entrants in Test cricket, otherwise I have no doubt he would have reached three figures in these countries as well. As far as I am concerned, he is by far the best I have seen or played against.

I must admit that I was not entirely convinced that Tendulkar had something special about him when I first heard about him. It was prior to South Africa's return to world cricket that the "Tendulkar buzz" was heard around the county circuit. He played a season for Yorkshire, but did not really get going. However, he did score one century in a Sunday League, the rerun of which I saw on television. There was a lot of Sunil Gavaskar in his style, and he also had the balance that nobody else possessed. But these were glimpses of potential and I did not think he would be consistently good for a long period of time.

How wrong I was. Tendulkar got better and better with each passing year and today he is the most frightening batsman as far as bowlers across the world are concerned. Everybody is king at home, and scoring heavily in your backyard has never really impressed me. However, Tendulkar has 16 centuries outside India, which is more than half of all his centuries. Many quality batsmen end up with that many centuries in their entire career, so that number is a clear indication that we are talking about a freak player - someone who is as good and as consistent abroad as he is at home.

As a bowler you have to have your gameplan ready before bowling to Tendulkar. Sachin looks to leave a lot of balls in the beginning, and as a bowler your best chance against him is in the first 20 minutes. During our team meetings, we often speak about the importance of the first 12 balls to Tendulkar. If you get him then you can thank your stars, otherwise it could mean that tough times lie ahead.

Consistency is the factor that makes Tendulkar special. He is often spoken about in the same breath as Brian Lara, but as far as I am concerned, the comparison does not even begin. Lara is not half as consistent as Tendulkar and lacks the discipline of the latter. The left-hander plays in a more loose manner and is not that controlled or patient during the first 20 minutes of his innings. Lara was unbelievable in 1994, but he has never been able to recreate that magic consistently after that.

Which is why I rate my dismissal of Tendulkar at Durban in 1996 as the best ball I've ever bowled in Test cricket. I remember that over very clearly. Tendulkar had just hit me for two boundaries, but I decided to stick to my outside-the-off-stump line. The ball just nipped back sharply and claimed his off-stump. It was a perfect ball and, more importantly, exposed a tiny chink in the army colonel's armour. Since then we have worked on bowling that ball against Tendulkar and have had some degree of success with it.

I don't know Tendulkar too well, but one of the main reasons for his success is that he is able to motivate himself all the time. He seems to be constantly assessing his game and setting new goals for himself. There's a certain passion about the game that is unique to him and nothing excites him more than representing his country.

At 29, Tendulkar is at the middle of his career and from hereon he can score another 15 to 20 centuries, taking him close to the 50-century mark. He will continue to terrorise bowlers for another six to eight years, and, hopefully, he will be able to keep the motivation going.

Great players often decide to retire out of the blue. This is particularly common among those who are family men because they find it increasingly difficult to spend time away from their near and dear ones. I've heard that Tendulkar is deeply attached to his children and might face such a crisis. However, like many admirers all over the world, I certainly hope that he succeeds in keeping his focus on the game for many more years. I think he owes it to the game and to his admirers.

[crajkumar_be]

Feddy,
Idhu neraya thadava ingaye post panniyache...

[ajithfederer]

:lol:

http://s683.photobucket.com/albums/vv193/dr_shishir/?action=view&current=learningsachin.jpg

podhuva kolandhainga bat pidikkum bodhu oru kaiya bottomlayum innoru kaiya toplayum pidikkum

tenduls appave bottom handled and both hands holding the bat togethor

idhellam apdiye varradhuthan illa

[ajithfederer]

:oops: . Appovae nenaichein.

Seri indha trio (wasim, donald, mcgrath) moonu articles-um moonavadhu thread aarambathula irukardhu nalla idea dhaane. Illayaa :ashamed:

Feddy,
Idhu neraya thadava ingaye post panniyache...

[crajkumar_be]

Ok Ok :)

[Benny Lava]

Seri indha trio (wasim, donald, mcgrath) moonu articles-um moonavadhu thread aarambathula irukardhu nalla idea dhaane.

:2thumbsup: The greatest bowlers of last generation hailing Sachin! Idhuku mela ennaiya venum :bow: All those who try to judge him against BCL and Ricky ponting answer this :twisted:

[Vivasaayi]

Wsim akram,DOnald,Mcgrah and Warne ... :clap:

murali mattumthan larakku voteu potadhu

[Benny Lava]

Wsim akram,DOnald,Mcgrah and Warne ... :clap:

murali mattumthan larakku voteu potadhu

Not surprising! Lara is fabulous against spin. But speaking of spin bowling.. ask Warne about Sachin :cool:

[Vivasaayi]

Sorry if it was already posted.

Sachin's century at melbourne in 1999.Telecasted in Star cricket super centuries

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKcdnxHMCjs

Warne va sachin handle panna mannerku oru sirandha udhaaranam

[ajithfederer]

Sachin Tendulkar Message to the Athletes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr5EK_oIcEY)

[ajithfederer]

Tendulkar's match list as a captain/ODI/Tests (http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/35320.html?captain=1;class=2;filter=advanced;order by=start;template=results;type=batting;view=match)

[ajithfederer]

ODI's as a captain:

Off Thalaivar's 425 matches, 73 Matches were played as a captain(which i think was his biggest mistake of his life) with an average of 37.75 and a strike rate of 83.49.

Of those 73 matches, India have won only 23 matches.

Tests as a captain:

Off his 159 matches, 25 matches were played as a captain and India has managed to win/draw 16 off them.

As a player he had contributed 2054 runs in those 25 Test matches with 7 100's, 7 50's and two ducks.

SRT Won/lost as a captain (http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/35320.html?captain=1;class=2;filter=advanced;order by=start;result=1;result=4;template=results;type=b atting;view=match)

[ajithfederer]

Sachin Tendulkar as a captain belongs to two time frames.

One from August 1996 to 28 Dec 1997(ODI's), 10 Oct 1996 to 3 Dec 1997 and 23 Aug 1999 to 30 Jan 2000(ODI's) and 10 Oct 1999 to 2 Mar 2000(Test's).

Now why I am quoting the time frames here is One can clearly Identify the dates between these two time frames. Thalaivar had the best year of his life as a cricketer (Which is a fact now")in the year 1998 when he was not as a captain and this clearly shows he had some sort of thing not going his way when he was a captain.

For starters who don't understand the significance of the year 1998 for India and Tendulkar please go through the below link.

SRT as a player between his captaincy tenure /01 jan 1998 - 20 Aug 1999 (http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/35320.html?class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=start;s panmax1=20+Aug+1999;spanmin1=01+Jan+1998;spanval1= span;template=results;type=batting;view=match)

[ajithfederer]

Thesis to be continued :).

Thoughts are most welcome.

[littlemaster1982]

When Ravi Shastri (?) asked Sachin in the presentation ceremony of Independence Cup 1998, he agreed that he could play freely without the burden of captaincy.

And Sachin had a long draught of not scoring 100's from May 1997 to April 1998.

[ajithfederer]

We need more such evidences here. One dumb!@# here has been irritating me that sachin is a bad captain, which we agree. But why he was a bad captain, what did the players do around him?. WHo played under him and how well did they play. Unfortunately Cricket is a team sport and it is not a franchise one either which is my other biggest grouse.

And last but not the least the height of matchfixing scandal was during sachin's captaincy. I read in sachin's wiki page that Thallavari !@# azharuddin had said something like"its not in sachin's destiny that he would win". I feel like stamping on his throat for all his wrongdoings and the above statement. My thesis is to pull all the strings together here.

When Ravi Shastri (?) asked Sachin in the presentation ceremony of Independence Cup 1998, he agreed that he could play freely without the burden of captaincy.

[littlemaster1982]

I bought this book (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sachin-Tendulkar-Definitive-Vaibhav-Purandare/dp/0752447661) last year and it had a detailed account on what went wrong when he was a captain. Though I felt the author had gone out of his way to defend Sachin, we cannot ignore certain things in that chapter.

Will post few excerpts from it when time permits.

[Vivasaayi]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlpouKQ8ojA

Must watch for a sachin fan.

[Sanguine Sridhar]

Sachin ellam bad captain-nu solradhellam ennala othukka mudiyaadhu. Appo namma team evvalo azhaga irrundhadhunu namakku nallave theriyum. Seri, oru average team-a nalla captaincy moolama vazhikku kondu varalaam. But team was full of attitude problems, jealousy, match fixers!! :huh:

Namma project manager nammala vida vayasu kammi-na prechanai vara thaane seiyum?! :P

[ajithfederer]

http://www.sahilonline.org/english/news.php?catID=coastalnews&nid=5986&viewed=0

Sachin Tendulkar attends a wedding in Bhatkal

S.O. News Service, Monday, 27 July 2009 - 13:47:46 IST

Bhatkal: World famous Indian cricketer, Mr. Ramesh Sachin Tendulkar arrived here in Bhatkal on Saturday evening to attend the marriage ceremony of his childhood friend Umair Naite, the son of Irfan Naite, a renowned businessman of Bhatkal. He arrived in Bhatkal on Saturday evening and stayed at Ribco House, a resort on the seashore of the town.

His visit to Bhatkal was kept as a close guarded secret due to security reasons, however, as the news of his arrival spread in the town, huge crowd gathered at the Ribco House, in Jali to take a glimpse of the Master Blaster.

He attended the marriage ceremony of his friend on the same night. He also visited the famous tourist spot in Murdeshwar the same evening. After his overnight stay at Bhatkal, Mr. Sachin directly was driven to Bajpe Air port to take a flight to Mumbai in this morning.

[ajithfederer]

[tscii:a3b46c795a]Tragedy and Tears

By Gulu Ezekiel

"It was my mother who prompted me to go and attend the nation's call"

The World Cup returned to England in 1999 after 16 years. It was in 1983 that the Indian team led by Kapil Dev stunned the world by lifting the Prudential World Cup.

The media and the advertising world's hype in India in the run up to world cricket's biggest event was simply mind-boggling. It seemed that every company worth its salt from televisions to soft drinks and everything else in between had spent their annual ad budgets in one massive splurge on cricket. The sum being tossed around was a staggering Rs 250 crores.

Expectations were sky-high and the whole atmosphere surrounding the Indians was one of hysteria and hype that inevitably got the better of reality and logic. This was not a great team and their recent performances at home and at Sharjah were pretty dismal.

The stars of 1983 who had never got the financial rewards which today's players were reaping also had their day in the sun once again. There were re-unions galore and even a match pitting the team of '83 against the team of '99 at Mumbai. Needless to say Sachin Tendulkar was the star with a century. That only confirmed what he said a few years earlier-that he took his batting seriously even in exhibition matches.

Once again Azharuddin lead the team as he had done in 1992 and 1996. There was no doubt in any cricket follower's mind though on whom the team's chances rested.

Tendulkar even made it to the cover of the May 17, 1999 edition of the American news magazine, Time (the Asian edition). Inside the players expected to dominate were profiled.


"The Bombay Bomber's blazing batting performances have earned him comparisons with Diego Maradona-it helps that they are both short, stocky and curly-haired. But unlike the Argentine ace, Tendulkar is a levelheaded, even bland professional who does all his hell-raising at the wicket.

He wields the heaviest bat in the game, both literally and figuratively and is a quick reader of bowlers and wicket conditions. Ask Shane Warne: regarded by most batsmen as unplayable, the leg spinner was brutalized by Tendulkar throughout the 1998 Australian tour of India. Later, Warne said he had nightmares about Tendulkar's flashing blade.

It's difficult to single out a standout Tendulkar performance, as there as so many-and so many to come. He already owns the record for most ODI centuries, and he has at least 10 years ahead of him. Gulp!"

India were in Group A with hosts England, Kenya, South Africa, holders Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

Group B consisted of Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, Pakistan, Scotland and Bangladesh.

The top three teams from each group would advance to the Super Six stage under a complex system of points and the top four would then go onto the semifinals.

India's opening match at Hove on May 15 was against South Africa, one of the favourites.

India started well after electing to bat first as Tendulkar and Ganguly (97) put on 67 runs. Tendulkar was caught behind off Lance Klusener for 28 just after striking a delightful cover driven boundary and the final total of 253 for five was a challenging one.

Openers Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs were both claimed by Srinath with the score at 22 before Jacques Kallis took over. When he was run out for 96, South Africa needed 27 from 26 balls. Klusener promptly struck his first three deliveries for four and his team were home by four wickets with 2.4 overs to spare.

This was a disappointing start to the Indian campaign. But then South Africa were undoubtedly one of the strongest teams in the tournament. The next match four days later at Leicester was against Zimbabwe and the Indian camp was confident it would earn its first points.

That was not to be. Not only did the African team stun India in a last over thriller, there was an even more shocking piece of news for the Indians the night before the game.

Sachin's father, Dr. Ramesh Tendulkar had died in Mumbai of a heart attack in his home in Bandra late on May 18 at the age of 66. He had been ailing for some time.

My first thought on hearing the news was an instinctive one that must have crossed the minds of millions of Indian cricket fans-would Sachin continue at the World Cup or return home? I immediately felt a pang of guilt and I am sure I was not alone in that either.

Sachin did indeed return to Mumbai to attend his father's funeral and miss the match against Zimbabwe.

He left in the early hours of May 19 with tears in his eyes. Few in the team were aware of this shattering blow. It was coach Anshuman Gaekwad who took the call from Mumbai at 10.30 p.m. local time and was asked to convey the tragic news to Sachin. But he did not have the heart to do so and requested Anjali to perform the difficult task. Both Anjali and daughter Sara were in London at the time. The three took the first available flight home from London early on the morning of the Zimbabwe match.

Ironically it was at Leicester (which has a large Indian population) where Dr. Tendulkar 10 years before had given a lecture on Marathi literature. He had retired six years earlier from Kirti College where he taught Marathi. He had also taught at Sidharth College.

Brothers Ajit and Nitin had been with the team at Hove. They were in Chicago when they received the news.

Even as the demoralised Indians were self-destructing against Zimbabwe, the talk on the street centred round the tragedy. It was as if the nation was in collective grieving for their favourite son.

The players had woken on the morning of May 19, stunned to hear the news and learn of their teammate's distress and departure.

Understandably, Gaekwad was in no mood to ask Sachin if and when he planned to return. There was no pressure from the Board either.

"I know how close he was to his father. We have to wait for the funeral before we can even think of asking him. I shall keep in touch with him", the coach told the reporters from India.

A minute's silence was observed before the match at the Grace Road ground. S. Ramesh had the unenviable task of being asked to replace Tendulkar at the top of the order and did a pretty competent job as he top scored with 55.

All through the flight from London to Mumbai, Sachin's mind was on the progress of his team. One of the flight pursers kept coming to him with the latest score.

"Through him I came to know that we lost closely. I was sorry I could not do anything under the circumstances."

Chasing Zimbabwe's 252 for 9, India who had been docked four overs for a slow over-rate by their old nemesis, match referee 'Cammie' Smith, lost by three runs with their last three wickets thrown away in the final over bowled by Henry Olongo.

Back in Mumbai, the funeral of Prof. Tendulkar was a family affair with just a few close friends (Vinod Kambli and Amol Muzumdar) and Mumbai cricket officials in attendance. The time had been brought forward to dawn to avoid the media scramble. A sign was put outside the family residence of Sahitya Sahawas requesting people not to pay their condolences.

Eldest son Nitin performed the last rites at the Shivaji Park electric crematorium in Central Mumbai. The mourners were personally thanked by Sachin who stood at the exit along with Ajit.

In a touching tribute under the headline: 'God rewarded Prof. Tendulkar' (The Times of India, May 28, 1999), Sunil Gavaskar wrote: "The late Ramesh Tendulkar did not watch too many of his son, Sachin's innings at a cricket ground. Even at home he used to watch the highlights rather that the live coverage on TV.

Now he would have seen how not only millions and millions of Indians but even the Gods stop everything to watch his son play. He now has a special place to see his youngest son go on to become the greatest batsman the world has ever seen."

Gavaskar recalled how Prof Tendulkar (when he was teaching at Sidharth College in the 60s and 70s) helped the cricketers of Bombay University. "He would take extra classes and tuition to these cricketers (who were playing in the inter-varsity Vizzy Trophy) to ensure that they were able to catch up with their studies and get through and not lose a year. So when young Tendulkar started to bat the way he does, plenty of people who knew about the senior Tendulkar's contribution were sure it was God's way of rewarding him with a son as talented as Sachin."

Prof. Tendulkar had last been seen in public with Sachin and Anjali at a cricket awards function in Mumbai a month before his passing.

A low-profile man, he stayed out of the spotlight even as he watched his son grow up to become a national icon.

Someone who knew Prof. Tendulkar for many decades was Atmaram 'Bapu' Bhende, the doyen of Marathi theatre. Mr. Bhende is married to my father's sister, Dr. Asha Bhende and I asked him to share with me his memories.

(In September 2001 when I met Ajit Tendulkar in Mumbai and told him of the relationship his reaction was: "Bapu? He is a great legend")

Mr. Bhende recalled in a letter sent to me in November, 2001 how he first met Ramesh Tendulkar when he invited him to attend a kavi sammelan (poets' meet) organised by the Indian National Theatre (of which he was Secretary of the Marathi section) in the mid-50s.

"I was charmed by his gentle, soft spoken and cordial manner. A true gentleman, ever ready to extend a helping hand to anyone who needed it. I was particularly impressed by his frank but without malice opinions of the work of other poets. I was particularly interested in bringing together budding poets with the specific intention of bringing them into the limelight. Ramesh Tendulkar was helpful in identifying such poets and contacting them…Those who knew Ramesh Tendulkar intimately, know that Sachin's modesty is a gift from his father."

"I met Ramesh quite accidentally just a few days before his untimely death. We were both invited to a suburban college literary function. The car organised by them first picked up Ramesh and then arrived at my residence. Ramesh rushed into my living room and we met like two long lost friends. Certainly, a moment to cherish. And remember, Ramesh had not changed-the same handsome face, winsome smile, the same warmth, the same genuine friendliness. The long years in between just melted away.

"One seldom comes across such a straightforward and unassuming person, who in reality had so much to boast of! His death was not only a great loss to his family and the Marathi literary world, but also to his large circle of friends, admirers and well wishers."

Since his death, his children have brought out his Marathi poems in book form. The eldest, Nitin's poetry writing was obviously inspired by his father.

The Indian World Cup campaign appeared to be heading for an early and inglorious end after two defeats in the first two matches.

In India there were strident calls for Azharuddin to be axed before the next game against Kenya on May 23. Passions were running high and the phone calls from viewers to the morning television show I was hosting were getting increasingly irate and abusive.

I realised just how ugly things were becoming when a furious fan at a petrol station near the studios accosted me. He was demanding to know why I was calling for the Indian captain to be retained. It was all getting out of control.

Back in Mumbai, Sachin had made the decision to fly back to England. It came as a huge relief no doubt for the team and its followers. For 24 hours after his father's funeral it seemed no one could talk of anything else.

At the Times of India office in the heart of New Delhi, traffic came to a standstill.

'Sachin flying back' was the headline on the giant electronic bulletin board. Buses and cars screeched to a halt, people stood and stared as if they could not believe their eyes. Salvation for the beleaguered Indians was on its way.

"It was my mother who prompted me to go and attend the nation's call. She said even my father would have liked me to go and do my duty," Tendulkar told reporters at Heathrow Airport on his arrival back in England the morning before the crucial game against Kenya. "I realise this match is important and we are keen to make a winning impression. We have to win all three matches and keep the hopes of our supporters high. It's not going to be easy to put behind the tragedy and concentrate on the job at hand."

Tendulkar added: "The entire country wanted me to play. The World Cup is very important to India. I therefore completed all formalities and took the first available flight to be here with the team.

Gaekwad marveled at Sachin's composure and said he had no words to describe his star player's gesture. "We will do everything to keep Sachin's mind occupied. In any case, he is a restless person."

"I thought he might make it for the match against Sri Lanka on May 26. Even in this hour of grief Sachin could not resist coming to the rescue of the team which, as has been proved, cannot do without this man."

Ten days into the World Cup and the first century had been recorded. That it was scored by a man who had attended his father's funeral just a few days earlier was a monumental tribute to the skills, the discipline and the mental strength of the world's best batsman.

India won by 94 runs to breath fresh life into her campaign to reach the next stage. A full house at Bristol (8,508) gave Tendulkar three standing ovations-first when he walked to the crease, then when he reached his 22nd century and finally when he walked off with fellow-centurion Rahul Dravid at the end of India's innings of 329 for two-Tendulkar on 140 and Dravid on 104. The stand of 237 unbroken in 29 overs was the highest ever in the World Cup (till India's next match against Sri Lanka).

This was his first ODI century that had not come as an opener. After his half-century against Zimbabwe it was decided to retain Ramesh as Ganguly's opening partner.

The first 50 came in 54 balls, the second took 30. A look heavenwards in silent tribute to his father marked the completion of the masterly century. "I just looked up. It's very difficult to explain what I felt." The last ball of the innings was flicked disdainfully over mid-wicket for six, just as Viv Richards had done in the 1979 World Cup final.

The century was dedicated to his father. Chocking with emotion at the post-match awards ceremony-even Tony Greig appeared overcome when interviewing him---he said he had been motivated by his mother's words when he reached Mumbai for the funeral.

"The first question my mother asked me was whey did I come back. She said even your father would have wanted you stay on. I had gone home because I was committed to my family. Similarly, I also have commitment towards my country and countrymen."

He admitted it had not been his best hundred. "But under the circumstances it was special."

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee sent a congratulatory fax to the Man of the Match.

"Not only did you not let the deep personal loss caused by your father's sudden demise deter you but you actually used it as an inspiration to scale another summit in cricketing excellence. The whole of India is proud of you."

Less than three years later, another tragedy would cast its shadow across Tendulkar's life.

India duly won their next two matches against Sri Lanka and England to make it to the Super Six.

They were joined by Zimbabwe and South Africa from Group A and Australia, Pakistan and New Zealand from Group B.

Australia simply blew away India in the first of the match in the Super Stage game. The big breakthrough came when Glenn McGrath had Tendulkar caught behind for his fist duck in 22 innings with just one run on the board. His three previous innings against Australia had produced centuries.

Australia had piled up 282 for six. No team had scored 283 to win an ODI in England and now with his first four overs McGrath ensured it would not happen at The Oval either. India were staggering at 17 for four and were all out for 205.

India's chances of qualifying for the semifinals were now all but dead. But their next match against Pakistan took on an extra edge. The conflict in Kargil was still raging back home and the Old Trafford authorities were concerned over a flare-up between rival spectators.

It never happened and India won a tense match by 47 runs. It was the third time India and Pakistan had met in the World Cup and each time India had come out on top. Tendulkar was back in the opener's slot and blazed briefly for 45.

Despite the win, India were playing only for pride in their final match against New Zealand who had to win to reach the last four. That is just what they did.

Australia would go onto win the World Cup for the second time, beating Pakistan in a lop-sided final.

The Indian campaign had started and ended with a whimper. In between there were some wonderful moments, notably Tendulkar's century against Kenya and the victories over England and Pakistan. But overall their cricket was disappointing and lacked consistency, as always. All that pre-tournament hysteria rapidly fizzled out.

Tendulkar's form too was patchy. He had 253 runs at 42.17. But under the circumstances, it was a huge credit to him that he made it back at all after his father's loss.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/specials/sachin/gulu2.htm[/tscii:a3b46c795a]

[crajkumar_be]

Oh yeah, he doesn't perform under pressure, he's selfish and not a team man, and India was never dependent on him ... :notworthy:

[littlemaster1982]

http://www.sahilonline.org/english/news.php?catID=coastalnews&nid=5986&viewed=0

Sachin Tendulkar attends a wedding in Bhatkal



http://www.sahilonline.org/news/2009/jul09/26_sachin_bkl_1.jpg[/html:61e1418c88]

[html:61e1418c88]http://www.sahilonline.org/news/2009/jul09/26_sachin_bkl_2.jpg[/html:61e1418c88]

[html:61e1418c88]http://www.sahilonline.org/news/2009/jul09/26_sachin_bkl_3.jpg[/html:61e1418c88]

[html:61e1418c88]http://www.sahilonline.org/news/2009/jul09/26_sachin_bkl_4.jpg[/html:61e1418c88]

[MADDY]

We need more such evidences here. One dumb!@# here has been irritating me that sachin is a bad captain, which we agree. But why he was a bad captain, what did the players do around him?. WHo played under him and how well did they play. Unfortunately Cricket is a team sport and it is not a franchise one either which is my other biggest grouse.

:lol2:

even when i was at the peak of Sachin fanatism, i was a pretty bad critic of his captaincy......for me, cricket is a team game - team should win, captain should make the team win..........all such conspiracy theory were floating for Srikkanth too - like how team brought him down and removed him from captaincy etc, .......infact, i have talked to Praveen Amre's cousin (who worked with me in Mumbai) and he tried to convince me that entire team was against the "maharashtrian" sachin in australia tour of 1999 :lol: .......i felt they were excuses.....

to me, closest "logical" explanation to sachin's bad captaincy was given by Javagal Srinath.......he said in a interview that sachin would expect everyone in the team to perform at his level and show the same dedication and intensity as his - which is not possible at all.......srinath aceepted that entire team struggled with sachin's expectations.......srinath also said, sachin never understood wat poor performance means......

[Balaspike]

We need more such evidences here. One dumb!@# here has been irritating me that sachin is a bad captain, which we agree. But why he was a bad captain, what did the players do around him?. WHo played under him and how well did they play. Unfortunately Cricket is a team sport and it is not a franchise one either which is my other biggest grouse.

:lol2:

even when i was at the peak of Sachin fanatism, i was a pretty bad critic of his captaincy......for me, cricket is a team game - team should win, captain should make the team win..........all such conspiracy theory were floating for Srikkanth too - like how team brought him down and removed him from captaincy etc, .......infact, i have talked to Praveen Amre's cousin (who worked with me in Mumbai) and he tried to convince me that entire team was against the "maharashtrian" sachin in australia tour of 1999 :lol: .......i felt they were excuses.....

to me, closest "logical" explanation to sachin's bad captaincy was given by Javagal Srinath.......he said in a interview that sachin would expect everyone in the team to perform at his level and show the same dedication and intensity as his - which is not possible at all.......srinath aceepted that entire team struggled with sachin's expectations.......srinath also said, sachin never understood wat poor performance means......

This is normal, if u happen to captain definitly u will expect everyone to perform tats the spirit. At the same same time we cannot expect all the players should fire. So wat expects is if somebody fails(even in form player) some other in the team should charge to win the match. It happens sometime, but many time we fail, tat too because of bowling weakness. Still now india has not got any threatning bowler like MC grath, Murali.....etc

[ajithfederer]

Sachin was a bad captain for a worst team of 11 individuals( 11 peru mattum irundutta adhu oru teamaa?. Read like powder poosita kelavi ellam cleopatra aagiduvaala) Thats all I have to say.
Oru naayum team-la aadadhu aana pali mattum sachin mela :huh:.

And it is very unfair that it is always sachin who gets the end of the stick. Actually I wanted to complile a seperate list of bowlers, batsman who played during that era and see how they fared during his captaincy. Will do that whenever I find time.

In that famed australia tour you are quoting the only other performer in test series was laxman and in ODI's was ganguly. Tendulkar was awarded man of the series btw, which speaks volumes of his contributions. Appuram ungalai madhiri pandithargal vandhu :lol2: poda mattum dhan seyreenga. No one talks about matchfixing, player involvement lottu losukku...




We need more such evidences here. One dumb!@# here has been irritating me that sachin is a bad captain, which we agree. But why he was a bad captain, what did the players do around him?. WHo played under him and how well did they play. Unfortunately Cricket is a team sport and it is not a franchise one either which is my other biggest grouse.

:lol2:

even when i was at the peak of Sachin fanatism, i was a pretty bad critic of his captaincy......for me, cricket is a team game - team should win, captain should make the team win..........all such conspiracy theory were floating for Srikkanth too - like how team brought him down and removed him from captaincy etc, .......infact, i have talked to Praveen Amre's cousin (who worked with me in Mumbai) and he tried to convince me that entire team was against the "maharashtrian" sachin in australia tour of 1999 :lol: .......i felt they were excuses.....

to me, closest "logical" explanation to sachin's bad captaincy was given by Javagal Srinath.......he said in a interview that sachin would expect everyone in the team to perform at his level and show the same dedication and intensity as his - which is not possible at all.......srinath aceepted that entire team struggled with sachin's expectations.......srinath also said, sachin never understood wat poor performance means......

[crajkumar_be]

for me, cricket is a team game - team should win, captain should make the team win

I give 10 cats to a Project Manager and ask him to deliver a project at the end of which the output should be 20 dogs.
"Project is team work - team should deliver, manager should make the team work. I dont want any reasons or excuses" - nu sonna nyayam aaguma?

That said, i had reservations about his captaincy then, which might or might not be irrespective of the team he got (amaa ivaru periya team selector, reservation pathi ellam pesaraaru :lol: ). A good part of what we conclude will be mere speculation.

[Plum]

Sachin's MI captaincy has left a few things to be desired. But his India captaincy stint cannot at all be evaluated - because of Mr.Fix-It and his friends. You just cannot fight against that. There might be some rigidness to Sachin's captaincy but with a decent team, and no fixers, I am sure he wouldnt have had such a poor result board as captain.

But I always have one grouse against Sachin, the captain - there are rumours that he insisted on Hindi in the dressing room :-)

[ajithfederer]

Plum/Maddy/Bala and others here

Even I don't think of him as a great captain or for a good captain. It is just the stick that he is a worst captain makes me feel sick. I feel that he always had the worst team one can imagine. With any decent team he could have done much better.

Yes his captaincy in MI also still needs to be evaluated.

[crajkumar_be]

Plum/AF,
We concur and conquer

[Plum]

AF, yeah, you are definitely not saying he is a great captain - I sensed that. I am fully with you - he is not as bad as he is portrayed to be. He has a wonderful cricketing brain(idhu naan soli than theriyaNumA) and with a half-decent team, the results will be very good.
Even with MI - Tawakale, Kulukkara-nee, A-Jinx-ya, Pinnal Shah idhungaLai vechukittu ennatha paNdradhu. Edho Gillykum Kumblekum macham - Harmeet matrum Manish Pandey succeeded, and many youngsters came good in crucial moments.

I never get it when Gilly or Kumble is praised for inpsiring youngsters with a jab that Sachin was never able to do that. Adhu ennappa? Sachin sonna inspiring-A irukkadhu? Gilly sonnA irukkumA? Edho adhirshtam...
I'd like to see Deccan Chargers getting Wooden Spoon under Gilly's captaincy again. Circumstances can certainly conspire to make that happen. But edho avan adhirshtam...

[ajithfederer]

One more question. May sound extremely dumb for many.

Was he enthrusted with the captaincy or did he ask for one. I am a little bit lacking in history here. Please help

[crajkumar_be]

I don't think he ever 'asked' for it. His later stint was definitely thrust on him (was that the time when he wanted Azhu bhai out?). Chronology athuppadiya irukkara Kalyan/LM/Plum confirm pannungappa...

[ajithfederer]

Thalaivar eppadiyum kettirukka maatarnu enaku theriyum. Aana for history sake oru clarification. After the wc semi debacle thalaivar was appointed as a captain from 1996 August. Was there nobody else then?. Dravid and ganguly just made into the team then right?.

[Plum]

He never asked for it. I mean, today you have Yuvraj singhs and Harbhajan :lol: Singhsgoing around talking about captaincy, its a great honour, "I'm sure I'll do a great job as captain" etc. When pointedly asked about captaincy, he has said it is a dream every cricketer nurtures. I am pretty sure he wouldnt have ever demanded it.

I dont think he ever thought he'll fail as captain. The first time hurt him a lot, but the second time, he was asked to, and given Azzu-bhai's exclusion, he probably thought he could do better this time. Unfortunately, fate thrust MSK Prasads and Devang Gandhis on him.

[Plum]

1996-la, the other choice was Kumble - and I daresay, it might have worked better for India. I dont think captaincy would have reduced Kumble's effectiveness, and Sachin could have had a good period of apprenticeship under a "real" captain - his previous stints as vice-captain were with Azzu-bhai, which we all know doesnt count much.

[MADDY]

ok these are the grouse i had with sachin's captaincy:

1. not rejunevating the career of a player like how dravid reinvented himself under ganguly.....
2. as per srinath's revelation, sachin was really not having the right approach....though the team was bad, they didnt even play to their potential - losing badly....
3. NO innovations and smart moves like making dravid keeper.....or even simple "effective" field changes/ bowling changes
4. not creating good players or backing good players.....like how sourav backed the talents of yuvraj, sehwag to the core or how stephen flemming created a team of fighters for NZ...
5. marked differences in performance of players like dravid/laxman under ganguly's leadership.....i dont think dravid or laxman held any grudge against sachin......

in all, i felt the "team building" part was missing in sachin's captaincy.......its all again my opinion - enna evalavu ketta vaarthaila thittinaalum, idha thaan solluven.......

[ajithfederer]

1. Dravid was dropped during 99 or 00. I am not sure about the dates. Adhukku mela avaru rejuvenate aanadhu avar kaila dhan irukku. I don't understand how ganguly was responsible for his rejuvenation. I just don't get the connection.
2. You please define the right approach. I can't answer for assumptions. Srinath was after all an ordinary bowler, in my not so humble opinion but looked great for Indian standards. Ippo irukira Zaheer, Ishanth range kooda kedayadhu avan ellam. Avan pechae ellam perusa eduthukittu :lol:.
3. Adhu right approach aa?. It is well known that the number of catches dropped / runs conceded as byes by dravid is greater than what he stopped.
4. Point me the yuvraj's/shewag's in Tendulkar's 11 please. And Fleming 11 with Tendulkar 11??. :shock:. Fleming 11 had Astle, Mcmillan, bond, vettori, styris, tuffey to name a few. Idhukku peru than team.
5. Laxman started playing effectively only from 2000 OZ tour only. It was just a matter of coincidence. I don't see any ganguly's involvement in that. Infact for the hyped up world cup final laxman was dropped by Ganguly. Unga logic engayo idikudhu.

ok these are the grouse i had with sachin's captaincy:

1. not rejunevating the career of a player like how dravid reinvented himself under ganguly.....
2. as per srinath's revelation, sachin was really not having the right approach....though the team was bad, they didnt even play to their potential - losing badly....
3. NO innovations and smart moves like making dravid keeper.....or even simple "effective" field changes/ bowling changes
4. not creating good players or backing good players.....like how sourav backed the talents of yuvraj, sehwag to the core or how stephen flemming created a team of fighters for NZ...
5. marked differences in performance of players like dravid/laxman under ganguly's leadership.....i dont think dravid or laxman held any grudge against sachin......

in all, i felt the "team building" part was missing in sachin's captaincy.......its all again my opinion - enna evalavu ketta vaarthaila thittinaalum, idha thaan solluven.......

[Benny Lava]

Feddy ellaam OK.. aana Srinath ordinary bowler nu ellam solradhu romba thappu :twisted:

After Kapil dev, he is the only fast bowler in India who has some stats to show off in uncompromising conditions.

[ajithfederer]

I never seen him troubling batsmen in ODI's or taken 5 wicket/10 wicket hauls in test series abroad or for that matter in India. Srinath heck is an ordinary bowler. At the maximum he can bowl 4 good balls and we can be rest assured the 5th and 6th will be wayward ones and whacked to the boundary. He/Prasad were bunnies of Pak players which is a fact.

Time and again Indian team never had a world class bowler in the likes of mcgrath, donald, pollock, bond, warne and murali. Even now we have only good bowlers not great bowlers. Ivan ellam ippo vandhu periya vengayam madhiri intreee kodukuraan. Kali Kaalam !!.

[crajkumar_be]

Maddy,
Agree with some points, however, from most of your argument you seem to be adamant about asking a PM to convert cats to dogs!

1. "Rejuvenating" - Dravid, Ganguly? You must be kidding us :omg:
idhu enna maru vaazhvu mayyama illa Sachin 'spa' nadatharaara. you are attributing *everything* that happened during Ganguly's tenure to his captaincy. Vitta team la yarukkavadhu kalyanam aana Ganguly dhaan kaaranam nu solluveenga pola
2. Well, hypothetical but no problem there
3. Agree w.r.t field changes etc... I'm not sure making Dravid keeper was necessarily a good move. Secondly, that was by default because we didnt have decent keepers who could bat and it was not a 'choice'. And Dravid sure as hell wouldn't agree it was a good move :lol:
4. :shock: Creating good players? :lol: How is it done? And good players e illa nu solrom apparom yaara back pannanum? OK, which good player was not backed? OK, i think one can say he backed bad players :)
5. same as 2

IMO overall, he might have made some bad decisions, being an "over tension phlow", favoring non-performers from Mumbai etc etc but it would only be fair to compare captains with same/similar teams. Richie Benaud solra madhiri, sila samayam captaincy-ngara vishayathaye naama overrate panromo nu kooda thonum...

[Kalyasi]

"over tension phlow"

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Vadivel Fans Vaazhga!!!!

[crajkumar_be]

I never seen him troubling batsmen in ODI's or taken 5 wicket/10 wicket hauls in test series abroad or for that matter in India. Srinath heck is an ordinary bowler. At the maximum he can bowl 4 good balls and we can be rest assured the 5th and 6th will be wayward ones and whacked to the boundary. He/Prasad were bunnies of Pak players which is a fact.

Time and again Indian team never had a world class bowler in the likes of mcgrath, donald, pollock, bond, warne and murali. Even now we have only good bowlers not great bowlers. Ivan ellam ippo vandhu periya vengayam madhiri intreee kodukuraan. Kali Kaalam !!.
Srinath routinely troubled batsmen even in Indian pitches-nga. I remember Hansie Cronje once surviving a torrid spell from Srinath in Ahmedabad or somewhere. He was just stone-walling everything that came his way and took a few blows to is body. Match mudinja odane odi poi xray eduthu paathirukkaaru.. He was a genuine strike bowler and even Wasim bhai rates him highly. Prasad oda rate panradhellam overunga! Namma ooru standards ku he was quite good IMO
Neenga McGrath-oda ellam compare panneenganna enna nyayam?

[Plum]

AF unarchi vasapattu sollitaarunnu nenaikkarEn.

Ilaya Thilagam Prabhu thannadakkamA sonnA maadhiri "Ganguly nadicha padam odichunu solradhai vuda odara padathula Ganguly irundhaarunu solradhu dhaan porutham"

[Balaspike]

I never seen him troubling batsmen in ODI's or taken 5 wicket/10 wicket hauls in test series abroad or for that matter in India. Srinath heck is an ordinary bowler. At the maximum he can bowl 4 good balls and we can be rest assured the 5th and 6th will be wayward ones and whacked to the boundary. He/Prasad were bunnies of Pak players which is a fact.

Time and again Indian team never had a world class bowler in the likes of mcgrath, donald, pollock, bond, warne and murali. Even now we have only good bowlers not great bowlers. Ivan ellam ippo vandhu periya vengayam madhiri intreee kodukuraan. Kali Kaalam !!.
Srinath routinely troubled batsmen even in Indian pitches-nga. I remember Hansie Cronje once surviving a torrid spell from Srinath in Ahmedabad or somewhere. He was just stone-walling everything that came his way and took a few blows to is body. Match mudinja odane odi poi xray eduthu paathirukkaaru.. He was a genuine strike bowler and even Wasim bhai rates him highly. Prasad oda rate panradhellam overunga! Namma ooru standards ku he was quite good IMO
Neenga McGrath-oda ellam compare panneenganna enna nyayam?

AF neenga sollurathu correcthaan. After kapil, srinath is the only good bowler were india had. But he is not world class bowler and we cant compare with greats like MC Grath, bond, warne , murali.

Aaana namma standard evalavu thaan nenachi further upgrade illanna futurela romba kashtam. yeana ippo ella batsmansum nalla bowlera read panuraanga, scorum adigama addikaraanga. so we should not think abt cuurent standard and so namma standarda wolrd classukku upgrade panna thaan nillaikka mudiyum. :think:

periya bowleroda compare pannaratha vida avanga alavukku theramaiya valarthukkarathula tappillayae :huh:

[directhit]

Ilaya Thilagam Prabhu thannadakkamA sonnA maadhiri "Ganguly nadicha padam odichunu solradhai vuda odara padathula Ganguly irundhaarunu solradhu dhaan porutham" :o
adhaavadhu ganguly kko fleming kko kadacha team madhiri sachin kku kadachirundha he wud have been as successful (even more) as them in captaincy, izz it?

[Plum]

Dravid, Sachin, Kumble - ipdi oru thinktank and great & committed performers irukkara team will achieve decent results - which is what it did. Sehwag, Yuvraj ellAm Ganguly groom paNNinaarungaradhu konjam over. Ganguly did a few good things - avoid parochialism to a large extent(but bengal-la yaaru irundha promote paNNa - and even then deep dasgupta got more chances than deserved), show the middle finger to Oz(for which I absolutely worship him). Mathabadi, ellam avan seyal-nu Ganguly-ai kai kaattaradhu remba over. Dravid's contribution as vice captain, and Sachin's contribution as 'idea mani' cannot be overrated at all

[MADDY]

Dravid, Sachin, Kumble - ipdi oru thinktank and great & committed performers irukkara team will achieve decent results

Dravid, Sachin and Kumble were very much part of tendulkar's team as well....


1. "Rejuvenating" - Dravid, Ganguly? You must be kidding us

ofcourse, when a player is going through a bad patch, empathising with him and placing confidence on him produces results.....i dont know whats so tough in accepting the obvious....


Creating good players? :lol: How is it done?

take the case of stephen fleming - the way he brought up the team in 90's from a weak team to a fighter team in late 90's.......unga bashaiyila - he made cats chase dogs and beat them at it......another example is ALlan border - after 92 worldcup debacle at home, he set out to create a strong team - and he handpicked some of the best from Mcgrath upto Lee......aussies were doing great until they had his influence........mark taylor was another great captain who carried forward the Border's vision.......ask bhajji, yuvi, sehwag abt dada's influence and backing - they would give u stories.......such great turnarounds have happened.....it takes a great resource identifier to achieve these.....


OK, which good player was not backed?

why did Dravid, Srinath, laxman, even kumble for a large extent didnt do well under sachin but excelled under ganguly??

well, i rest my case with this -
1. please refer statistics - both india stint and MI stint
2. confessions of a team player (mind u, srinath was not complaining, he was just telling that to praise sachin's committment to the game)

[MADDY]

1. Dravid was dropped during 99 or 00. I am not sure about the dates. Adhukku mela avaru rejuvenate aanadhu avar kaila dhan irukku. I don't understand how ganguly was responsible for his rejuvenation. I just don't get the connection.

ok, so u r telling its a coincidence that dravid regained form under ganguly......srinath, kumble ellam kooda coincidencea?


2. You please define the right approach. I can't answer for assumptions. Srinath was after all an ordinary bowler, in my not so humble opinion but looked great for Indian standards. Ippo irukira Zaheer, Ishanth range kooda kedayadhu avan ellam. Avan pechae ellam perusa eduthukittu :lol:.

why should i define the approach - look at the results and statistics - they would tell.....


3. Adhu right approach aa?. It is well known that the number of catches dropped / runs conceded as byes by dravid is greater than what he stopped.

but that is much lesser than wat 7th batsman got and the comfort of having 7 batsmen - priceless


4. Point me the yuvraj's/shewag's in Tendulkar's 11 please. And Fleming 11 with Tendulkar 11??. :shock:. Fleming 11 had Astle, Mcmillan, bond, vettori, styris, tuffey to name a few. Idhukku peru than team.

now u have - Malinga, Bravo, Nayyar, H.Singh - any improvements? even if tendulkar had yuvraj or sehwag in 90's i dont think he would used them properly...


5. Laxman started playing effectively only from 2000 OZ tour only. It was just a matter of coincidence. I don't see any ganguly's involvement in that. Infact for the hyped up world cup final laxman was dropped by Ganguly. Unga logic engayo idikudhu.

another case of coincidence...too many coincidences , i think ganguly also rode on luck then :)

[crajkumar_be]

Ilaya Thilagam Prabhu thannadakkamA sonnA maadhiri "Ganguly nadicha padam odichunu solradhai vuda odara padathula Ganguly irundhaarunu solradhu dhaan porutham" :o
adhaavadhu ganguly kko fleming kko kadacha team madhiri sachin kku kadachirundha he wud have been as successful (even more) as them in captaincy, izz it?
Anoop,
Naanga theliva sollirukkome.

Sachin is not a great captain. Maybe not as good as Ganguly. The point is, he had a lousy team. If he had a better team, would he have made a better captain than Ganguly - maybe not but thats just speculation. What doesn't make sense is comparing Ganguly/Kumble/Dhoni's captaincy on absolute terms when a lot of things are different.

[crajkumar_be]

ofcourse, when a player is going through a bad patch, empathising with him and placing confidence on him produces results.....i dont know whats so tough in accepting the obvious....

And how do you say he did NOT do that? Did any of the players say as much in any interview or article? So, you just look at results and make a binary conclusion? :huh: So, a batsman, as an individual can never have bad form. It is only because his captain doesnt back him or give him ookkam or vitamin supplements! and you call this "obvious" :roll:



take the case of stephen fleming - the way he brought up the team in 90's from a weak team to a fighter team in late 90's.......unga bashaiyila - he made cats chase dogs and beat them at it......another example is ALlan border - after 92 worldcup debacle at home, he set out to create a strong team - and he handpicked some of the best from Mcgrath upto Lee......aussies were doing great until they had his influence........mark taylor was another great captain who carried forward the Border's vision.......ask bhajji, yuvi, sehwag abt dada's influence and backing - they would give u stories.......such great turnarounds have happened.....it takes a great resource identifier to achieve these.....

So, please name the "right resources" whom Sachin did NOT pick (assuming the selectors had no role in handpicking resources). If not how can you conclude for sure that we did have a superior backup/bench stremgth and it is because Sachin did not pick them that we continued having a lousy team?
OK, in part it is conceded that he stuck with Niles Kulkarni, Kanitkar etc...
Moreover, comparing Flemings/ABs team with Sachin's team is unfair.



why did Dravid, Srinath, laxman, even kumble for a large extent didnt do well under sachin but excelled under ganguly??

I'm not sure about the stats here. Mostly the same response as in the first point above.
One has to see how Ganguly would have performed with a good number of non-performers even with the studs around



well, i rest my case with this -
1. please refer statistics - both india stint and MI stint
2. confessions of a team player (mind u, srinath was not complaining, he was just telling that to praise sachin's committment to the game)
1. Statistics only prove results clearly, not the causes.
2. So, if a guy demands and the team lets him down, you mark that against him because he was not able to "inspire". No considerations of talent, potential - great

[Plum]

Yeah, Madhavan of Alai Paayudhae = Madhavan of Thambi or <strikethrough>Kannathil Muthamittaal</strikethrough>Aaydha ezhuthu

Rahul Dravid under Sachin (when he was still a learning player) = Rahul Dravid under Ganguly(by when he was an experienced player whence he could contribute to think tank)

Maddy, nallA argue panNDreenga but you are conveniently ignoring some facts and underlying factors.

As such, CR, myself and AF agreed that Sachin is not big buduku as captain - only that he isnt as bad as portayed. Same way, Ganguly has his credits but he has debits, too - he was never a great tactician, and to win without tactical skills needs lots of luck like the players you back coming good etc- no matter how much you motivate, a team member coming good is only 10% attributable to the Project Manager. Rest is his/her pure talent and self-awareness.

In 2003-04, when Ganguly led an Indian team to Australia, he did his part with a century in Brisbane but then that tour didnt have McGrath/Warne - Sachin's team in 99 had the awesome twosome to face. The 2003 Indian team was infinitely superior to the 1999 Indian team - Rahul Dravid who was a young learner in 1999 had taken viswaroobam in 2003. So, you'd say that Rahul Dravid of 1999 sobikkaadhadhukku kaaraNam Sachin and 2003 RD successku kaaraNam Ganguly?
Rest of the team:
A Solid Chopra-Awesome Sehwag versus Disastrous Devang Gandhi-FingerBreak Ramesh, with Laxman announcing his talent in the final test
(Here, Chopra can be attributed as a success of Ganguly-Wright's tactical approach to create a fire-ice combo and inspire Chopra to play an assigned role - it is another matter that later Gangs ditched Chopra later even though he had fulfilled his role to perfection. Again John Wright deserves huge credit for it - Chopra wrote about Wright's role in deciding this and motivating him in his columns in newspapers)

Dravid at #3 - no comparison with #3 batsman of 1999!

SRT @1999 > SRT @ 2003, nevertheless it was marginal

SCG/others @ #5 in 1999<< SCG/VVS @#5 in 2003
#6 batsman in 1999 <<<<< VVS/SCG in 2003

MSK Prasad versus Parthiv Patel
Neither was a great keeper, and Parthiv edges the batting stakes comfortably. He even sledged Steve Waugh!

Bowling contingent of 1999 vs 2003, sollavE vENaam. UngaLukke theriyum.
Kumble @1999 << Kumble @2003

Lastly Kapil Dev vs John Wright.
Epdi paarthalum, SCG's support system was much more effective than SRT's
And I'm not even going into the political clout Ganguly had with Dalmia - meaning that he could bypass selectors and press for his backings. SRT never had that luxury - often had Azharuddin imposed on him even though he publicly pleaded for not selecting Azhar.

bottomline - buddhyiuLLa manidharellAm vetRi kANbadhillai, vetRi petRa manidharellAm buddhisAli illai.
Adhukkunuttu, vetRI petRavanga ellAM dubukku-nu Plum solraarunuttu counter-post podadheenga, please!

[MADDY]

ofcourse, i'm not saying sachin is the worst captain either*.......he was not a great captain and we all seem to agree on that.......he had a bad team - we all agree on this as well.....my points of contentions are his approach was wrong (atleast as per srinath's revelation), he didnt innovate with available resources and results were far worse than what it should have been - i mean atleast - they could have done a wee better is my point......and i feel convinced looking at a MI team which has Bravo, Malinga, Nayyar, H.Singh ,Jayasurya and not to forget himself - the best batsman in the world which hasnt made it to the semis in 2 yrs.......

*(i said that during IPL time to counter the extreme "racist" allegations made at Mahi)

[Plum]

*(i said that during IPL time to counter the extreme "racist" allegations made at Mahi)

:lol:

MI - yes, could have done better. Zaheer Khan's injury didnt help at all. Bhajji didnt perform well at all. Edho appappo oru sub-6 RR match avLO dhaan. He didnt make any impact. This cannot be Sachin's fault - this is how he has been bowling, just doing enough to be in the team and going AWOL when the team needs him. Maybe, he could have had the guts to drop bhajji and promote Chetanya - I guess Ganguly would have done that so yes, Gangs scores there.

With MI, Sachin tried many "innovative" things like changed batting order etc - that didnt click-ngaradhu adhirshtam sambandha patta vishayam dhaan. He wasnt passive like Azhar or stupid like Pricky Ranting.

Adhe samayam, Warne tried the same tactics(different batting order, random bolwing changes etc) and
1) Succeeeded in 2008
2) Failed in 2009

Tell me, Warne periya budukku captain-A illaiyA?

[Kalyasi]

Intha Captaincy Material ellam etha vechum judge panna mudiyathu.....

Tofic Klose!!

[MADDY]

Adhe samayam, Warne tried the same tactics(different batting order, random bolwing changes etc) and
1) Succeeeded in 2008
2) Failed in 2009

Tell me, Warne periya budukku captain-A illaiyA?


MI - yes, could have done better.

[Balaspike]

*(i said that during IPL time to counter the extreme "racist" allegations made at Mahi)

:lol:

MI - yes, could have done better. Zaheer Khan's injury didnt help at all. Bhajji didnt perform well at all. Edho appappo oru sub-6 RR match avLO dhaan. He didnt make any impact. This cannot be Sachin's fault - this is how he has been bowling, just doing enough to be in the team and going AWOL when the team needs him. Maybe, he could have had the guts to drop bhajji and promote Chetanya - I guess Ganguly would have done that so yes, Gangs scores there.

With MI, Sachin tried many "innovative" things like changed batting order etc - that didnt click-ngaradhu adhirshtam sambandha patta vishayam dhaan. He wasnt passive like Azhar or stupid like Pricky Ranting.

Adhe samayam, Warne tried the same tactics(different batting order, random bolwing changes etc) and
1) Succeeeded in 2008
2) Failed in 2009

Tell me, Warne periya budukku captain-A illaiyA?

warne na solli kuthon illa. captain is important because he will decide wat to do in the field. aana players fails to deliver na enna pannurathu. adukku captain enna pannuvaan?

[Plum]

balaspike, appa adhe logic sachin-kum apply paNNalamA-nu ketkarEn

Maddy, verumna quote mattum paNNA epdi? subtle-A message solli irukkeenganna puriyala - vikraman maadhiri Hammer pOttu sollunga :-)

[ajithfederer]

1. Did i type the word coincidence there? :huh:. I said it is Dravid's effort that what he is right now. It is not because of Ganguly's so called captaincy influence.

2. Results and statistics paartha approach theriumaa??. Enna kodumai sir idhu. Since you are harping again and again that Sachin didn't do anything as a captain, I am asking you to point out what he didn't do. First of all we may never know whether he didn't do anything or not?. Even if he did or did not how can one infer so?

3. Agreed so and so. But Catches win matches and we didn't win many tourney's under Ganguly captaincy. Infact we had the notorious streak of losing some 9 ODI tourney Final's. Even Windies came to India and won in 2002.

4. Now what is this jump from Indian XI(National ODI Cricket) to Mumbai Indians XI(IPL). You talked about Stephen fleming who was a captain of a National side and I had to quote examples from Tendulkar's XI. Tell me again is Stephen fleming's 11 equivalent to Tendulkar's. Hell No.

5. Yes This one is a matter of time. Laxman clearly started tasting Kangaroo meat from the OZ tour of 1999. It wouldn't have mattered who is a captain or not he would have still played. Saying that I would give the credit to Ganguly for sending Laxman at No.3 for the KolKatta Test at 2001.



1. Dravid was dropped during 99 or 00. I am not sure about the dates. Adhukku mela avaru rejuvenate aanadhu avar kaila dhan irukku. I don't understand how ganguly was responsible for his rejuvenation. I just don't get the connection.

ok, so u r telling its a coincidence that dravid regained form under ganguly......srinath, kumble ellam kooda coincidencea?


2. You please define the right approach. I can't answer for assumptions. Srinath was after all an ordinary bowler, in my not so humble opinion but looked great for Indian standards. Ippo irukira Zaheer, Ishanth range kooda kedayadhu avan ellam. Avan pechae ellam perusa eduthukittu :lol:.

why should i define the approach - look at the results and statistics - they would tell.....


3. Adhu right approach aa?. It is well known that the number of catches dropped / runs conceded as byes by dravid is greater than what he stopped.

but that is much lesser than wat 7th batsman got and the comfort of having 7 batsmen - priceless


4. Point me the yuvraj's/shewag's in Tendulkar's 11 please. And Fleming 11 with Tendulkar 11??. :shock:. Fleming 11 had Astle, Mcmillan, bond, vettori, styris, tuffey to name a few. Idhukku peru than team.

now u have - Malinga, Bravo, Nayyar, H.Singh - any improvements? even if tendulkar had yuvraj or sehwag in 90's i dont think he would used them properly...


5. Laxman started playing effectively only from 2000 OZ tour only. It was just a matter of coincidence. I don't see any ganguly's involvement in that. Infact for the hyped up world cup final laxman was dropped by Ganguly. Unga logic engayo idikudhu.

another case of coincidence...too many coincidences , i think ganguly also rode on luck then :)

[Plum]

Laxman - #3 - Kolkata - 2001 = John Wright's decision. Wright gave an interview next day stating so. Ganguly was with him.

[ajithfederer]

Bala

Let me line down my arguments against Srinath.

1. Srinath was a good bowler by Indian Standards. Andha standards enna latchanam nnu namakku nallave therium.

2. He could never consistently trouble any batsman for that effect.
Remember how many ODI matches where he was treated as a club bowler by the Srilankan and Pakistani batsmen ?? :huh:. Mark Waugh ellam panthaduvaan. All top order Batsmen (Jayasurya, Kaluwitharana, De silva, Saeed anwar, Sohail) all used to love Indian bowling. I can even quote some matches if you want.

3. If i say he could never impose/intimidate any opposition batsmen. Intimidating means see Flintoff/harmison in 2005 Ashes or for that matter Warne/Mcgrath against English or Ambrose/Walsh against their Opposition. I again say at the best he is a average bowler in World standards and a good/great bowler for Indian standards.

4. Neenga solrardhu dhaan enaku vedikkaya irukku. Int'l cricket aada vandhutta indha comparisions ellam varradhu nyaayam dhaane. When you have Tendulkar who can play very well as a batsman, the bowlers should also do the same. Appuram enna ezhavukku team-la irukaanuga??. Pali mattum sachin mela solluvanugala. 'kkaali pona varusham ivan oru petti la solraan "Sachin youngsters kku vali vidunga, come down from opening spot". I was thinking of a GM respone "Naaye nee ellam pesuriya. Un kaalathula nee ethanai batsman-ae da trouble pannirupae, theevatti thalaya". :lol:.




I never seen him troubling batsmen in ODI's or taken 5 wicket/10 wicket hauls in test series abroad or for that matter in India. Srinath heck is an ordinary bowler. At the maximum he can bowl 4 good balls and we can be rest assured the 5th and 6th will be wayward ones and whacked to the boundary. He/Prasad were bunnies of Pak players which is a fact.

Time and again Indian team never had a world class bowler in the likes of mcgrath, donald, pollock, bond, warne and murali. Even now we have only good bowlers not great bowlers. Ivan ellam ippo vandhu periya vengayam madhiri intreee kodukuraan. Kali Kaalam !!.
Srinath routinely troubled batsmen even in Indian pitches-nga. I remember Hansie Cronje once surviving a torrid spell from Srinath in Ahmedabad or somewhere. He was just stone-walling everything that came his way and took a few blows to is body. Match mudinja odane odi poi xray eduthu paathirukkaaru.. He was a genuine strike bowler and even Wasim bhai rates him highly. Prasad oda rate panradhellam overunga! Namma ooru standards ku he was quite good IMO
Neenga McGrath-oda ellam compare panneenganna enna nyayam?

[ajithfederer]

Oh i am sorry then. Thanks for the correction.

Laxman - #3 - Kolkata - 2001 = John Wright's decision. Wright gave an interview next day stating so. Ganguly was with him.

[MADDY]

Maddy, verumna quote mattum paNNA epdi? subtle-A message solli irukkeenganna puriyala - vikraman maadhiri Hammer pOttu sollunga :-)

warne pathhi ellam namakku periya opinion illa.......sachin could have done better - adha thaan mean pannen..... :D

[ajithfederer]

Well put Plum. It is sad that such commonsense is not prevalent everywhere.

Yeah, Madhavan of Alai Paayudhae = Madhavan of Thambi or <strikethrough>Kannathil Muthamittaal</strikethrough>Aaydha ezhuthu

Rahul Dravid under Sachin (when he was still a learning player) = Rahul Dravid under Ganguly(by when he was an experienced player whence he could contribute to think tank)

Maddy, nallA argue panNDreenga but you are conveniently ignoring some facts and underlying factors.

As such, CR, myself and AF agreed that Sachin is not big buduku as captain - only that he isnt as bad as portayed. Same way, Ganguly has his credits but he has debits, too - he was never a great tactician, and to win without tactical skills needs lots of luck like the players you back coming good etc- no matter how much you motivate, a team member coming good is only 10% attributable to the Project Manager. Rest is his/her pure talent and self-awareness.

In 2003-04, when Ganguly led an Indian team to Australia, he did his part with a century in Brisbane but then that tour didnt have McGrath/Warne - Sachin's team in 99 had the awesome twosome to face. The 2003 Indian team was infinitely superior to the 1999 Indian team - Rahul Dravid who was a young learner in 1999 had taken viswaroobam in 2003. So, you'd say that Rahul Dravid of 1999 sobikkaadhadhukku kaaraNam Sachin and 2003 RD successku kaaraNam Ganguly?
Rest of the team:
A Solid Chopra-Awesome Sehwag versus Disastrous Devang Gandhi-FingerBreak Ramesh, with Laxman announcing his talent in the final test
(Here, Chopra can be attributed as a success of Ganguly-Wright's tactical approach to create a fire-ice combo and inspire Chopra to play an assigned role - it is another matter that later Gangs ditched Chopra later even though he had fulfilled his role to perfection. Again John Wright deserves huge credit for it - Chopra wrote about Wright's role in deciding this and motivating him in his columns in newspapers)

Dravid at #3 - no comparison with #3 batsman of 1999!

SRT @1999 > SRT @ 2003, nevertheless it was marginal

SCG/others @ #5 in 1999<< SCG/VVS @#5 in 2003
#6 batsman in 1999 <<<<< VVS/SCG in 2003

MSK Prasad versus Parthiv Patel
Neither was a great keeper, and Parthiv edges the batting stakes comfortably. He even sledged Steve Waugh!

Bowling contingent of 1999 vs 2003, sollavE vENaam. UngaLukke theriyum.
Kumble @1999 << Kumble @2003

Lastly Kapil Dev vs John Wright.
Epdi paarthalum, SCG's support system was much more effective than SRT's
And I'm not even going into the political clout Ganguly had with Dalmia - meaning that he could bypass selectors and press for his backings. SRT never had that luxury - often had Azharuddin imposed on him even though he publicly pleaded for not selecting Azhar.

bottomline - buddhyiuLLa manidharellAm vetRi kANbadhillai, vetRi petRa manidharellAm buddhisAli illai.
Adhukkunuttu, vetRI petRavanga ellAM dubukku-nu Plum solraarunuttu counter-post podadheenga, please!

[MADDY]

Well put Plum. It is sad that such commonsense is not prevalent everywhere.


commonsense commissiioner Feddy vaazhga :lol2:

[ajithfederer]

Commonsense as in Indian cricket commonsense. Engayo thanni adichittu ingae vandhu olara koodathu paarunga adhukku than :lol2:.

[MADDY]

Commonsense as in Indian cricket commonsense.

oh ok, blaming everyone in Indian cricket other than sachin for defeats is indian cricket commonsense?

also, sachin captaincy madhiri jujubee matter-kku paal kudichittu vandhale podhum, thanni ellam thevaye illa :P

[ajithfederer]

Shabbbaa :fatigue:

Go and read the posts again clearly. Idhai vida ellam velakkama ellam ingae evanalayum eludha mudiyadhu :notworthy:


Commonsense as in Indian cricket commonsense.

oh ok, blaming everyone in Indian cricket other than sachin for defeats is indian cricket commonsense?

also, sachin captaincy madhiri jujubee matter-kku paal kudichittu vandhale podhum, thanni ellam thevaye illa :P

[MADDY]

Shabbbaa :fatigue:

Go and read the posts again clearly. Idhai vida ellam velakkama ellam ingae evanalayum eludha mudiyadhu :notworthy:

u too go and read my posts again - i agreed sachin had a bad team to work with and it was unfair on him........

[Nerd]

Inga enna nadakkudhu.. Last 3-4 pages close-A padikkanum pOlayE, miss pannittEnE.. :cry:

[MADDY]

But I always have one grouse against Sachin, the captain - there are rumours that he insisted on Hindi in the dressing room :-)

how did i miss this - thats a very interesting point.... :P

[Balaspike]

balaspike, appa adhe logic sachin-kum apply paNNalamA-nu ketkarEn

Maddy, verumna quote mattum paNNA epdi? subtle-A message solli irukkeenganna puriyala - vikraman maadhiri Hammer pOttu sollunga :-)

ithu logic illa common sensu. namma oorla irukkuravanukku summa kutthom solla thaan theriyum, yethaiyumae correctta analyse panni parkkamaattaanga. :rant:

irundhalum namma pasanaga periya tournamentla mokkaiya thokkarathunaala :banghead: intha mathiri ella pesuraanga.

yean naanum paesirukkan :lol:

[Benny Lava]

my points of contentions are his approach was wrong (atleast as per srinath's revelation), he didnt innovate with available resources and results were far worse than what it should have been -
So Srinath's revelation is your only point of contention? Too weak.
He didn't innovate with resources - I don't know how it is measured, therinja epadi mark podalamnu sollunga, paapom. Venum'na prasad'a one down erakki vittu innovate panni irukalaam.. :lol2:
results were worser than what it should be - purely speculative.. rejected :twisted:



and i feel convinced looking at a MI team which has Bravo, Malinga, Nayyar, H.Singh ,Jayasurya and not to forget himself - the best batsman in the world which hasnt made it to the semis in 2 yrs.......Tonty tonty ellam oru pecha eduthu varadheenga.. IPL 1 created illusions that great tacticians win matches. IPL 2 showed how ludicruous that assumption was, a captain can only show his gethu in tight matches, otherwise he is just another player. Kumble, whom I rate to be one of the worst captains ever, lead his team to victory. What does it say about the theory :lol2:

Apadiye IPL'a pechuku eduthaalum what happened to Ganguly's billion dollar boys in IPL1 :lol2: , many times more costlier and talented than MI team ... luckily for Ganguly someone else became the scapegoat in IPL 2, he looked tension free throughout the tournament.

[ajithfederer]

[tscii:226cc23a61]The art of staying in the present
Concentration is about living in the moment - which unfortunately isn't as easy as it sounds

Aakash Chopra

July 30, 2009


Did Tendulkar never once think of playing the cover-drive during his 241 in Sydney? Unlikely © AFP
Related Links
Players/Officials: Sunil Gavaskar | Sachin Tendulkar


Ever since I started playing cricket I've been told about the importance of concentration and how it's the key to batting for a long time and scoring a lot of runs. There has always been plenty of emphasis on this aspect of the game. I'd often hear a commentator say that a lapse in concentration cost the batsman his wicket, or a coach telling me to concentrate harder whenever I couldn't put the bat to ball.

Though I understood the importance of concentration fairly early in my career, I didn't entirely understand the concept itself. And I wasn't the only one.

What exactly is concentration?
A few years ago I was selected to play in the Challenger Trophy (before I made my international debut). We had an interactive session with Geet Sethi, the billiards player, whose definition of concentration remains etched in my memory. He said that concentration is simply remaining in the present. The longer you can remain in the present, the greater your span of concentration. Sounds easy, right?

Nearly two decades of playing cricket has taught me that it isn't. The mind has the peculiar ability of wandering off at the first available moment, and it doesn't need any permission. You might be in the middle of an important match, playing an important knock or bowling the most crucial over, but the mind has a mind of its own. Two places it likes to wander off to are the past and the future.

I'd either start feeling bad or good about what had happened in the past - the ball before - and get disconnected from the present, or I would start worrying about or prematurely celebrating events in the future, getting away from the task at hand.

Whatever happened in the past or might happen in the future does not have, or at least should not have, any bearing on the ball you're going to bowl or play next. All that matters is what you do with that particular ball. Remaining in the present is the only way to concentrate.

One needs to start concentrating once the bowler starts his run-up and the concentration has to be at its peak from the time of delivery till the ball hits the bat. (Of course, this changes for fielders, who need to be alert till one of them fields the ball.)

How can you improve your concentration?
Most games of cricket go on for at least six hours at a time, with occasional breaks. Now concentrating for a few minutes at a time is quite difficult, let alone six hours. So the idea is to switch off after every delivery and then switch on before the next. Switching off means allowing the mind to wander away for a few seconds before getting it back on track. This is not restricted to only batting and bowling; fielders do it too. One needs to relax before starting to concentrate again.

Batting or bowling in the nets can be instrumental in improving concentration, since one needs to concentrate ball after ball in that situation, with very little time in between (as there are usually about six or seven bowlers operating at all times).

The trigger movement
Most players follow a set routine - adjusting the equipment, or something else - that acts as a trigger to snap them out of wander mode and back to the game. Greg Chappell would look at the crowd after playing every ball; MS Dhoni fiddles with his bat and gloves; I scratch the leg-stump mark on the pitch with my shoe; Jason Gillespie used to stop for a few seconds and take a deep breath at the top of his run-up.

Staying in the game
While it's important to switch off and allow your mind to wander, one still needs to ensure that it doesn't drift too far away. For example, a captain has to still think about the field placements and plan his course of action, like bowling and fielding changes. A fielder is supposed to always be looking at the captain or bowler for instructions on any possible changes in the fielding position before starting to concentrate again. A batsman weighs his options of scoring runs off the next ball. I call this not-so-focused form of concentration "staying in the game".

The zone
Then there are some - we call them geniuses - who seemed to get into the zone at will: the state of mind where everything flows automatically. You don't consciously switch on or off, your mind doesn't wander into the past or the future, you're constantly aware of your surroundings and almost always play the ball on its merit or bowl where you want to bowl. We all have times when we get into such states, but to do it on a consistent basis is an art that only a few have mastered. Sachin Tendulkar seemed to get into the zone more regularly than the rest.

How can one attain that state at will?
Honestly, I don't know for sure. I've gathered over the years that even the greatest minds can wander. Thoughts keep coming into your head regardless of whether you want them to. The best way to deal with them is to acknowledge their presence rather than trying to ignore them. Trying to push the thoughts away gets you involved and takes you away from the task at hand. When you leave them unattended, they disappear. Tendulkar's innings in Sydney in 2004 is the perfect example of not paying heed to the thoughts that try to intrude. He didn't play a cover-drive for most, if not all, of his innings of over 200, and I refuse to believe that the thought of playing the shot didn't cross his mind, especially once he was set.




Sunil Gavaskar once told me that when you reach a milestone your mind takes you to the ones you love most. You feel an immediate connection to those close to you who are watching you achieve the feat and your heart goes out to them and with it your mind too, which results in a loss of concentration





When are we most vulnerable to losing concentration?
I used to think that staying in the present was important only at the beginning of the innings. After all, it's only at the start, when we're plagued with self-doubt, that we are most susceptible to failure; once we get that elusive start, everything falls in place. But I've learned that I was mistaken. A loss of concentration can occur at any point during an innings, and most often does when you're feeling good, like after going past a milestone, when you drop your guard a bit.

I once asked Sunil Gavaskar about it, and he said that when you reach a milestone, the mind takes you to the ones you love most. You feel an immediate connection to those close to you who are watching you achieve the feat and your heart goes out to them, and with it your mind too. You thank everyone on the ground by raising the bat, thank God for his blessings, and your family members in your heart. At such times the mind is anywhere but on the cricket field, and you often end up taking the long walk back before realising what's happened. His advice to me was to recognise that emotional surge and allow yourself a little time to regroup; perhaps spending a few overs at the non-striker's end at such times is a good idea.

The external factors
Bowlers and fielders, especially the ones close to the bat, often try to talk the batsman into playing a poor stroke. Few batsmen succumb to the tactic and lose focus; the majority have their own ways of dealing with it.

Sunny bhai told me that the best way is to ignore the comments and even avoid eye contact with the talkers. On the contrary, someone like Matthew Hayden relishes a chat with the bowler and the fielders. Then there's Brian Lara. The Indian team would decide before the start of a series against West Indies to leave him alone, because if you try to get under his skin he starts concentrating harder and then is almost impossible to dislodge.

Even the crowd has a role to play. But contrary to popular belief, a hostile crowd doesn't have as much of an impact as a cheering crowd.

I remember getting hit on the helmet in Melbourne during the Boxing Day Test in 2003, and 70,000 people cheered Brett Lee and Co to do it again. But the only effect it had on my game plan was to make me more determined. On the other hand only 30,000 people egging me on to hit another four off Daniel Vettori in my debut Test, in Ahmedabad, was enough to lure me into a false stroke. I got ahead of myself and was dismissed.

We now know that regardless of whether we know the definition of concentration or not, whether we play cricket - or any other sport or for that matter - remaining in the present is the essence to being successful. We all do it unconsciously, and perhaps that's why we slip out of it without knowing, but if we manage to do it consciously, at will, keeping close tabs on our mind, we'll be able to control it a lot better and produce better results.

Former India opener Aakash Chopra is the author of Beyond the Blues, an account of the 2007-08 Ranji Trophy season. His website is here


Feeds: Aakash Chopra

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/416753.html?wrappertype=print[/tscii:226cc23a61]

[Vivasaayi]

Like Mitchell Johnson they went into series accompanied by great expectations, only to flounder. We look at XI promise breakers from the last 30 years

1.Shane Warne v India in 1998-99
Australia's 1997-98 tour of India was to be the contest between arguably the best bowler and the best batsman in the world. It seemed to be going Warne's way when he had Sachin Tendulkar caught at first slip with a perfect legbreak on the first morning of the first Test. That 4 for 85 was to be Warne's last really fruitful day of the series. Retaliation came as early as the second innings, when Tendulkar ravaged his way to 155 not out to set up a win for India. On pitches that less-celebrated Indian spinners enjoyed in their time, Warne went for 1 for 122 and 0 for 147 in successive innings. His overall figures of 10 for 540 would have been worse but for the spell on the first morning. By the time he was done with India in the one-dayers and the Sharjah tri-series that followed Warne confessed to having nightmares about Tendulkar hitting him for sixes.

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/416857.html

[Balaspike]

Sachin is the first batsman to go against warnes magic fingure :2thumbsup:

in an interview warne said sachin and lara are the best batsman tat he faced. in tat sachin is his favourite batsman than lara :cheer:

[ajithfederer]

http://www.kingofcricket.com/ODI_50.aspx

All tendulkar 50's and match scorecards.

LM, Shall we put this link in the first page??.

[ajithfederer]

http://www.kingofcricket.com/ODI_Statistics.aspx

[ajithfederer]

Sachin Tendulkars 84 autographs by satish chaphekar (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CvnLZ99Bhc)

Exclusive interview of Satish Chaphekar (Autograph Please) on Star Maza. Satish Chaphekar is very famous autograph collector from Mumbai india Having Autographs of all famous celebs.

this house located in dombivli, mumbai, india where many autographs are painted and some celebrates personal sign the wall.
For more information
www.autographplease.com
blogspot.autographplease.com


:shock: :clap:.

[littlemaster1982]

http://www.kingofcricket.com/ODI_50.aspx

All tendulkar 50's and match scorecards.

LM, Shall we put this link in the first page??.

Done :thumbsup: :ty: for the link.

Look at the match numbers :shock:

[ajithfederer]

Yes it is shocking
Check out the 2007 england tour ODI's. Sir had blasted 4 half centuries including one 97 and one 94 and he was not out on the 7th ODI (but was given out wrongly)/


http://www.kingofcricket.com/ODI_50.aspx

All tendulkar 50's and match scorecards.

LM, Shall we put this link in the first page??.

Done :thumbsup: :ty: for the link.

Look at the match numbers :shock:

[ajithfederer]

[tscii:dfd61fd8ff]You bowl well, Tendulkar told jopdi no 47’s deaf and dumb boy

A participant at reality show Cricket Star, Sumeet Sadphule has set Bandra’s MIG club abuzz with his dedication and clean bowling style

Sandeep Dwivedi & Devendra Pandey

Mumbai, February 6: Bandra’s up-market MIG cricket club is a stone’s throw away from the Shastrinagar society jopadpatti. The labyrinth of narrow lanes, dingy one-rooms and open drains on one the hand and the fully carpeted club house, swimming pool and a lush green cricket field at the stone’s landing make this a typical Mumbai neighbourhood of stark disparities.

But lately the 21-year-old deaf and dumb resident of jopdi No.47 —Sumeet Sadphule —has been able to make that quantum leap from the slum to the club grounds where shooting is on for the reality show, “Cricket Star” —he is among the many who are dodging elimination to be the one player who will get a year’s contract with England’s county team Leicestershire.

Sumeet’s coach Naushad Khan, who also happens to be a participant, doubles up as interpreter as the real “Iqbal” tries to be the last boy standing. “I will try to give a tough fight but I know I can’t win,” says Sumeet as he wipes the sweat from his forehead.

As Sumeet’s twin brother Amit says, “A fight is something my brother always relishes.” While the MIG crowd is awestruck by the physically challenged boy’s dedication, those at Shashtrinagar aren’t surprised by the plumber’s son’s cricketing exploits.

A neighbour sums it up: “Main to bola tha, yeh ladka India khelega”. And as an afterthought adds: “I gave him his first cricket bat”.

There are many in Shashtrinagar who would love to talk about Sumeet since his television debut, but the boy in focus only talks about his father and the three brothers— two of them work as lifeguards and one is an electrician.

And since it’s MIG, there has to be a Sachin Tendulkar angle —after all it is the master blaster’s favourite practice ground. Sumeet has had the opportunity to bowl to him. So mention Sachin Tendulkar and Sumeet’s lips are able to read the name.

His face lights up and pointing to his heart, he is able to convey the excitement of that memorable net session. Then, he adopts a Tendulkar-like stance, shadows a lofted shot and draws a parabola with his hand. “Getting hit for a six by Tendulkar too is a big deal for him, “ explains Khan.

Sumeet has won over the hearts of many through this simplicity. Everyone’s impressed. Coach Pradeep Sundaram speaks about his brilliant grasping power and a clean bowling style. Former India player Robin Singh, a selector of the show, calls him “a good bowler who always wants to learn”.

Though Sumeet can’t hear the good things said about him, he is aware of the buzz around him. Sundaram coaxes him to utter those words Tendulkar told him. He tries hard. And in a muffled voice, says: “Changla taktohs”.

What Tendulkar meant was: You bowl well.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=221210[/tscii:dfd61fd8ff]

[littlemaster1982]

Tendulkar targets 15,000 Test runs (http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/418098.html)

Sachin Tendulkar has said he is not satisfied with his achievements and hopes to accumulate 15,000 runs and win the World Cup in 2011.

"I am not pleased yet with what I have done," Tendulkar, who has scored a record 12773 Test runs at an average of 54.58 from 159 matches, said in an interview with the Wisden Cricketer. "Sunil Gavaskar has told me that I have to get to 15,000 runs. He said he would be angry with me and would come and catch me if I didn't. I admire him so much and to score that many would be a terrific achievement, but that is not the only aim." His other big cricketing ambition is to "win the World Cup in 2011".

Tendulkar, 36, also spoke about how he has been consistently playing with pain. "I always play in pain, all the time. I played with a broken finger for the last three months, but you know when pain is manageable or not, and most of the time I can do it," he said. "I can still do what I did when I was 25 but the body is changing, so your thought process has to change too. I have had to change how I think, which is about taking less risk."

Tendulkar also disagreed with John Buchanan, former Australia coach, who felt Tendulkar had become susceptible to the short ball early in his innings because of a lack of footwork. "It is only his opinion; John Buchanan doesn't have to be right all the time. If I couldn't handle short deliveries, then I wouldn't still be scoring runs," he said. "Maybe he needs to change his opinion. There must be something very wrong with all the bowlers around the world that they have allowed me to score so many runs."

Don Bradman had said Tendulkar reminded him of himself and the Indian batsman was the only modern player in Bradman's all-time XI. Does Tendulkar think the same way about anyone? "I would say Virender Sehwag comes closest to my style."

Tendulkar said he was not thinking about retirement yet but he would know when to quit cricket. "I will know when it is the right time, I won't have to be dragged away. I am the person who will make the decision and I will know whether I still belong."

He admitted life after cricket wouldn't be easy. "It's a scary thought. It has been there for my whole adult life, it will be difficult, I have been around for a long time, I can imagine when I finish I will long to face just 10 more balls but you have to move."

[crajkumar_be]

Don Bradman had said Tendulkar reminded him of himself and the Indian batsman was the only modern player in Bradman's all-time XI. Does Tendulkar think the same way about anyone? "I would say Virender Sehwag comes closest to my style."

Kuduthaan da thalaivan seruppadi! :evil: Kavuthuttiye Thala :(

Feddy/Plum/Anoop/others
Sandhosama? :twisted:

[littlemaster1982]

CR,

Idhula enna aacharyam? Aarambatthula irundhey indha comparison irundhukittudhane irukku :huh:

[crajkumar_be]

CR,

Idhula enna aacharyam? Aarambatthula irundhey indha comparison irundhukittudhane irukku :huh:
Comparison irukku adhu dhaan en prachanaye. IMO the similarity ends with appearance (build, attire, stance). Aana ippo singame than vaayala solliruchu :| So, onniyum pesa mudiyadhu.. vidra vidra soonapaana, singam da neeyee...

[P_R]

"ennai maadhiri yaarumE illai"nnu uNmaiya solla mudiyaadha iLagina manasu

[ajithfederer]

Style mattum dhaane compare pannirukaaru. The whole world knows about Shewag's technique right? :huh:. Adhumillama avaru ella kelvikkum non contyroversial/politically right answers dhaan kodupaarunu namakku theriadhaa ?? :P.




Don Bradman had said Tendulkar reminded him of himself and the Indian batsman was the only modern player in Bradman's all-time XI. Does Tendulkar think the same way about anyone? "I would say Virender Sehwag comes closest to my style."

Kuduthaan da thalaivan seruppadi! :evil: Kavuthuttiye Thala :(

Feddy/Plum/Anoop/others
Sandhosama? :twisted:

[ajithfederer]

:victory: :cool2:

Idhu dhaan enakum vendum. Saar can quit ODI cricket but I want him to play Test cricket until he is 40. :yes:

P.S: Eventhough I like him thinking of winning world cup 11 and the future test career, idhellam velila sollirkanumannu thonudhu. :oops:.

Tendulkar targets 15,000 Test runs (http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/418098.html)

Sachin Tendulkar has said he is not satisfied with his achievements and hopes to accumulate 15,000 runs and win the World Cup in 2011.

[Vivasaayi]

kalangaathaala...tensanappa tensshhhiiion

evano oruthan...hindhula eludhuren sandhula eludhurennu...."is sachin a match winner" nu ketrukan in sports page..

has scored less match winning centuries than inzamamnu case study vera...

ada velekkenna.....inzamam team had match winning bowlers...wasim akram,waqar,aaqib javed,saqlain mushtaq,mushtaq ahmed

20 wickets eduthathan test matches jeyikka mudiyum...gunniya

[littlemaster1982]

kalangaathaala...tensanappa tensshhhiiion

evano oruthan...hindhula eludhuren sandhula eludhurennu...."is sachin a match winner" nu ketrukan in sports page..

has scored less match winning centuries than inzamamnu case study vera...

ada velekkenna.....inzamam team had match winning bowlers...wasim akram,waqar,aaqib javed,saqlain mushtaq,mushtaq ahmed

20 wickets eduthathan test matches jeyikka mudiyum...gunniya

"Match winner" is the most abused term in Cricket history :evil:

[P_R]

[tscii:31956fe65a]sariyaana uLaral.

Searched for the guy:


MAKARAND WAINGANKAR


A veteran sports journalist with an experience of over 3 decades, Waingankar is also a Cricket Management Consultant and has presented many projects to the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
The Talent Resource Development Wing of the BCCI is one such project which is being implemented in India for past 3 years to unearth talent through Talent Resource Development Officers. The BCCI also accepted his project of conducting junior inter-state tournaments on Elite-Plate basis so that boys get to play pressure game against good opposition.

Waingankar coordinated the Mumbai Cricket Association – Mafatlal Scheme for bowlers under Frank Tyson from 1990 to 1993. The bowlers went on to play for the states and the country and have captured more than 3000 first class wickets.
He was consultant to the Karnataka State Cricket Association for four years.

Address kidaichadhum post paNrEn.[/tscii:31956fe65a]

[P_R]

[tscii:0bdcff37c6]And this is the article (http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2009080755012200.htm&date=2009/08/07/&prd=th&)



Will Tendulkar devise a new strategy?

Contributing to victory is vital, writes Makarand Waingankar

Nothing succeeds like success. Though indisputably one of the legends of our time, is Sachin Tendulkar a real match-winner?

This question indicates there are others far more consistent in winning matches for their countries. Admittedly, not many can beat Tendulkar where consistency is concerned but his contribution to winning matches takes a beating compared to Inzamam-ul- Haq and Ricky Ponting.

The yardstick obviously is how many of his centuries have been winning centuries. And how many of these centuries have been scored in the second innings of the match. This, the pundits feel relates to handling of pressure when it matters.

Inzamam’s total number of centuries is 25 but 17 of his centuries helped Pakistan win Tests and the percentage amounts to 68. Ricky Ponting’s 24 Test match-winning centuries are from a total of 38 and the winning percentage is 63 whereas though Tendulkar scored 42 Test centuries, only 16 have helped India in winning Tests. The percentage is as low as 38.

Comparisons
The most important comparison is the number of centuries scored in the second innings. Out of six centuries scored by Ponting five resulted in Australia winning Test matches. That’s 83 per cent. Inzamam had four winning matches out of six centuries — the percentage is 66 but while Tendulkar scored ten centuries, only three saw India win matches. The percentage is 30.

If the styles of these three batsmen are compared, aggression is a common factor but why Tendulkar is not able to convert his second innings centuries into winning ones is something very intriguing looking at the class that he possesses. Is it because of the load of expectations of the country that agitates his mental make-up or perhaps he is unable to handle pressure in the middle?

If one argues that Ponting played for a stronger team, Inzamam certainly didn’t. It was late in his career that Mohd. Yusuf and Yunus Khan added strength to the batting line-up.

In Tendulkar’s case he seemed to enjoy his first innings batting rather than second innings. Apart from the first few years, Tendulkar had the support of Azharuddin, Dravid and Ganguly. Later Laxman and Sehwag joined to make the batting line-up strong.

Kapil Dev feels that Tendulkar seems to think that the more he accumulates runs, the more he will be comfortable, but in cricket when you change your approach you are inviting trouble. Tendulkar on the other hand has gone on record saying that people shouldn’t expect him to do what he was doing a decade ago.

Though one has to agree with Tendulkar’s comment, the fact is that he is unable to do justice to his class by not getting India to win more matches.

This is definitely not a blot on his career but not scoring a triple hundred and not increasing the percentage of the winning matches calls for some introspection before the new season begins.

In ODIs Tendulkar has to set milestones. There is no competition there but the class of a player is judged by the winning percentage in Tests and not in ODIs and T20.

Hopefully Tendulkar will devise a new strategy to work on the winning percentage and if the strategy clicks, the 2009-10 season will be a great one for India.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu[/tscii:0bdcff37c6]

[ajithfederer]

I saw this in orkut yesterday.

Velakennai mandayanugalukku cricket oru team sportngradhu modhalla velanga vekkanum.

kalangaathaala...tensanappa tensshhhiiion

evano oruthan...hindhula eludhuren sandhula eludhurennu...."is sachin a match winner" nu ketrukan in sports page..

has scored less match winning centuries than inzamamnu case study vera...

ada velekkenna.....inzamam team had match winning bowlers...wasim akram,waqar,aaqib javed,saqlain mushtaq,mushtaq ahmed

20 wickets eduthathan test matches jeyikka mudiyum...gunniya

[P_R]

First I thought he is some slip of a boy recycling dumb arguments he has heard. Googled and found he is an old hand !


Besides weak reasoning...factual inaccuracy vEra. Out of curiosity I checked the Inzamam centuries. All 6 of them were post 99 i.e. with Youhana. Most of the others include Younis.

[ajithfederer]

To Annan bala (http://www.espnstar.com/cricket/international-cricket/news/detail/item303015/%22I-want-to-score-heavily-in-Tests%22/)



Often compared to Tendulkar, Sehwag said he always wanted to emulate the little master.

"I wanted to become a Tendulkar, but that's not possible because he is a God of cricket. When I was watching him on television, I tried to copy every single shot."

[ajithfederer]

Inzy's centuries in winning / 17 of em (http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/40570.html?class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=start;r esult=1;runsmin1=100;runsval1=runs;template=result s;type=batting;view=match)

You could see a very good bowling contribution from either wasim or waqar or other bowler for them.

[Sanguine Sridhar]

kalangaathaala...tensanappa tensshhhiiion

evano oruthan...hindhula eludhuren sandhula eludhurennu...."is sachin a match winner" nu ketrukan in sports page..

has scored less match winning centuries than inzamamnu case study vera...

ada velekkenna.....inzamam team had match winning bowlers...wasim akram,waqar,aaqib javed,saqlain mushtaq,mushtaq ahmed

20 wickets eduthathan test matches jeyikka mudiyum...gunniya

Yeah naanum padichen semma tensan. Conveniently he forgot Pak's bowling strength.

af,lm, Nerd maams,

Andha forum-la kodi yethirupaanunga. :lol2:

[littlemaster1982]

Konja naala andha pakkam pogala :P

[crajkumar_be]

Sachin a izhiva pesura forum ku ellam edhukku pa poreenga :twisted:

Feddy,
mm.. well...

[Plum]

Idhu vEraiya?Pricky Ranting only 6 centuries in. 4th innings?
VeLakeNnai periya tough conditions batsmannu sonnaanga?

Pricky india-la evLO century?
Aloo maams australia-la evLO century?Adhula evLO match winning? Match drawing? Ad0tleast if not mtch winning, Spectacular in a losing cause like 114 in perth by sachin?
Unlike match-winning, great innings in countries tht are not comfort zone for batsmen from your country are dependent only on you. A failure here is yours alone and a clear indication of your inferiority. On this count, only BCL(my favourite - over and above SRT, incidentally - shoot me :-) ) is worthy of comparison with SRT.

Porukki ranting comes and gaada suthifies for 78 in headingley and western media goes gaga. Namma maharashtra kars are mudhugu kuthufying.

[ajithfederer]

From The Times May 18, 2009

Don Bradman's star would shine in any era
The former Times Chief Cricket Correspondent identifies his top 100 cricketers of all timeChristopher Martin-Jenkins



9 Sachin Tendulkar

Compact power, perfect timing, the ability to hit good balls for four, humility, discipline and extraordinary concentration have made Tendulkar the highest run-scorer in international cricket. It is doubtful whether any great sportsman has conducted himself better despite a career spent constantly in the public eye.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article6307539.ece

[ajithfederer]

Indo-Pak matches cease to remain a game of cricket: Tendulkar

7 Aug 2009, 2147 hrs IST

Fans in India and Pakistan react in the extreme and cricket does not remain merely a sport when the arch-rivals lock horns, said Sachin Tendulkar. Indian players are either garlanded like 'kings' or treated like 'criminals', depending on the outcome of an Indo-Pak series, and the feeling is not different on the other side of the border, Tendulkar said at the launch of 'Shadows Across the Playing Field', a book authored by Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor and former Pakistan Cricket Control Board chief Shaharyar Khan.

"Both the nations react to our highs and lows. Sometime we say that cricket is just a sport...but that does not happen. You get different reactions on your performance and rather (on the performance) in the last match," he said. Referring to the 1997 ODI series in Canada, Tendulkar said, "We beat Pakistan 4-1 and the reception we got in Delhi was incredible. About 5000-7000 fans were there to receive us at the airport at two in the morning. They threw garlands and roses at us. We were treated like kings," he recalled.

The Mumbaikar then revealed the other side of the coin. "We lost an ODI series 2-1 and the reaction was completely different. People looked at us as if were criminals and we have done something wrong. We lost 2-1 and because Ijaz Ahmed played an outstanding innings. "These experiences teach you and help you lead a balanced life," he said.

http://www.timesnow.tv/Indo-Pak-matches-cease-to-remain-a-game-of-cricket-Tendulkar/articleshow/4324337.cms

[ajithfederer]

Home > Opinion > Column

The life and legend of Tendulkar
Ayaz MemonSunday, August 9, 2009 18:56 IST Email

For a reluctant public speaker, Sachin Tendulkar's measure of words and timing of delivery today would be only a whit lower in impact than when he plays one of his exquisite straight drives.

I remember him as a man with monosyllabic responses to queries, but today he is a seasoned raconteur, with a sharp memory and more importantly a sense of humour.

Tendulkar's formal education was truncated just after finishing school, but he appears to have learnt well from the 'university of life'. At the release of Shadows Across the Playing Fields (a book on 60 years of India-Pakistan cricket co-authored by Shashi Tharoor andShaharyar Khan) the other night, he had the audience in thrall with memories of his introduction to international cricket. Hesent me 20hurtling years back in time.

I was on that eventful tour of Pakistan in 1989, and remember the callow 16-year-old being the focus of attention of everybody -- not the least Pakistan's dreaded pace attack led by Imran Khan and including Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Though a raw youngster, for psychological reasons, he was the obvious target for the Pakistan team.


Ten months earlier Tendulkar had not been chosen for the tour of the West Indies despite scoring centuries in his first Ranji, Duleep and Irani Trophy matches because the selectors feared he might be hit by pace bowlers and lose confidence permanently. But in many ways -- some of which have been examined by Tharoor and Shaharyar in the book -- a tour of Pakistan was even more daunting.

Tendulkar recalled how jittery he was before his first innings, but I can vouch his teammates were perhaps even more nervous. Concern over Tendulkar reached a crescendo on the eve of the final Test at Sialkot when it was discovered that the young player would not just talk, but often also walk in his sleep.

Manager Borde, whose room would often become the hub for hacks in the evenings to sniff out stories, was most distraught. "Ab kya hoga?'' he asked the clueless press corps. As a precaution, I suspect he moved into the room adjoining Tendulkar's and kept vigil.

Tendulkar had enjoyed a modest tour till then, and then faced a trial by fire in the last Test when he was felled by a vicious bouncer from Waqar Younis. There was blood on the pitch as he swooned briefly from the blow, but got only muted commiserations from Imran Khan who saw this as a decisive psychological moment to win the series.

But Tendulkar was unfazed, and after some quick-fix remedy by the physio, was back into his stance. The next delivery from Waqar was sent scorching through the covers for a boundary. Imran's moment to put India on the mat had come and gone in a flash. Tendulkar had sealed his brilliant script with destiny forever.

It's almost 20 years since that day, and the marvel about Tendulkar is now not so much about his record-breaking feats as his longevity. Heck, twenty years transcends a couple of generations at least. There have been 15 cricketers who have played 20 years or more and in the early 20th century, England's Wilfred Rhodes's career stretched to a whopping 30 years and 315 days, but nobody has had the workload as Tendulkar who has played 159 Tests and 425 one day internationals.

This makes for arguably the most extraordinary story in Indian sport, and while every fact is well known, is still only half told. The other half should come from the man himself. For the sake of posterity, I insist, Tendulkar must start living his life again, as it were.

http://www.dnaindia.com/opinion/column_the-life-and-legend-of-tendulkar_1280963

[ajithfederer]

This is news for me :D.

:clap:.


Ten months earlier Tendulkar had not been chosen for the tour of the West Indies despite scoring centuries in his first Ranji, Duleep and Irani Trophy matches because the selectors feared he might be hit by pace bowlers and lose confidence permanently. But in many ways -- some of which have been examined by Tharoor and Shaharyar in the book -- a tour of Pakistan was even more daunting.

[ajithfederer]

sachin tendulkar india vs west indies 2001 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vj2yfm1jio)

what series is this??.

[ajithfederer]

Tendulkar and Das: The two small men who fought a tall battle together
India were struggling at 32/2 in their second innings against Zimbabwe in the second Test match played at Harare Sports Club. The visitors had lost their makeshift opening batsman Sameer Dighe (4) and their star batsman VVS Laxman (20) and were still trailing behind by 46 runs. India could have plummeted into deeper trouble at that stage with the Zimbabwe bowlers on an all out attack.

It was going to be an uphill ride for the Indian team. The little master Sachin Tendulkar walked into the middle to join Shiv Sunder Das. They had a job to do, build up a useful partnership and steady the Indian cause. The two diminutive players rose to the occasion and played with a brave heart. Das had to summon all his powers of concentration to play a long innings. Tendulkar had to curb his attacking instincts to score runs as well as guard his wicket.

Zimbabwe bowlers led by their captain Heath Streak had come out with a clear plan: dry up the runs and put pressure on the batsmen to make mistakes. Das and Tendulkar didn't fall for it. They let the balls go through to the keeper and whenever the bowler erred in line and length, did not hesitate to punish.

Das brought up the fifty partnership in the 29th over when he drove Blignaut through extra cover and ran three for it. The 50 runs were scored by the two batsmen in 16.5 overs. Runs did not flow in a flurry; it came in singles and twos. The little men kept running between the wickets, accumulating runs, the key to any good partnership.

The strokeplay was not being discounted, as Tendulkar broke loose now and then to dispatch boundaries. The harmless leg spin of Brian Murphy was targeted initially as the two batsmen went on a leather hunt. Their association in the middle fetched the only century partnership of the Test match. Das brought up the century partnership in the 50th over by cracking a cover drive for four. It took the two batsmen 37 overs to bring up the landmark. The second fifty came in at a faster rate, taking 13.1 overs.

Tendulkar and Das put together 118 runs off 39.5 overs for the third wicket. Tendulkar made 69 off just 135 balls with the help of nine glorious boundaries. Das went on to make 70 valuable runs. By the time Tendulkar got out India had got over the deficit and were ahead by 72 runs. India failed to capitalize on the sound partnership provided by these two fighters. Tendulkar was guilty of playing a rash stroke and got out when Grant Flower at point took a good catch off the bowling of Heath Streak. Though India went on to lose the Test by four wickets, in the context of the match the partnership between Das and Tendulkar assumes great importance for the sheer volume of runs scored on a pitch where bowlers got a better deal from it.

http://static.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2001/IND_IN_ZIM/5STAR/

[littlemaster1982]

sachin tendulkar india vs west indies 2001 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vj2yfm1jio)

what series is this??.

This (http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/series/61089.html) is the series - Ind, WI & Zim Triangular.

Thalaivar scored a century in the match (http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66317.html) featured in the video above.

[ajithfederer]

Asnodkar misses a good chat with Tendulkar (http://cricket.ndtv.com/cricket/ndtvcricket/storypage/ndtv/id/inten20090104644/story10082009_193100.html)

Your idol?

Sachin Tendulkar. I have not been lucky enough to spend much time with that great man. But I'm really looking forward to an opportunity to spend some wonderful time with him and I know a good conversation with the legendary batsman will inspire me more.

[ajithfederer]

An interesting fact
I just went through Cricinfo and noticed a very unique record by master.
Clearly the era of 1990s can be considered far better in terms of bowling than 2000s. That time the world saw Courtney Walsh, Curtley Ambrose, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Craig McDermott, Hadlee and Morrison, Mcgrath,..there are just a few to name..
During this era of 1990s Master had the best average (58) and scored more no. of century by playing only 69 games much lesser than many others, the second on the list is steve waugh who has 18 century but in 89 test...
http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?class=1;id=199;type=decade
During 2000s era clearly Ponting lead the table with staggering 32 century neverthless Tendulkar still manages good amount of runs and a healthy average
http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?class=1;id=200;type=decade
The whole comparison also reflect fewer matches played by india than England and Australia..

In these two table u can also see the stike rate of Master in two decades, both cloe to 54...that should answer the queries related to his Strike rate

If you just look carefully, you can see that Tendulkar and Lara are only two player to feature in both the table in let say top 20 or so....


http://www.orkut.com/Main#CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=23803&tid=5365919504392710739

[ajithfederer]

Thanks LM.


sachin tendulkar india vs west indies 2001 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vj2yfm1jio)

what series is this??.

This (http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/series/61089.html) is the series - Ind, WI & Zim Triangular.

Thalaivar scored a century in the match (http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66317.html) featured in the video above.

[ajithfederer]

SACHIN CENTURIES! A STATSTICAL VIEW

1ST COME AFTER 79 MATCHES
2ND COME AFTER 5 MATCHES
3RD COME AFTER 5 MATCHES
4TH COME AFTER 5 MATCHES
5TH COME AFTER 6 MATCHES
6TH COME AFTER 2 MATCHES
7TH COME AFTER 5 MATCHES
8TH COME AFTER 2 MATCHES
9TH COME AFTER 5 MATCHES
10TH COME AFTER 14 MATCHES
11TH COME AFTER 5 MATCHES
12TH COME AFTER 7 MATCHES
13TH COME AFTER 32 MATCHES
14TH COME AFTER 5 MATCHES
15TH COME AFTER NEXT MATCHES
16TH COME AFTER 2 MATCHES
17TH COME AFTER 4 MATCHES
18TH COME AFTER 1 MATCHES
19TH COME AFTER 2 MATCHES
20TH COME AFTER 2 MATCHES
21ST COME AFTER 2 MATCHES
22ND COME AFTER 5 MATCHES
23RD COME AFTER 7 MATCHES
24TH COME AFTER 4 MATCHES
25TH COME AFTER 14 MATCHES
26TH COME AFTER 12 MATCHES
27TH COME AFTER 6 MATCHES
28TH COME AFTER 4 MATCHES
29TH COME AFTER 5 MATCHES
30TH COME AFTER 1 MATCHES
31ST COME AFTER 4 MATCHES
32ND COME AFTER 11 MATCHES
33RD COME AFTER 2 MATCHES
34TH COME AFTER 12 MATCHES
35TH COME AFTER 8 MATCHES
36TH COME AFTER 3 MATCHES
37TH COME AFTER 9 MATCHES
38TH COME AFTER 15 MATCHES
39TH COME AFTER 12 MATCHES
40TH COME AFTER 4 MATCHES
41ST COME AFTER 13 MATCHES
waiting for 42nd
35 matches has gone after making 41st hundred

9 TIMES SACHIN MADE HIS HUNDRED AFTER 5 MATCHES.
6 TIMES SACHIN MADE HIS HUNDRED AFTER 2 MATCHES.
5 TIMES SACHIN MADE HIS HUNDRED AFTER 4 MATCHES.
8 TIMES SACHIN MADE HIS HUNDRED AFTER MORE THAN 10 MATCHES

AFTER MAKING HIS FIRST HUNDRED SACHIN MADE HUNDRED EVERY YEAR.

http://www.orkut.com/Main#CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=23803&tid=2584267642187033718

[ajithfederer]

Some date controversy with tendulkar:---
Test matches started on 02/01 means two January…

1. Match no-1….02/01/1992 against Australia made 148 not out in his 14th test match. In second inning do not bat
2. Match no-2…. 02/01/1997 against South Africa. Made 169 runs in Cape Town. In second innings he made 9 runs.
3. Match no-3… 02/01/1999 against New Zealand made 67 runs. Do not bat in second inning
4. Match no-4… 02/01/2000 against Australia made 45 in first and 4 in second innings
5. Match no-5… 02/01/2004 against Australia made 241 not out in first and 60 not out in second innings.
6. Match no-6…. 02/01/2007 against South Africa made 64 in first and 14 in second innings.


The date of 23rd march is unlucky for sachin in one day matches….I think this why becauseon this date bhagat singh was mudred..

Match 1:-23/03/2000 against Pakistan made 11 runs.
Match 2:- 23/03/2003 against Australia world cup final made 4 runs
Match 3:- 23/03/2007 against srilanka world cup league match made 0 runs.

http://www.orkut.com/Main#CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=23803&tid=2544156521702894710
[tscii:46032d06ef][/tscii:46032d06ef]

[P_R]

[tscii:276512aa37]

The date of 23rd march is unlucky for sachin in one day matches….I think this why because on this date bhagat singh was mudred..

:lol:

appuramam mAmA.... andha doctor pEru kathirEsanungaLaamaam[/tscii:276512aa37]

[ajithfederer]

:rotfl:, i know

But whenever i copy /paste info from orkut I usually don't change their contents but this one is too :oops:. Should have changed it.


[tscii:bccac1bf5f]

The date of 23rd march is unlucky for sachin in one day matches….I think this why because on this date bhagat singh was mudred..

:lol:

appuramam mAmA.... andha doctor pEru kathirEsanungaLaamaam[/tscii:bccac1bf5f]

[ajithfederer]

Mumbai, Aug 11 (PTI) Sachin Tendulkar will attend the pre-season fitness camp in a few days' time as he was unavailable today due to prior commitments as eight players were put through their paces here.
Tendulkar to attend fitness camp in a few days: Kirsten

Coach Gary Kirsten, who oversaw the fitness camp at the Mumbai Cricket Association's Indoor Academy in Bandra-Kurla Complex today, said it was not possible to get all the players available for the camp at a short notice.

"Sachin was unavailable today. It was not possible to get everyone available at such a short notice. Sachin would do the test in the next few days," Kirsten said.

The eight players who took part in the fitness camp conducted by Indian team physiotherapist Nitin Patel and trainer Ramji Srinivasan, who is tipped to soon join the national squad, were Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Dinesh Karthick, Pragyan Ojha, Abhishek Nayar, Ravindra Jadeja and S Badrinath.

http://www.ptinews.com/news/224507_Tendulkar-to-attend-fitness-camp-in-a-few-days--Kirsten

[ajithfederer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBv5FC_QSwo

Sir's 53rd test fifty in New Zealand this year.

[ajithfederer]

Young India dreams to be a Sachin Tendulkar

13/08/2009

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag might have arrived ...
But for a school going kid, who bats in the streets and the maidans of our country, he still dreams to be a Sachin Tendulkar!
Sachin's stance, style of play is what every kid on the streets of India wants to impersonate. Everyone wants a slice of the little genius. We found Sachin over 20 years back as a prodigiously talented teenager; even our mums loved him. The curly hair, the boyish looks, he was the kid in a man's world.
In the 1990s, Sachin became synonymous with the Indian cricket team. When Tendulkar would be dismissed early in an innings the spectators in the stadium retreated, and the ones watching at home switched off their TV sets.
For a million Indians, the word Sachin spelled hope. Sachin was also the only Indian batsmen whose game did not falter when playing on the hard and bouncy or seaming tracks abroad. He was at ease on all surfaces. He was one Indian batsman, whom we knew would never flinch in front of bouncers or short-pitch bowling. In the 1990s the Indian team did not win any Test matches outside the sub-continent, and the only consolation would be a Sachin hundred on foreign soil.

Away from Tests, Sachin's attacking style of play made him an exciting proposition in the 50-over version of the game. Every time he was called onto bat, the expectations surged-anything less than a hundred was deemed as a failure. In the ODIs, Sachin played a number of memorable knocks, but one of his innings stands out. Remember the 'desert storm' in Sharjah in 1998, when he single-handedly took the Indians to the finals of the tournament, and then followed it by a match-winning innings in the same. He psyched the Australians then and simultaneously mesemerized us.

But for the champions, the real test is not only the numbers but the spirit as well. Just days after his father's funeral death, Sachin returned to score a century in World Cup England 1999. Such is Sachin Tendulkar.

The hundred that was dedicated to his father was testimony to his focus and a tribute to his commitment towards the Indian cricket team. In 2003 World Cup when the cricket fanatics were seething in anger, Sachin Tendulkar was called upon to do some firefighting on behalf of the team. When the master spoke, the nation listened, as he asked the fans to keep their faith.

In the next few games India worked a turnaround chiefly on the back of some scintillating knocks from Sachin.

The beginning of this decade saw the younger brigade in the Indian team come to the fore. As for Sachin, he never grew old, yes the bones creaked much more, and tennis elbow injury kept him down for almost a year. The master though never got tired of making centuries. After surpassing Don Bradman's record of 29 Test centuries, Sachin is now at 42 and still counting for more. He is also the highest run maker in both Test match cricket and ODIs.

From a child prodigy to an institution of the game itself, Sachin has walked straight into the hearts of his fans and his team members alike. He is the senior member now, a person to whom everybody looks up to for all sorts of advice.

Be it a technical flaw in the batting style of a way to deal with all the pressure on the cricketing field, Sachin Tendulkar is the man-to-go for all the members of the team. On the field or off it, Sachin soothes the nerves of his team members, by constantly joking and squeezing in humour in the tense dressing room atmosphere. The master is enjoying the success of the Indian team , something which he missed doing during the 90's.

For the fans, he is the cricketer for whom kids have bunked school, the office-goers have feigned illness. After a hard day's work he is the one guy who has lit up the faces of the common man, with his breath-taking performances. Everyone relishes Sachin Tendulkar. His game, his smile, his humility has charmed one and all. At the age of 36, Sachin is still playing with the same passion, the same hunger that he had when he first held the bat to thrash a turning or a swinging ball to the boundary. All we can say is may the good work continue for a long time in the future. India@62 loves Sachin Tendulkar and asks for more!

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3136706

[ajithfederer]

When is the next ODI Match involving Tendulkar. It has been a very very long gap :twisted:

[ajithfederer]

Second Cornhill Test
Wisden home
Almanack archive home

England v India 1990

Graham Otway

Toss: England. Test debuts: India - A.Kumble.

Of the six individual centuries scored in this fascinating contest, none was more outstanding than Tendulkar's, which rescued India on the final afternoon. At 17 years and 112 days, he was only 30 days older than Mushtaq Mohammad was when, against India at Delhi in 1960-61, he became the youngest player to score a Test hundred, More significantly, after several of his colleagues had fallen to reckless strokes, Tendulkar held the England attack at bay with a disciplined display of immense maturity.

India were placed on the defensive once Gooch chose to bat first. The Old Trafford groundsman, Peter Marron, wrong-footed by a cold change in the weather after watering, had predicted even bounce but little pace, and England quickly grasped the opportunity. Leading an unchanged side, Gooch put on 73 untroubled runs with Atherton in the first hour, and India soon resorted to their leg-spinners, Hirwani and Kumble, the latter replacing seamer Sharma from the team at Lord's. They slowed down England's progress, but could do little to prevent a 225-run opening partnership, which overtook by 21 runs the record Gooch and Atherton had set at Lord's a fortnight earlier. In scoring 116, Gooch became the first English batsman for nineteen years to record centuries in three successive Test innings, but on the day he was eclipsed by his junior partner. In five and a half hours, Atherton carefully constructed 131, exactly matching the feat of G. Pullar, the only other Lancastrian to score a Test century for England at Old Trafford, against India 31 years earlier. Smith batted for just over four hours, passing his century during a last-wicket partnership of 60 with Malcolm, an unexpectedly supportive ally, as England reached 519.

The loss of three quick wickets for 57 to the seam movement of Fraser, in the final hour of the second day, placed India in immediate peril. On Saturday, however, they were rescued in style by their captain, Azharuddin, and Manjrekar, whose fourth-wicket stand of 189 set the pace for an entertaining day's play in which 355 runs were scored. Manjrekar made 93 in three and three-quarter hours before falling to a bat-pad catch at silly point off the tireless Hemmings, but Azharuddin could not be stopped so easily. In a breathtaking 281-minute stay for 179, he hit 21 fours and a six, and between lunch and tea he became the first player to score 100 runs for India in a Test session. After he had miscued a drive off Fraser to Atherton, the second new ball accounted for most of the remaining Indian batting, although Tendulkar, after taking 54 minutes to get off the mark, gave warning of his talents in scoring 68 from 136 balls to reduce the England lead to just 87.

As England's second innings began on the fourth morning, Gooch suffered a rare failure in a rich summer, departing for 7. But Atherton added a further 74 to his first-innings hundred, and a winning position was achieved through the efforts of Lamb. Earlier in the game he had looked out of his depth against the Indian spinners, but, relishing the challenge, he hit Hirwani for two successive sixes early on, and his 109 from 141 balls, followed by Smith's unbeaten 61, allowed Gooch to declare 25 minutes into the final day.

To win and square the series, India were offered a minimum of 88 overs in which to score 408, 2 runs more than their own record for the highest winning total by a side batting second in a Test. From the seventh ball of their innings, when Sidhu was brilliantly caught off Fraser by the substitute, Adams, at short leg, it looked a tall order. On a slowly wearing pitch Hemmings produced just enough deviation to have both Manjrekar and Azharuddin caught in the leg trap - but it was the gay abandon of three senior Indian batsmen which might have set Tendulkar a bad example. Shastri dragged a wide ball on to his stumps, Vengsarkar offered no stroke to Lewis, and Kapil Dev sallied down the pitch to Hemmings.

When the all-rounder, Prabhakar, joined Tendulkar, India were 183 for six and there were two and half hours of the match remaining. Gooch crowded the bat and shuffled his bowlers like a croupier, but England were to be denied by their own mistakes. Hemmings put down a simple return catch when Tendulkar was 10, and Gooch failed to get a hand at second slip to a chance offered by Prabhakar. England could ill afford such lapses, and the pair had seen India to safety when the game was halted with two of the final twenty overs still to be bowled.

Tendulkar remained undefeated on 119, having batted for 224 minutes and hit seventeen fours. He looked the embodiment of India's famous opener, Gavaskar, and indeed was wearing a pair of his pads. While he displayed a full repertoire of strokes in compiling his maiden Test hundred, most remarkable were his off-side shots from the back foot. Though only 5ft 5in tall, he was still able to control without difficulty short deliveries from the English paceman.

Man of the Match: S. R. Tendulkar. Attendance: 42,424; receipts £521,100.

Close of play: First day, England 322-3 (A. J. Lamb 20*, R. C. Russell 7*); Second day, India 77-3 (S. V. Manjrekar 21*, M. Azharuddin 4*); Third day, India 432; Fourth day, England 290-4 (R. A. Smith 49*, J. E. Morris 15*).

http://www.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/152030.html
[tscii:fd885dd9a7][/tscii:fd885dd9a7]

[ajithfederer]

Link for score card of match
http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63535.html
Video link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngaeaKkWjdE
Manoj Prabhakhar pats Young Sachin for a job well done
http://images.orkut.com/orkut/photos/OgAAAENvi_OlOmNGVO-E98x4T7b054Fvbi1wUxmXus8TYVVpDbov12r1AiJlClwgQALVl a0EyuVV2HQUYZc0mbgJ7hEAm1T1UPl70GY0yGxNVXOSa1QTGUk RfR9L.jpg
Sachin gets the MOM for his Match saving 100 in 4th innings
http://images.orkut.com/orkut/photos/OQAAAC4nwQZpzNmQfO1MH8ogDreU0BR1IR3s0u_1lHm8J_Kufb o2Vfi9du5-OhOdwBteM3Kjg7qS88foj7DPhB3QSycAm1T1UPMmpjD1-zHO5hJzOLPl93B96hJQ.jpg

[ajithfederer]

http://www.orkut.com/Main#CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=23803&tid=5369374419206279664&start=1

[ajithfederer]

He Of The Golden Bat

In a few rare moments of anonymity in London, Sachin Tendulkar meets SAM PILGER to talk T20 cricket, retirement and his love for the game

Poster boy Sachin Tendulkar at the BCCI annual awards in 2009
Photos: AP

A BLACK MERCEDES pulls up to the curb in a central London street and out steps Sachin Tendulkar. There are no crowds, no bodyguards, and no one pays any attention to this stocky and unremarkable gentleman who, aside from a chunky watch, looks like any other office worker as he stops to make a call on the pavement.

Tendulkar wanders up and down the busy street, tourists and Londoners walking past him, enjoying the midsummer warmth and the rare anonymity. It is a mundane act for the rest of us but a treat and something to revel in for him.

In Bengaluru, 200 policemen had to control an impromptu crowd of 7,000 people gathered to see Tendulkar

“I like it here, I have more freedom to do whatever I want and move around without any problems,” he says. “I enjoy that feeling, it is very different for me. I am given my space, which is important, and I can go for nice walks in the parks.”

While his Indian teammates were unsuccessfully attempting to defend their World Twenty20 title Tendulkar was here to spend time with his family at their London home. He watched cricket from the stands, went to the men’s final at Wimbledon, took a trip to Iceland to sample some cold weather, took his nine-year-old son Arjun for net sessions at Lord’s and simply enjoyed unmolested trips to the cinema and restaurants.

When asked if he could repeat any of these pursuits in Mumbai he laughs and looks utterly astonished at the question. “No, no, no, I couldn’t do any of that, I have not done it for a long time and I don’t see myself doing it again, really.”

Back home in India, of course, Tendulkar is an icon. His every movement and utterance is monitored, while his image is on billboards and in as many as a quarter of all advertisements on Indian television.

Tendulkar recalls one public appearance several years ago in Bengaluru when nearly 200 policemen were needed to control an impromptu crowd of up to 7,000 people after word had spread he was in the city.

“There have been a few scary moments but that was the worst, it was out of control and there didn’t seem to be enough policemen,” he says. “A lot of people wanted to get close to me, it was just affection but there was a chance of me or others getting injured.”

To avoid a repeat, Tendulkar rarely ventures out or, when he does, it is in disguise or very early in the morning. “I have sometimes worn a baseball cap, a beard, spectacles and a wig not to be noticed,” he says with a smile. “It was just a bit of fun and I was once getting away with it until I dropped the spectacles and a couple of guys recognised me.”

“I also love going for a drive about 5 am, when the roads are empty and people won’t see me. I am not driving fast, just 25 mph, I listen to relaxing music, there is no one else, I like it being just me on my own.”

Today Tendulkar has come to the Opus store in Covent Garden to promote his own forthcoming Opus, a mammoth 800-page book weighing 30 kg, which will tell the story of his career. Tendulkar is only the second sportsman after Diego Maradona to be given such lavish treatment.

Tendulkar remains humble and warm, obliging and polite, speaking in a soft voice.

‘I can still do what I did at 25, but the body is changing. I've changed how I think, taking less risk’, says Tendulkar

In a room decorated with large images of Tendulkar and his greatest innings, he will later hold a press conference that offers a glimpse into the madness of his life. It begins with a nurse taking a swab of saliva for his DNA profile, which will then become a work of art for his Opus. It ends with a gaggle of fawning Indian journalists, prefacing their questions with statements such as “I would like you to know I named my son ‘Sachin’ … ”

Tendulkar is at pains to make clear that the launch of his Opus does not signal the end of his career and, while at 36 it is inevitably approaching, he has set no retirement date, even privately.

“I have given it no thought at all,” he says, “I am good at cricket, so I will play a while longer. I still love the game as much as ever, it is my job but it remains my passion too. This is fun. Cricket remains in my heart.”

Image
Fame’s burden Tendulkar is his quiet self at a Delhi media conference

AS THE scorer of both the most Test and one-day runs, as well as the most Test and one-day centuries, Tendulkar’s standing as one of the modern game’s greatest players is secure and the 2002 Wisden argued that only Sir Donald Bradman can claim to be better in the entire history of the sport. Even so, he is far from sated. He wants more. Tendulkar once said being satisfied is like pulling up the handbrake on a car and expecting it to keep moving forward.

“I am not pleased yet with what I have done,” he says shaking his head. “Sunil Gavaskar has told me that I have to get to 15,000 runs, he said he would be angry with me, he would come and catch me if I didn’t. I admire him so much and to score that many would be a terrific achievement but that is not the only aim.” What else? “Winning the World Cup in 2011.”

To prolong his Test and one-day career Tendulkar has decided not to play Twenty20 internationals. “I felt as though I would have been a loose link in the team, I couldn’t do that to them,” he says. “I was not sure I would last, there was something missing. If my body wasn’t strong enough to last through the tournament then I couldn’t play.”

At 36, does he feel his body is letting him down? He pauses to think. “No, it still does what I want it to but I am older so it is different, you just have to work harder. There are moments when I try something and it doesn’t happen but it isn’t because of my age.

“I always play in pain, all the time, the last three months I played with a broken finger but you know when pain is manageable or not and most of the time I can do it.

“I can still do what I did when I was 25 but the body is changing, so your thought process has to change too. I have had to change how I think, which is about taking less risk.”

In recent years, Tendulkar has tightened his style, becoming increasingly cautious, but he remains as prolific as ever with an average of 52.11 over the last 18 months. The last year also contained what he considers to be his greatest innings, the unbeaten 103 he made against England in Chennai, for the performance but also for its defiant symbolism coming weeks after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

‘I have been around for a long time, I can imagine when I finish I will long to face just 10 more balls’, says Tendulkar

Even so, some figures in the game have suggested Tendulkar’s powers might be on the wane, including the former Australian coach John Buchanan, who has said he might be losing his confidence against short and quick bowling. Tendulkar’s eyes narrow and he looks close to being annoyed before laughing loudly.

“It is only his opinion, John Buchanan doesn’t have to be right all the time,” he says with a knowing smile. “If I couldn’t handle short deliveries, then I wouldn’t still be scoring runs. Maybe he needs to change his opinion… There must be something very wrong with all the bowlers around the world that they have allowed me to score so many runs.”

After two decades playing international cricket, how has he so ruthlessly accumulated these runs? “The secret to batting is to stay still and just react to what the bowler has done,” he says, making it all sound simple. “You have to be still both in your mind and physically. It is very important that your mind is not full of a lot of thoughts because your reaction time is not going to be good. You have to keep your mind blank.

“The toughest thing is to clear your mind. The mind always wants to be in the past or the future, it rarely wants to be in the present. My best batting comes when my mind is in the present but it doesn’t happen naturally, you have to take yourself there. I am not able to get in that zone as often as I would like but, when you are there, you don’t see anything except the bowler and the ball. You have to allow your instincts to take over, trust me, your instincts are 99 percent right but, you know, the older I get, the more I realise how important your breathing is to good batting. By that I mean, if you focus on breathing and relaxing, you can force yourself into a comfortable place to bat.”

And when the end does finally come Tendulkar says he will not resist it: “I will know when it is the right time, I won’t have to be dragged away… I am the person who will make the decision and I will know whether I still belong.” And what will he do afterwards? “I would like to do something with the game.”

How will he adjust to life without playing cricket? “It is a scary thought,” he says candidly. “It has been there for my whole adult life, it will be difficult, I have been around for a long time, I can imagine when I finish I will long to face just 10 more balls but you have to move away.”

Who will surpass Tendulkar’s record haul of runs? Bradman anointed Tendulkar the player who most reminded him of himself and picked him as the only modern player in his all-time XI. Would Tendulkar extend the same compliment to anyone? “I would say Virender Sehwag comes closest to my style.”

What state will Tendulkar leave the game in when he does eventually retire? He made his name in Test cricket but he has significantly added to his fortune with the emergence of Twenty20 as captain of the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.

“There is no way Test cricket is dying,” he says. “Twenty20 cricket is the dessert and you can’t survive on that. Who wants to eat only desserts? Test cricket is my main course, with all the meat and vegetables, and then it is nice to have Twenty20 as a dessert.”

BUT DOES he have any fears about the growing influence of Twenty20 cricket? “I started playing cricket at six with a tennis ball not because I wanted to be a millionaire but because I loved cricket,” he replies. “Maybe in 10 years or even now people will pick up cricket bats thinking only about the huge money in Twenty20 cricket. Money should just be coincidental. The passion and the desire are the most important thing. I worry about runs, not contracts.”

Following the attacks on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore and those attacks in Mumbai, which prompted the IPL to relocate temporarily to South Africa, Tendulkar has seen terrorism pose an increasing threat to cricket.

“It was a horrible surprise… I was shocked about what happened to the Sri Lankans. I always thought that sportsmen would be left alone and we wouldn’t be targeted.”

Would he ever feel safe touring Pakistan again? “It is not up to me to judge whether it was safe, it is up to the government to make those decisions once they have done their homework.” And that would be enough? “Probably, yes.”

A couple of hours after his arrival, a small band of mostly Indian students are now milling around the front of the store and attempting to take pictures of Tendulkar through the windows.

They are open-mouthed when Tendulkar then steps outside to meet them and sign autographs before strolling down the street, with two unnecessary doormen, to pose for a photograph in the middle of Covent Garden. Once more, even accompanied by a photographer this time, no one gives him so much as a second look. And that is just the way he likes it.

From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 6, Issue 33, Dated August 22, 2009

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main42.asp?filename=hub220809he_of.asp
[tscii:269af1ca3a][/tscii:269af1ca3a]

[ajithfederer]

:clap:.

Young India dreams to be a Sachin Tendulkar

For the fans, he is the cricketer for whom kids have bunked school, the office-goers have feigned illness. After a hard day's work he is the one guy who has lit up the faces of the common man, with his breath-taking performances. Everyone relishes Sachin Tendulkar. His game, his smile, his humility has charmed one and all. At the age of 36, Sachin is still playing with the same passion,

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3136706

[Sourav]

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOICH/2009/08/14&PageLabel=16&EntityId=Ar01601&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

[ajithfederer]

Tendulkar can continue as long as he wants: Ganguly

STAFF WRITER 19:26 HRS IST

Tapan Mohanta

Kolkata, Aug 14 (PTI) Age might be catching up with Sachin Tendulkar but former India captain Sourav Ganguly feels the Mumbai veteran is the best cricketer in the world right now and can continue as long as he wants.

The iconic left-hander said his 36-year-old former opening partner is a better batsman than him and can pick the time to call it quits.

"To be honest, he is a bigger player than I am. He deserves to go whenever he wants to. He is probably the best in the world with (the retired) Brian Lara. He can play until anytime he wants and I am sure his performance will remain consistent," Ganguly told PTI in an interview here today.

Ganguly said he enjoyed partnering Tendulkar at the top and doesn't regret quitting earlier than him.

http://www.ptinews.com/news/230109_Tendulkar-can-continue-as-long-as-he-wants--Ganguly

[ajithfederer]

http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/current/stats/index.html

Thanks to LM's pm we have this piece of information.

http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/current/stats/index.html

Player Matches Awards
JH Kallis 131 20
M Muralitharan 127 19
Wasim Akram 104 17
SK Warne 145 17
RT Ponting 135 15
CEL Ambrose 98 14
SR Waugh 168 14
IT Botham 102 12
BC Lara 131 12
SR Tendulkar 159 12

[ajithfederer]

Download Sachinism E-Magazine - July to August '09 (First Edition) - http://www.4shared.com/file/125492910/f9c17eab/E-Mag.html

[ajithfederer]

List of ODI Wickets taken by Sachin
Sachin took 154 ODI wickets
He took his First ODI wicket on his 9th Match
[R S Mahanama (c: K S More)]
100th wicket on 268th Match
[S R Waugh (c: A B Agarkar)]
List of ODI Wickets
visit: http://www.kingofcricket.com/ODI_Wickets.aspx

[ajithfederer]

ODI Wickets
Match Against Dismissal Date
9 Sri Lanka
- R S Mahanama (c: K S More)
- D Ranatunga (b:)
05 Dec 1990
16 West Indies
- C B Lambert (lbw)
- R B Richardson (c: M Azharuddin)
- A L Logie (c: K S More)
- P J L Dujon (c: K S More)
22 Oct 1991
19 South Africa
- K C Wessels (b:)
10 Nov 1991
22 West Indies
- A C Cummins (c: M Azharuddin)
06 Dec 1991
30 Australia
- G R Marsh (c: M Azharuddin)
18 Jan 1992
35 Pakistan
- Aamir Sohail (c: K Srikkanth)
04 Mar 1992
36 Zimbabwe
- A H Omarshah (b:)
07 Mar 1992
41 South Africa
- A C Hudson (c: M M Prabhakar)
09 Dec 1992
54 Zimbabwe
- D H Brain (st: V Yadav)
19 Mar 1993
60 Sri Lanka
- A Ranatunga (c & b)
07 Nov 1993
62 Zimbabwe
- A C Waller (c: M Azharuddin)
18 Nov 1993
65 West Indies
- B C Lara (b:)
27 Nov 1993
66 Sri Lanka
- R S Mahanama (c & b)
- D P Samaraweera (st: N R Mongia)
- A Ranatunga (c: N R Mongia)
15 Feb 1994
67 Sri Lanka
- S T Jayasuriya (c: N R Mongia)
18 Feb 1994
68 Sri Lanka
- R S Kalpage (st: N R Mongia)
20 Feb 1994
83 West Indies
- B C Lara (lbw)
- J C Adams (c & b)
- S L Campbell (st: N R Mongia)
23 Oct 1994
85 West Indies
- P V Simmons (c: J Srinath)
- S C Williams (c & b)
30 Oct 1994
86 New Zealand
- S P Fleming (lbw)
- S A Thomson (c: S L Venkatapathy Raju)
03 Nov 1994
87 West Indies
- R I C Holder (c: A D Jadeja)
05 Nov 1994
88 West Indies
- P V Simmons (b:)
07 Nov 1994
93 Australia
- G S Blewett (c & b)
22 Feb 1995
99 New Zealand
- N J Astle (lbw)
18 Nov 1995
100 New Zealand
- S P Fleming (c & b)
- C L Cairns (st: N R Mongia)
24 Nov 1995
109 Sri Lanka
- A Ranatunga (lbw)
- H D P Dharmasena (b:)
13 Mar 1996
112 Pakistan
- Inzamam-ul-Haq (c: N R Mongia)
12 Apr 1996
114 Pakistan
- Basit Ali (c: V S Rathore)
- Saqlain Mushtaq (lbw)
15 Apr 1996
120 Sri Lanka
- R S Kaluwitharana (b:)
28 Aug 1996
124 Pakistan
- Saeed Anwar (c: S B Joshi)
17 Sep 1996
126 Pakistan
- Moin Khan (st: N R Mongia)
21 Sep 1996
129 Australia
- M A Taylor (c: M Azharuddin)
21 Oct 1996
142 South Africa
- J N Rhodes (b:)
13 Feb 1997
146 West Indies
- S C Williams (c: R R Singh)
30 Apr 1997
150 Pakistan
- Saeed Anwar (c: S C Ganguly)
- Moin Khan (b:)
21 May 1997
153 Bangladesh
- Athar Ali Khan (lbw)
24 Jul 1997
158 Sri Lanka
- D K Liyanage (c: A D Jadeja)
24 Aug 1997
175 Pakistan
- Inzamam-ul-Haq (c & b)
11 Jan 1998
176 Pakistan
- Ijaz Ahmed (st: N R Mongia)
- Inzamam-ul-Haq (c: Harvinder Singh)
- Manzoor Akhtar (st: N R Mongia)
14 Jan 1998
178 Pakistan
- Azhar Mahmood (c: M Azharuddin)
18 Jan 1998
179 Australia
- M G Bevan (st: N R Mongia)
- S R Waugh (c & b)
- D S Lehmann (lbw)
- T M Moody (st: N R Mongia)
- D R Martyn (c: J Srinath)
01 Apr 1998
180 Zimbabwe
- G W Flower (c: A D Jadeja)
05 Apr 1998
186 New Zealand
- C D McMillan (c: N R Mongia)
20 Apr 1998
187 Australia
- M E Waugh (c: S C Ganguly)
22 Apr 1998
189 Bangladesh
- Hasibul Hussain (b:)
- Anisur Rehman (c: R Dravid)
25 May 1998
193 New Zealand
- C D McMillan (c: A D Jadeja)
23 Jun 1998
201 Australia
- S R Waugh (c & b)
- M G Bevan (b:)
- D R Martyn (c: A D Jadeja)
- B E Young (c: R Dravid)
28 Oct 1998
202 West Indies
- P A Wallace (c & b)
- S Chanderpaul (b:)
31 Oct 1998
206 Zimbabwe
- A R Whittall (b:)
11 Nov 1998
207 Zimbabwe
- E A Brandes (b:)
13 Nov 1998
208 New Zealand
- M J Horne (lbw)
09 Jan 1999
209 New Zealand
- M J Horne (lbw)
- A C Parore (st: N R Mongia)
- G R Larsen (st: N R Mongia)
12 Jan 1999
211 New Zealand
- D J Nash (c: S C Ganguly)
16 Jan 1999
235 Australia
- M E Waugh (st: S S Dighe)
26 Jan 2000
239 South Africa
- L Klusener (c: S S Dighe)
12 Mar 2000
240 South Africa
- G Kirsten (b:)
- N Boje (c: A B Agarkar)
- W J Cronje (lbw)
- L Klusener (c: S C Ganguly)
15 Mar 2000
242 South Africa
- D M Benkenstein (b:)
19 Mar 2000
247 Bangladesh
- Habibul Bashar (c: M Azharuddin)
- Aminul Islam (c: A Kumble)
30 May 2000
248 Sri Lanka
- M S Atapattu (c: R Dravid)
- R P Arnold (c: R Dravid)
01 Jun 2000
251 Australia
- R T Ponting (c: R R Singh)
07 Oct 2000
252 South Africa
- N Boje (b:)
- R Telemachus (c: B K Venkatesh Prasad)
13 Oct 2000
253 New Zealand
- C D McMillan (c: S C Ganguly)
15 Oct 2000
255 Zimbabwe
- A Flower (c: S B Joshi)
22 Oct 2000
258 Sri Lanka
- K C Sangakkara (b:)
29 Oct 2000
259 Zimbabwe
- A Flower (st: V Dahiya)
02 Dec 2000
260 Zimbabwe
- A D R Campbell (c: R Dravid)
05 Dec 2000
261 Zimbabwe
- A Flower (c: V Dahiya)
08 Dec 2000
268 Australia
- A C Gilchrist (b:)
- S R Waugh (c: A B Agarkar)
- D S Lehmann (c: Yuvraj Singh)
06 Apr 2001
280 South Africa
- J H Kallis (b:)
- J N Rhodes (st: R Dravid)
26 Oct 2001
285 England
- N Hussain (c: A Ratra)
31 Jan 2002
286 England
- A R Caddick (c: A Kumble)
03 Feb 2002
288 West Indies
- B C Lara (c: D Mongia)
02 Jun 2002
296 Zimbabwe
- A Flower (c: S C Ganguly)
- S V Carlisle (b:)
14 Sep 2002
297 England
- A J Stewart (c: S C Ganguly)
22 Sep 2002
299 Sri Lanka
- D P M Jayawardene (c & b)
29 Sep 2002
313 Kenya
- S O Tikolo (b:)
- C O Obuya (lbw)
20 Mar 2003
316 Australia
- I J Harvey (b:)
26 Oct 2003
328 Australia
- M L Hayden (b:)
08 Feb 2004
331 Pakistan
- Inzamam-ul-Haq (lbw)
19 Mar 2004
332 Pakistan
- Abdul Razzaq (c: Mohammad Kaif)
21 Mar 2004
334 U.A.E
- Mohammad Tauqir (st: R Dravid)
- Abdul Rehman (b:)
- Rizwan Latif (c: V V S Laxman)
16 Jul 2004
336 Bangladesh
- Khaled Mashud (c: R Dravid)
- Manjural Islam Rana (b:)
- Mohammad Rafique (b:)
21 Jul 2004
337 Pakistan
- Shoaib Malik (c: Mohammad Kaif)
- Younis Khan (b:)
- Mohammad Sami (c: Mohammad Kaif)
24 Jul 2004
338 Sri Lanka
- D P M Jayawardene (b:)
27 Jul 2004
339 Sri Lanka
- D P M Jayawardene (c: Yuvraj Singh)
- T M Dilshan (st: R Dravid)
01 Aug 2004
342 Bangladesh
- Rajin Saleh (st: M S Dhoni)
- Khaled Mashud (lbw)
- Khaled Mahmud (c: Joginder Sharma)
- Mashrafe Mortaza (st: M S Dhoni)
27 Dec 2004
343 Pakistan
- Inzamam-ul-Haq (b:)
- Mohammad Hafeez (c: A Nehra)
- Abdul Razzaq (c: V Sehwag)
- Shahid Afridi (c: Zaheer Khan)
- Mohammad Sami (c & b)
02 Apr 2005
346 Pakistan
- Abdul Razzaq (c: M Kartik)
12 Apr 2005
347 Pakistan
- Shoaib Malik (c: Zaheer Khan)
15 Apr 2005
355 South Africa
- M V Boucher (c: R Dravid)
16 Nov 2005
361 Pakistan
- Inzamam-ul-Haq (c: M S Dhoni)
13 Feb 2006
362 Pakistan
- Inzamam-ul-Haq (lbw)
16 Feb 2006
373 South Africa
- J M Kemp (c: V Sehwag)
29 Nov 2006
375 West Indies
- B C Lara (st: M S Dhoni)
21 Jan 2007
376 West Indies
- D R Smith (c: R R Powar)
- I D R Bradshaw (c: G Gambhir)
24 Jan 2007
380 Sri Lanka
- R P Arnold (lbw)
11 Feb 2007
383 Bermuda
- R D M Leverock (c: M S Dhoni)
19 Mar 2007
384 Sri Lanka
- W U Tharanga (lbw)
23 Mar 2007
385 Ireland
- R K Whelan (st: K K D Karthik)
23 Jun 2007
388 South Africa
- J M Kemp (b:)
- A J Hall (c: K K D Karthik)
01 Jul 2007
403 Pakistan
- Shahid Afridi (st: M S Dhoni)
- Shoaib Malik (c: G Gambhir)
05 Nov 2007

[ajithfederer]

sachin 120 vs srilanka in 1999 part 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUz2JQkvPcU)

sachin 120 vs srilanka in 1999 part 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njBcgKtC0n4&feature=related)

sachin 120 vs srilanka in 1999 part 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bz0JvqoGdM&feature=related)

[ajithfederer]

"To get the opportunity to play against someone that you have watched and held in such high esteem as Sachin Tendulkar, when you bowl at him you are not just trying to get him out, you are trying to impress him.

"I want him to walk off thinking 'that Flintoff, he's all right isn't he?' I feel privileged to have played against him.

Flintoff on Tendulkar (http://www.espnstar.com/cricket/the-ashes/news/detail/item312254/Freddie-plays-down-place-in-history/)

First line takes the cake :clap:.

[Plum]

idhai naan ingE link paNNiyE aagaNum (http://duckingbeamers.wordpress.com/2009/08/26/stats-that-prove-tendulkars-the-best)

As ever, Ponting's propped up greatness thanks to his team is exposed.
One fact of note - Lara trumps Tendul here.

[littlemaster1982]

Plum,

This is one of your best posts. Seriously :)

[Plum]

Plum,

This is one of your best posts. Seriously :)

Unga kitta indha award vaangaNumnu dhaan post paNNinEn :-)

[P_R]

Aha brahmarishi Plummanaar

The whole article (http://outsideedge.wordpress.com/2009/08/23/the-best-odi-batsmen/) is well written

[Sanguine Sridhar]

Good post Plum! :clap:

[littlemaster1982]

Plum,

This is one of your best posts. Seriously :)

Unga kitta indha award vaangaNumnu dhaan post paNNinEn :-)

:roll:

[Plum]

Plum,

This is one of your best posts. Seriously :)

Unga kitta indha award vaangaNumnu dhaan post paNNinEn :-)

:roll:

adhavadhu indha Rahman vishayathula namakkuLLa appappo arasal purasal aayidudhu. UngaLa remba pagaichukkAma irukka, appappo ipdi oru post pOdalAmEnnu dhaan..

[crajkumar_be]

Plum
:notworthy:

[littlemaster1982]

Plum,

This is one of your best posts. Seriously :)

Unga kitta indha award vaangaNumnu dhaan post paNNinEn :-)

:roll:

adhavadhu indha Rahman vishayathula namakkuLLa appappo arasal purasal aayidudhu. UngaLa remba pagaichukkAma irukka, appappo ipdi oru post pOdalAmEnnu dhaan..

Mudhalla edho ulkutthu irukkumo-nu ninaichen. May be I was wrong :)

[P_R]

May be I was wrong :) ungaLai maadhiri nallavanga indha oorlayE illeenga :lol2:

[littlemaster1982]

:notworthy:

[Plum]

May be I was wrong :) ungaLai maadhiri nallavanga indha oorlayE illeenga :lol2:
ada avaru dhaan nambittarulla...poyi chinna puLLa manasa keduthukittu..:evil:

[crajkumar_be]

:lol:

[littlemaster1982]

[tscii:d9f633121b]The Buzz Of Greatness (http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?206805)

Much before he commences strapping on his armour, a nation begins to prepare. Across the land in dispirited homes and listless offices, a strange frisson starts to course. The frisson has a hormonal edge, a near sexual charge. In pulsating minutes a sublime duet will be set in motion, it will play between the puissant boy- emperor and his loyal subjects. Soon the boy and his people will be locked in an intense jugalbandi, his every movement of preparation finding its echo in a million eyes scanning time dials, in a million feet beginning to fidget. When he shrugs his shoulders to loosen his cervical knots, a million backs will stretch in preparation for the combat. As he wraps on his elbow-guard, as he flattens his curls with a meshed helmet, his subjects, scattered over the different time- zones of his vast domains, will ready themselves in different ways, simmering tea, pouring whisky, and finally falling prostrate before the TV.

Brilliant men will take pause; important men will take pause. In tribute to one man’s magic, even the traffic will thin. In both statistics and soul, Sachin Tendulkar is not yet the greatest batsman to play the game, and he may well never be— the Don providing the one full stop in a game littered with question marks. He is perhaps not even the greatest Indian batsman to play the game— Sunny was a warrior of the highest rank, without fear, his talent forged in steel, and it does us no credit to dethrone him so readily.

However, all this is contingent on the "not yet". For Sachin is only 25, and what he is already, is indisputably great. (Comparisons with the Don and Sunny have to be seen in context of the pressure he plays under. The media glare is unremitting, the burden of expectation limitless, and the pace blistering. In their entire international careers the Don played on 10 different grounds, Sunny on 55: Sachin has already weathered 80 different arenas.) In time, he will be greater. In time he will create a mountain of statistics so high its crest will not even be visible to ordinary players. In time he will be knighted. And perhaps in time Sir Sachin will be greater than Sir Sunil, Sir Vivian, and who knows in some arcane reckoning even Sir Donald.

What he already has perhaps in more abundance than any other batsman in history is a certain buzz. It is what marks out the greatest sports legends. Muhammad Ali did not have the greatest win- loss record, but he had the buzz of greatness from the first moment he stepped into the ring to take on Sonny Liston; Michael Jordan has never scored 100 points in a game like Wilt the Stilt but he’s carried the buzz from the day he set foot into the NBA ; Pele had it as a 17- year- old. Sachin had it at 13, as a soft- skinned schoolboy; at 16 when he made his international debut he made it as a star.

What is this buzz? It is the X factor. It is where the analysis stops and the awe begins. It is the sense of a whole far greater than its discernible parts. It is Joyce without a dictionary. It is the outer frontiers of human ability and endeavour where ordinary humans can never hope to roam. It is the supreme admiration across which no envy casts its shadow. It is the promise of the impossible. It is god-head without religion.

It is this buzz that Sachin has, this lurking knowledge that he can do anything on a cricket field, that he can change the rules of the game with his bat— and occasionally ball— which brings the spectators to the stadiums. And also the connoisseurs, the experts, the players. The stories are legion of top international players stopping everything they are doing to watch this boy (man?) bat. Even the Don has nodded from his lofty perch. Six months ago, late one night there was a call from Wiltshire, England. It was the great writer Sir Vidiadhar, V. S. Naipaul, on the line. He had heard about Sachin’s back- to- back centuries at Sharjah, the first struck in a swirling storm. He had heard the boy bats like Bradman. Was it possible to obtain a videotape, on returnable basis, of those two knocks? The buzz spreads everywhere, and affects everyone.

It is to Sachin’s enduring credit that in 1998 he finally came to terms with his talent, his billing, and his place in the history of the game. The flicker of doubt that often shadowed his face vanished for good. For the first time the knowledge of who he is could be seen shining grimly in his eyes. A batsman doesn’t become Bradman or Gavaskar because he has unique potential; he does because he goes out everyday and ravages bowlers, and refuses to give them his wicket. In 1998 Sachin finally learnt to play by his own yardstick; not for transitory fame, but for permanent glory. In this, his annus mirabilis, the instinctive plunderer seemed to have learnt that the status he needs to seek is not that of a marauding Mongol but that of a grand Moghul, capable of both conquest and consolidation.

Through the year there was a growing feeling that the prodigy had finally come into his real groove, found his true metier. Today it can be safely wagered that Sachin will end up going places no one has gone before. In the one- day game, he could well end up becoming the definitive batsman, just as the Don is in Test cricket. In Tests, he will make more runs than Allan Border, hit more centuries than Sunny, and yes, make not one double century, but several, and for good measure perhaps reel off even a triple. This is not idiot fantasy, but a fair measure of the man’s worth and determination— finally in luminous evidence this year.

Above all he will continue to pack in the viewers as no batsman has in recent times. He has given us our most stirring moments in a generally gloomy year. And yet he can somehow make us soar beyond crass nationalism. Very often we don’t mind if India loses as long as we can see him conjure up one of his glorious displays of batting. Let him get out cheaply and hordes of us lose interest. Ajay Jadeja once said presciently that his grandchildren would not ask him about his performances but what it was like to play with Sachin Tendulkar. Indians are fortunate that the defining player of the era is one of them; and that he carries himself with a character and dignity first given rare contours by Sunny. Indians are lucky that a short, gifted man can, with a few swishes of his wand, take away the cares and drudgery of their lives and transport them to a 22- yard pleasure palace where the onslaught of disease and the price of onions is for fleeting hours no more real than a distant mirage.

_________________________

Thanks AF for the link :D[/tscii:d9f633121b]

[littlemaster1982]

[html:5c8569db5d]
http://i30.tinypic.com/hrlppe.jpg
[/html:5c8569db5d]

Thalaivar is in Bangalore now. Stadium-kkulla vida mattenuttanunga :curse:

[ajithfederer]

Dravid Adds Value To The Team-Sachi!!!
Senior Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar feels Dravid's inclusion after close to two years has added "value" to the ODI team and his experience would come in handy during the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the subsequent CT in South Africa.

"It should help the team. He brings in a lot of experience on the table and also a lot of skill. I think his will be good value addition to the team,"

Sachi said the team is fitter and hungrier after wrapping up a four-day training camp in Bangalore to prepare for the tri-series in Sri Lanka, where New Zealand is the third team.

"The camp has ended on a positive note and the team looks pretty solid and hungry. Sri Lanka is one place which is not very free scoring," he said.

"It will be a challenge for some of the strokeplayers in our team. As boundaries can be difficult to come by, there will be a lot of running between the wickets involved," he added.

Sachi said all the three participating teams were evenly matched and it is difficult to say which one of them would eventually win the short series.

"We are an extremely good fielding unit and we turned around games with our fielding. It is a misconception to assume that N Zealand and Sri Lanka have an edge over us.

"We run well between the wickets, our run out conversion is good, our catching ability is amongst the best, our bowlers are much more disciplined as they don't bowl wides and no balls. I think we are three evenly matched teams," he said.

Asked whether the Indians had decoded mystery spinner Mendis, who has tormented them in the past, Tendulkar said, "These are the contests created by the media. Mendis, Muralitharan or Vaas are all good bowlers and we as a team respect them. At the same time we have a plan for each one of them."
"On the last trip batsmen like Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir handled Mendis and Murali really well. I think we can build on that. These youngsters bring a fresh approach and mindset which then rubs off on others which helps the team produce good results,".

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/SPORTS/Cricket/Top-Stories/Dravid-adds-value-to-the-team-Tendulkar/articleshow/4954243.cms

[ajithfederer]

Issued in the interest of Sschin Fans :

3:16, jk 316 runs short of 17k runs in ODI's by Master. Let's hope he cracks them soon.

[ajithfederer]

Sachin's most painful dismissal !!!!!
Hey guys .. chose one of the following dismissals which hurt u the most ? and wanted to bang the TV..

1. World cup 1996
Sachin was out on 65 ...and then team collapsed to 120/8 in no time ... Unfortuante dismissal st kaluwitharana b dharmasena

2. Pakistan
1999 Chennai test Tiger fighting his bach ache was playing magnificently on 136 ... India was 254/6 ..needing 17 runs He tried to finish the match .. but...until this happened c wasim akram b saqlain mushtaq India collapsed 258 all out ..

3. World cup 2003

A very short dismissal c nd b macgrath for 4 runs ..
India was hammered for 359 runs was down with confidence

Sachin said to everyone guys .. if we score one 4 per over .. that will make 200 in 50 balls

so what it leaves the target down to ???160 in 250 balls .. is it fair enough ??? come .lets give it a try ..
Then he said guys somebody needs to wack mcgrath off his lien and length else we wont reach our target .. i wil do it by myself ..

it must have been so inspiring isnt it ?bbeing in that pavillion to hear someone talks like that ??

his plan failed but we are proud of u anyhow sachin..

4. England

At bangalore..

batting fluently till 80 runs sachin was targetted on leg stump line

12 inches outside the leg stump by a third class spinner called Ashley giles!!!! struggled to make till 90

then sachin lost his cool without reading the line of the ball went for big one and .. st foster b giles for 90 runs Champ lost a hundread !!!

http://www.orkut.com/Main#CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=23803&tid=5371682336922174643

[Vivasaayi]

first two!

[P_R]

WC 96 semi.
IIRC Kaluwitharana intentionally moved a moment later...so Sachin had the split second delay in deciding on coming back to the crease. And that was the end.

With Sachin playing the way he was...the final would have been ours.

[littlemaster1982]

Kaluwitharana actually fumbled with the ball. When Sachin stepped out for a split second, Kalu collected the ball and removed the bails. That was really close :|

[ajithfederer]

No lm.


AFAIR sachin was clearly out and by the body language of his he knew that he was OUT. :). Srilanka completely deserved that victory. Th!@ azharrum avanukapram Jadejavum out aavanuga paarunga. I still feel that the match could have been fixed by Azhar.

[Vivasaayi]

WC 96 semi.
IIRC Kaluwitharana intentionally moved a moment later...so Sachin had the split second delay in deciding on coming back to the crease. And that was the end.

With Sachin playing the way he was...the final would have been ours.

and That would had been the only occasion where a single person single handedly won a tournament with his magic..

[crajkumar_be]

Sachin's most painful dismissal !!!!!
Hey guys .. chose one of the following dismissals which hurt u the most ? and wanted to bang the TV..

1. World cup 1996
Sachin was out on 65 ...and then team collapsed to 120/8 in no time ... Unfortuante dismissal st kaluwitharana b dharmasena

2. Pakistan
1999 Chennai test Tiger fighting his bach ache was playing magnificently on 136 ... India was 254/6 ..needing 17 runs He tried to finish the match .. but...until this happened c wasim akram b saqlain mushtaq India collapsed 258 all out ..


Of course it has to be between 1 and 2.
WC 96 semi-final: I had my 12th Physics/Chemistry exam the next day, after his dismissal i went to my friend's place for "combined study". Bus la irukkumbodhu kanlerndhu thanni vandhuruchu :( Needless to say, the exam was a disaster (varusham poora ozhunga padichirukkanum-ngaradhu vera vishayam) Definitely a black day for Indian cricket. There were two matches going on out there with two pitches. With Sachin and wihtout Sachin. Enna authority :notworthy:

[crajkumar_be]

With Sachin playing the way he was...the final would have been ours.
:yes: 200%

[P_R]

Needless to say, the exam was a minor disaster

adhula paarunga March 2000-la ippidi historic match edhuvum nadakkaama pOchchu. excuse kidaikkAma romba kashtappattOm. EdhO irukkuradhai vachu adjust paNNa vENdiyadhA pOchu:

Nightwatchman-A vandha Nicky Boje-vai allrounderaa naama mould paNNa match (Azhar's last test where he got a century) was the last match then. Home series whitewash.

andha sOgathulayE paritchai ezhudhunOmA.... :lol2:

[crajkumar_be]

:oops: :lol: :lol2: Adhaane!

[P_R]

Kaluwitharana actually fumbled with the ball. When Sachin stepped out for a split second, Kalu collected the ball and removed the bails. That was really close :|

Not a fumble... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJJ2x3sK628) looks like Kaluwitharana picked up the ball from the ground and removed the bails off. What was Sachin thinking !!!

6:51 side-vaayan Boycott vaayai vachirukkAn :x


btw Sachin 2/34. (http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/65190.html)...next only to Srinath. And the 2 included Ranatunga

Ashish Gafoor ellAm WC semifinal varaikkum viLayaada vitturukkOm ! 16 included Salil Angola :lol2: Enna central government, enna state government.