Sir Sachin Tendulkar 4

[SoftSword]

i wish him to get rid of his defensive mode and go all attacking before calling it a day/era...

[Arvind Srinivasan]

Batting average plummetted to 53.86. Even during the worst tennis elbow and shoulder injury days of 2004-06 it was close to 55.

3.09 point drop since WC 2011.

Another article by some boha on why tendulkar should retire now is in cricinfo.

Iam sure the average went below 53 in the 2008 SL tour. But nothing can deny the fact that he's on the wane. It's been a sad decline. But he hasn't looked bad at all IMHO . Got starts, looked fairly comfortable facing pacers, but struggled against spin..

[Arvind Srinivasan]

i wish him to get rid of his defensive mode and go all attacking before calling it a day/era...

Yes. He is overtly defensive to even the crappiest of bowlers for reasons best known to him.

[P_R]

On Being Tendulkar in 2013 http://cricketingview.blogspot.in/2013/03/on-being-tendulkar-in-2013.html

[ajithfederer]

No it was above 54.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/35320.html?class=1;spanmax1=01+sep+2008;spanval1=s pan;template=results;type=batting;view=match

Iam sure the average went below 53 in the 2008 SL tour. .

[Arvind Srinivasan]

^ Oh...I got it wrong then....

[ajithfederer]

Quick Singles with Pragyan Ojha

Do you have a unique cricket souvenir?
I have the impression of Sachin paaji's right palm in Plaster of Paris, which I have framed and will hang in my new house, which is under construction.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/627313.html

[ajithfederer]

Rarest of rare uploads.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjAamuy1cgo

Sachin Tendulkar 91 vs England at Sharjah 1997

[ajithfederer]

Found an interesting piece on 90's cricket. Absolutely great writing. Sparks some very good memories on the int'l cricket

Now this is for the others, not for the Diehards or the Fanbois. There usually are several tipping points in players' careers. I felt that in Kambli's case, he started out mastering domestic bowlers for a few seasons starting from around 1990. Once he got to Tests, he realised the English pacemen had little venom, and the spinners little bite, and he extended his mastery to the international level. Now it must be said that he really was on top of his game - just to quote an instance, there was this Oct 1993 Duleep trophy game where South Zone was playing West Zone, Kumble came on to bowl the first morning and promptly Kambli went down the pitch and slapped the first ball so hard and high, it smacked the parapet wall of the stadium and bounced inside. This was confidence at its peak, those were 2 golden years where Kambli could do nothing wrong(Dravid mentioned this in Cricinfo recently).

The run continued till '94 till the day of reckoning which was the Bombay test morning against WI. It was a very lively wicket and Walsh simply made the ball talk. Kambli kept flashing and lived dangerously to score 40 but clearly he was sorted out in that innings. He came face to face with some serious deficiencies that he'd never encountered before in his armour.
There was no real test by fire in 1995 so Kambli chose to take things easy and not work on his flaws. More significantly he was running into discipline issues and his drinking problem escalated.

Where Kambli lost out was in the 1994-95 series with England A who were travelling India. India A had a very extended series with them and the prominent ones for Ind A were Dravid, Ganguly, Amre, Mazumdar etc. That was a very crucial series played on lively wickets all along with the English seamers finding plenty of help. Dravid and Ganguly played several decent knocks then, often having to endure several periods of testing to work out the runs.

I think later in 1995 there was also a SAARC Cup played in Bangladesh or so....this was also on very lively wickets. Ganguly, Dravid and Amre were very much in the thick of things there. That proved to be a valuable experience as well. Honestly, I was pretty surprised at the tremendous transition of Ganguly when June 1996 came along. Looking back, its not hard to see how it happened.

Meanwhile, Tendulkar had a pretty glorious 1994-95 as well in the Ranji trophy. I remember him belting out 856 runs in Ranji, in 4 games with 5 centuries. Those 856 runs came off a mere 853 balls. I believe this was the time he really decided to dominate and hit the ball at every scoring opportunity. The piece de resistance was the 1995 semifinal on a treacherous pitch at Mumbai. TN batted first and were all out for some 145 or so. It was expected to be a competitive total on that pitch. Mumbai batted and Tendulkar smashed up 175 off 130 balls to take Mumbai to 330. A modest total but more than enough to win by an innings.

There was a huge difference between the Tendulkar of 1994 and 1996. Note that in the Australiasia Cup 94, he had just started out opening after the success at Auckland in Feb 94(82 off 49 balls blitzkrieg). He was hammering Akram left and right, racing to 72 off 61 balls in the league match and Akram was actually trying to keep Jadeja on strike in around the 10th over or so When the run rate was motoring at run a ball around the 12th over, he really should have looked to consolidate and bring up a 275. Instead he threw his wicket and India collapsed to a modest score. Against Australia, chasing 244, he went after McGrath but it was only a matter of time before someone was going to take a blinder(Taylor did) and he fell for 24. Now Sidhu and Jadeja took over, they were happy to milk the bowling. Warne had them all at sea, coming up with a 7 over spell for 14 runs. Even though, Jadeja and Sidhu notched up 80 plus each. Sidhu decided to go after Warne and fell. Promptly Kambli and Azhar came up to knock off the rest, infact Kambli coming up with that brazen and fantastic assault off Warne

(to be contd later).

http://www.indiancricketfans.com/showthread.php?t=295895&page=5

[ajithfederer]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournament/sachin-tendulkar-bids-adieu-to-odis/top-stories/I-will-stick-to-my-job-and-you-stick-to-yours-Tendulkar-tells-critics/articleshow/19616810.cms?

:facepalm:

[Arvind Srinivasan]

^ This has elicited some amount of criticism.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130419/sports-cricket/article/cricketing-superstars-thin-skins-and-overblown-egos

[SoftSword]

much expected and which he could have avoided as he usually does.

[GSV]

Thala indha IPL, media.. idhellam Vendame..Nalla rest eduthitu Test match ku vaanga..
Indha media kaaran moonjila mulichaale ippadithaan BB's.. Kelvi'ku porandha pasanga..

[Arvind Srinivasan]

Sure he could have avoided that...but I guess every person has a breaking point...

[SoftSword]

Sir's waxwork in Sydney!

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013/04/22/sachin-tendulkars-clothing-mix-up/

[CEDYBLUE]

Happy B'day Sir Sachin :) :)

[VinodKumar's]

Happy Bday Sachin !!!

[littlemaster1982]

Happy Birthday Thalaiva :notworthy: :notworthy:

[GSV]

Happy Birthday Sir.. Entering in to 40's.. nalladhe nadakanum..

[SoftSword]

happy birthday thala!!!
expecting a version 2.0 before u hang ur boots!

[Dinesh84]

Happy Birthday Sachin !

[Arvind Srinivasan]

Belated wishes to Sachin Tendulkar for a wonderful 41st year in his life. Hopefully we get to see him at his best.

[Brianengab]

http://sports.ndtv.com/article/207723

Sachin Tendulkar launches 10 gram gold coin with his image embossed

http://tamil.oneindia.in/img/300x95/2013/05/sachin3545-600_14052013.jpg

[ajithfederer]

LM, sorry to bug you again n again(I even forgot what i was supposed to ask :lol: ) but how much Sachin 50's&100's do we have now?.

(Tests & ODI's)

[littlemaster1982]

LM, sorry to bug you again n again(I even forgot what i was supposed to ask :lol: ) but how much Sachin 50's&100's do we have now?.

(Tests & ODI's)

Innum check pannala :oops: Indha weekend-kkulla kandippa report pandren :lol:

[Arvind Srinivasan]

LM....Sachin retire aagarathukku munnadi intha lista panna nanna irukkum....this has been in the waiting for a long time

[littlemaster1982]

Yeah, I've been dragging this for a long time. Will post it by this week for sure.

[ajithfederer]

No problem at all. Take all the time you want. You are really helpful for doing this. :)

[SoftSword]

No problem at all. Take all the time you want. You are really helpful for doing this. :)

he already has miles to go before he sleeps... u r giving him more assignmends!

[littlemaster1982]

Got this from FB.

After Harbhajan took the wicket of Morris, Sachin on mic: "Brilliant ball from Bhajji, from where I am sitting I think it was a wrong 'un. Perfectly bowled, because it tempted him to play against the spin. And, he is also beaten by the bounce, I feel. I haven't seen the replay, but from where I am sitting I think he is also beaten by the bounce ."

Harsha Bhogle: "Don't worry replays are for simple people like us."

Thalaivar 8-)

[Brianengab]

Indian Air Force drops Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador.

[Brianengab]

http://tamil.webdunia.com/sports/othersports/news/1308/06/1130806020_1.htm

மாநிலங்களவையில் மேஜையைத் தட்டி சச்சின் ஆரவாரம்!

நாடாளுமன்றத்தில் மழைக்கால கூட்டத் தொடர் நடந்துகொண்டிருக்கிறது. அதற்கு வருகை தந்த சச்சின் தனது உற்சாகத்தினால் பலரின் கவனத்தை ஈர்த்துள்ளார்.

மாநிலங்களவைத் தலைவர் ஹமீத் அன்சாரி சாம்பியன்ஸ் கோப்பையை இந்தியா வென்றதற்கு பாராட்டுத் தெரிவிக்கையில் சச்சின் டெண்டுல்கர் உற்சாகமாக மேஜையைத் தட்டி ஆரவாரத்துடன் தன் மகிழ்ச்சியை தெரிவித்தார்.(ஆஹா மேஜைத் தட்டும் பழக்கம் நம்மவரையும் தொற்றிக் கொண்டு விட்டதே! அடுத்து என்ன அரசியல்தான்!)

பிரதமர் மன்மோகனைச் சந்தித்து வாழ்த்து பெற்றார். சச்சின் மனைவி அஞ்சலி பார்வையாளர் பகுதியில் அமர்ந்திருந்தார்.

முன்னதாக இருக்கையில் அமரும் முன்னர் பல உறுப்பினர்களும் சச்சினுக்கு கை கொடுத்தனர். பாலிவுட் பாடலாசிரியர் ஜாவேத் அக்தருடன் சச்சின் கலந்துரையாடினார்.

[Brianengab]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BQ9okq2CAAETNjB.jpg:large

[littlemaster1982]

Ehh, most probably it must be one of his PR guys who is replying to these tweets.

[SoftSword]

answering the prayers is important, does not matter if he delegates the responsibility...

[littlemaster1982]

Two Shots for a Lifetime (http://thecricketcouch.com/blog/2013/08/16/two-shots-for-a-lifetime/)

http://thecricketcouch.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/SRT-trentbridge.jpg


It’s been 23 years since Sachin Tendulkar scored his first century in the international stage. It feels like only yesterday when a young boy walked off the field in the company of Manoj Prabhakar at Old Trafford having saved a Test for India, with his bandaged Power bat politely raised in acknowledgment of the cheers, shirt slightly open, sleeves rolled up, with oversized pads that looked to be covering half his 17 year old body. Now he has 99 more of those hundreds.

It wasn’t until Tendulkar was on the threshold of 100 international hundreds that I had the opportunity to see him wield the willow, in the flesh, at Lord’s. But the 100th hundred wasn’t to be. Not for another 9 months. A seemingly made up stat looked to be weighing down the man who had shouldered the burden of billion expectations rather quite easily for 23 years. Such is sport.

I saw him ping the English bowling at Trent Bridge with a pretty fifty. On his home turf in Mumbai, he toyed with the West Indians to fall only 6 short. A majestic 73 at Melbourne was cut short by a Peter Siddle ripper. I also witnessed an innings that promised a lot more than the eventual 80 when a defensive prod found Hussey in the slips at Sydney. I have seen him bat in 7 Test matches in the space of 18 months. It was like an itinerant father trying to make up for all the lost time, of playing ball with his son in the backyard. There isn’t much time left now – got to make the most of it.

—

Tendulkar’s mastery with a cricket bat in hand has been described as many things, mostly invoking “Genius” and “Great” pretty generously, and without reservations. The Average also noted that of all batsmen, he looked the closest in the way he used to bat. There isn’t a shot in the book that he can’t play while looking, in equal measures, graceful and authoritative.

Some batsmen are remembered for a particular shot that they played so well that they become the benchmark for it. This is what the commentators call it the “typical <insert player name> shot”. A Brian Lara pull to square leg, where he finishes as expertly balanced as a gymnast with one leg raised in the air; a dreamy VVS Laxman’s wristy flick; a King Viv hook (although he owned the leg side from backward square leg to long on), Ricky Ponting’s front full pull; a Virender Sehwag’s flay over backward point; Even as you read this, I’m sure your mind is already recreating those shots by those batsmen.

There was no one that could execute the straight drive with as much technical correctness, elegant ease and pin point precision as Tendulkar has, over the years. No bat-maker’s label reacquainted itself with bowlers of the world as much as Tendulkar’s. There have been countless drives that have scorched past the bowlers, on either side of the wicket, and I witnessed two from the stands that stirred emotions in me like nothing else.

—



“He just sort of leans on it… it’s just a punch. There’s no big follow through, sort of thock. The head sort of goes to the off-stump and he punches it through mid on.”

“You sort of think that he hasn’t hit it, but it just rockets back past mid on. It is an exquisite shot.”

Those words of Nasser Hussain and Chris Cairns, respectively, were about Tendulkar’s signature shot, the on drive.

I was lucky enough to be at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when Tendulkar was in one of those moods where the conditions seemed to be irrelevant and the opposition, utilitarian. After a tentative start just before Tea on Day 2, Tendulkar opened the final session of the day, turning the clock back.

I was sitting in the first row, leaning on the fence, right next to the sightscreen in the Great Southern Stand along with a friend when Tendulkar bisected the gap between the non-striker (Rahul Dravid) and the stumps off a good length delivery from Ben Hilfenhaus. At that instant, in that stupendous moment of cricketing artistry, the joy I felt in watching something so sublime knew no bounds. Euphoria from having seen something supremely special washed over me—the tingling down the spine and the hairs on its end, that only a certain man with a willow in hand caressing a leather orb could cause.

My friend and I leapt out of our seats, cheered and high-fived. If not for that inner voice telling me “Don’t get arrested”, I was ready to jump across the fence and rush across the hallowed turf, to have a closer look at divinity in whites. There aren’t words to describe exactly what I felt at that moment in time. I remember thinking that the only way to convey it to him would be to give him a tight embrace and hope he understood. He surely would have. He must.

Trent Bridge, 2011. India soon to be halfway to a 4-0 shellacking and losing their Number One ranking in Tests to England. Faced with a monumental 4th innings target, Laxman and Dravid were already back in the hutch and the score was 13/2. I was seated in the Radcliffe Road End Lower Level, from which James Anderson was operating.

The arrival of Tendulkar to the crease almost always seems to put the match situation on hold, amongst the fans. After the standing ovation, the fans return to their seats, elbows resting on knees and hands under the chin, unbeknownst creep forward to the edge of their seats, in an avid expectation of a spiritual experience.

In a passage of play of 3 overs, Tendulkar unfurled a couple of off drives of the highest quality against a swing bowler who was on top of his game. Anderson adjusted his fielders at extra cover and mid off only for Tendulkar to find the gap when there was none.

Three slips. James Anderson with a pretty new nut, swinging. Tendulkar pressed forward, leaned in, transferred the weight, covered the line, the high left elbow and soft hands guiding the bat to meet the swerving ball soon after it pitched, screeched it past mid-off, straight towards us. Hallelujah! My English friend Rob, who had snuck in his camera with telephoto zoom lens, captured the moment that forever will be etched in my memory.

The reverberation of those shots still continue to echo in my subconscious – long after they were played; long after the crowds stood up collectively as one and applauded till their palms were sore.

—

My father-in-law is a wise man, and I’m not just saying that for the obvious reason. I like engaging him in conversations on a range of topics from social issues to sports, from politics to religion and everything in between. During one of those chats, he once told me the feeling he had when he held his firstborn child in his hands for the first time. He said, “I could see infinity”, referring to the bond between him, the father, and his son.

I do not have any kids, but I think I know what he means.

[Arvind Srinivasan]

^ Good article LM. So how many matches do you think our man have left?

[littlemaster1982]

I think he would call it a day after SA series.

[Arvind Srinivasan]

Would like him to call it a day in India. But there are no test matches scheduled for the next 10 months here in India. Quite a bummer.

[ajithfederer]

India news

Put temperament above stats - Tendulkar
Alagappan Muthu in Bangalore
August 18, 2013

Sachin Tendulkar speaks at a Karnataka State Cricket Association event, Bangalore, August 17, 2013

Sachin Tendulkar: "It's about vision" © ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Sachin Tendulkar has highlighted factors beyond statistics, particularly the skill to absorb pressure, as vital indicators of fresh talent. Former India captains Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and GR Viswanath were in agreement with Tendulkar, during a discussion on the ingredients that make a good cricketer, at an event to commemorate the platinum jubilee of the Karnataka State Cricket Association in Bangalore on Saturday.

"It's about vision," Tendulkar said. "When it comes to selection, one has to analyse a player. Even if he fails in a few matches, one needs to see if he has the ability to withstand pressure and execute at the international level. I have seen players who are exceptionally good at the domestic level not being able to perform as well in international cricket."

That's a scenario that is not entirely unfamiliar to Karnataka. From dominating the Ranji Trophy in the late nineties, capped with three titles in four seasons from 1995-96 to 1998-99, and at one time boasting six players from the region on the Test side, Karnataka have had no new representatives at the highest level since Vinay Kumar's only Test in January 2012 - though Stuart Binny is currently with the A side on tour in South Africa.

Dravid, the last Karnataka regular in the Test side, identified experience and a desire to learn as remedies to bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket. "Hitting it off the middle in the nets is well and good, but it's different out in the field and under pressure," he said. "Watching the seniors helps. Sachin and Laxman and Sourav, the way they approach the game, the kind of shots they play, the kind of shots they don't play, the way they build an innings ..."

Viswanath continued in the same vein, saying hard work is an ally to talent. "When you look at four or five players, there will be somebody a little better [than the others]. But you can't just sit on your talent," he said. "You have to practice. You have to learn from your seniors. You have to keep working hard. Even Sachin did not become who he is overnight and I'm sure he is still working hard to stay on top of his game."

'Players that played me best'
Kumble - My team: Sehwag, Tendulkar, Laxman, Azharuddin; opposition: Lara, Steve Waugh, Hayden
Erapalli Prasanna - Chandu Borde, Vijay Manjrekar; Garry Sobers
Bishan Bedi - Viswanath; Sobers
Bhagwath Chandrashekar - Ken Barrington, because I could never beat him. I've beaten Sobers, Kanhai, but I was always disappointed bowling to him
Ganguly, though, was swift to point out that every player, while picking the brains of his seniors, must trust in his own style of play and be careful not to copy another's game. "No two players' techniques are the same," he said. "It's all about the basics, going back and going forward."

Dravid agreed: "Individuality is important. Everyone has unique skills. You need to build on your game and keep improving. I was never going to succeed if I batted like Sehwag."

The mantle of teacher need not necessarily be limited to one's seniors, Anil Kumble, the current KSCA president, suggested. He said he considered himself fortunate for having high-quality players of spin in his dressing room. "Bowling against Tendulkar, Ganguly, Sehwag, and Mohammad Azharuddin was a great education for me," he said.

Video footage is another useful tool for a young player, the panel indicated, which had not been available before. Tendulkar remembered his debut series against Pakistan in 1989, when practice sessions were not as organised. "Now we have laptops which provide direct access [to match footage] within seconds to help plan better," he said.

Though far from perfect, as evidenced in the recent Ashes series, Bishan Bedi believes the DRS is here to stay. "In due time it will improve and everything will fall into place," he said. "Cricketers of the modern generation could also help eradicate umpiring blunders by being honest with themselves."

"I see a lot more shots in Tests. We are getting more results," Ganguly said, when the conversation turned to Twenty20 cricket. "Scores of 350, 400 in ODIs. There has been innovation in the game, no doubt."

"Captains are also being creative," Tendulkar added. "They are taking more chances [even if it means] going for runs and trying to get wickets with the ball."

But the fundamentals for success in the longer format still apply, Dravid said: "If you look at Chris Gayle, Michael Hussey, AB de Villiers, they are all very good players in Tests. It is easier for a player with good basics to adapt to T20, but it rarely happens the other way around."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/663191.html

[Arvind Srinivasan]

^ This has again spiralled down to SRT getting criticised. Read news articles from Indiatimes and CNN IBN asking as to how an out of form Tendulkar can advise selectors. Guess people are just waiting for an opportunity to pounce on the man.

[ajithfederer]

^^^^ Avanga kekkaradhum vaasthavam dhan. SA series oda muzhukku dhan nenaikuren.

[Arvind Srinivasan]

He just answered a question posed to him. I am pretty sure it never implied him personally or any other cricketer. Its true that he's invoked a lot of criticism lately for extending his career.But this is just plain media scrutiny over an issue that doesn't require so much attention. For his sake I hope he plays well in SA and leaves on a high.

[Arvind Srinivasan]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/story/667541.html


The BCCI has planned a Test series at home in November against West Indies, ahead of the scheduled South Africa tour, thus ensuring Sachin Tendulkar plays his landmark 200th Test at home; he will perhaps bid farewell to the game at the end of the Test series. However a list of upcoming series approved and announced by the board on Sunday made no mention of the tour of South Africa, scheduled to take place from the end of November.

Tendulkar, who is two Tests short of becoming the first cricketer to feature in 200 Tests, was expected to put an end to his 24-year sojourn at the highest level at the end of the South Africa Test series. The Tests series against West Indies, which will comprise of at least two Tests likely to be played in Kolkata and Mumbai in November, offers him a perfect stage to sign off in his hometown.

The BCCI claimed to have received an email from the WICB confirming its interest in the series, and accordingly placed the proposal before the working committee.

As important as the series is from the Tendulkar angle, the BCCI was also concerned about India's lack of home fixtures for almost 12 months. This would have meant the Indian board's revenues would have taken a hit.

Will be sorely disappointed if the SA tour is called off.

[Arvind Srinivasan]

AF, LM....Have a read at this article on Sachin's 90 against Australia in the 96 WC. Probably one of the best articles that I've read on SRT.....

http://www.wisdenindia.com/cricket-article/sachin-innocent/76462


February 27, 1996. Sachin Tendulkar stands in the middle of Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, his home ground, a pulsing floodlit amphitheatre that sways to his command. He scans the field, dotted with Australian fielders, splotches of mustard sauce in a vast expanse of green. His palms grasp a plank of balsa that points heavenwards. Damien Fleming, goateed, hustles in from the Tata End. Tendulkar pats his bat against the earth once, then twice. The crowd’s chant approaches crescendo. Another pat and Tendulkar is ready; ready for mischief.

And as a reference, here is the ball by ball footage from Robelinda aka Rob Moody


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

[19thmay]

..............And there it is..

Tendulkar to retire after 200th Test

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/story/678469.html

[19thmay]

News padikkum podhey my heart is heavy...

[SoftSword]

he has made it really easy for us by moving out in phases...
we were almost prepared for it in the past one year and so it is manageable...

[ajithfederer]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1380288_10151670521167555_1849621010_n.jpg

"All my life, I have had a dream of playing cricket for India. I have been living this dream every day for the last 24 years. It’s hard for me to imagine a life without playing cricket because it’s all I have ever done since I was 11 years old.

It’s been a huge honour to have represented my country and played all over the world. I look forward to playing my 200th Test Match on home soil, as I call it a day.

I thank the BCCI for everything over the years and for permitting me to move on when my heart feels it's time! I thank my family for their patience and understanding.

Most of all, I thank my fans and well-wishers who through their prayers and wishes have given me the strength to go out and perform at my best” - Sachin Tendulkar.

[19thmay]

200th match venue? Has to be Mumbai...Chennai-la nadatha aasa pattalum mazha vandhrumnu nenaikiren.

[ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar]

Definitely won't be in Chennai. Wankhede will be the correct venue... Just couldn't imagine how time runs so fast !!! Ippo dhaan ivar vandha maadhiri irukku.

[littlemaster1982]

He would like to be at Wankhede, but honestly, those guys don't deserve that :evil:

Thank you Sachin, for all the memories. I'm officially retiring from watching Cricket :wave:

[VinodKumar's]

hmmm so end of 90's era in Indian cricket. All the best for your future endeavours Sachin. Try to stay away from BCCI and ESPN Star group :).

[littlemaster1982]

My favorite pic 8-)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mwwKUbzVerY/TZvdMM4lABI/AAAAAAAAATI/LO35nCDMZII/s1600/25022010001002004.jpg

[VinodKumar's]

I was thinking about how bad we would miss old matches/innings if youtube is not there. At least we are blessed to repeatedly watch our fav cricketrs innings. Namma appa generation lam paavam.

[ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar]

He would like to be at Wankhede, but honestly, those guys don't deserve that :evil:

Agreed LM :)

[GSV]

Evlo sollalaam.. ippodhaiku :notworthy: nalla irunga thalaivare..

[CEDYBLUE]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1374069_721370914546487_1856402153_n.jpg

[ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar]

:lol:

[ajithfederer]

A greatness that transcends the instant
Gideon Haigh: Boxing Day Test match, 2003. Virender Sehwag slashing the ball to all points. But the crowd is waiting for Sachin; it's almost like they're holding something back in expectation. Finally he appears, a tiny white dot amid the coloured throng, and emerges from the gate to a reception of a kind I can imagine greeting Bradman in his pomp. This is the moment. This is the man. I've seen many great visiting players at the MCG, but none, I suspect, whom the crowd has so openly wanted to succeed - his achievement, they sense, will ennoble them also.


Sachin Tendulkar gets a standing ovation of the MCG, Australia v India, 1st Test, Melbourne, 4th day, December 29, 2011
Well loved in Melbourne: Tendulkar at the MCG in 2011 © AFP

Sod's Law. Murphy's Law. The Little Master feathers his first ball down the leg side to the keeper, and the crowd, which has barely finished applauding Tendulkar's entrance, begins to applaud his exit. I am quite proud of my fellow Melburnians. They know that Tendulkar's greatness transcends the fallibility of the instant, and they cheer him to the echo all the way off. At the end of my aisle, two people get up and leave. They've come to see Tendulkar, and not even Sehwag will do. I saw Tendulkar make tons of runs, but this isolated failure, and the public's response, was a telling event in itself.
Gideon Haigh is a cricket writer and historian in Australia

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/678555.html

[19thmay]

I am still unable to digest the fact that Sachin won't play... Nee velada venaam, field-la ninnaale nee azhagu! :(

[Arvind Srinivasan]

Hopefully he plays his last series with the freedom he deserved all through his career. And would be great if the first match is scheduled in Chennai( very much next to impossible though).

[selvakumar]

hmmm so end of 90's era in Indian cricket. All the best for your future endeavours Sachin. Try to stay away from BCCI and ESPN Star group :) .

oh ya.. and stick to Congress party and the M.P post. BCCI and ESPN is pretty much required for him. What he should stay away from is politics unless he is going to become the president of India

[19thmay]

Selva .. WB :)

Who will be 4 now? Rohit?

[selvakumar]

Who will be 4 now? Rohit?
Who is rohit?

[HonestRaj]

Who is rohit?

sharma

[CEDYBLUE]

The legend caps off his Ranji career with a match-winning fourth innings 79* against Haryana. Started his Ranji career with a century and ends it after 25 years with a match-winning innings.

The very thought that we will not have Sachin to lean back to....after the West Indies tour is kinda depressing.

[CEDYBLUE]

Led by Ajay Jadeja

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1380366_10151994037095429_422831270_n.jpg

[ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar]

:clap: :bow:

[uruzalari]

A perfect combination of talent and hard work - Laxman

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/a-perfect-combination-of-talent-and-hard-work/article5314779.ece

[uruzalari]

I will remember Paaji as a great role model - Sehwag


http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/i-will-remember-paaji-as-a-great-role-model/article5314763.ece

[uruzalari]

Focussed Tendulkar ‘upset’ with CAB going overboard

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/focussed-tendulkar-upset-with-cab-going-overboard/article5314252.ece

[uruzalari]

Along with Tendulkar we changed a few things in Indian cricket: Dravid

http://www.rediff.com/cricket/slide-show/slide-show-1-along-with-tendulkar-we-changed-a-few-things-in-the-indian-cricket-rahul-dravid/20131105.htm#1

[uruzalari]

I was inspired by Sachin Tendulkar: Rahul Dravid


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW-2gvYw5A8

[uruzalari]

India batsman Sachin Tendulkar was my greatest opponent, says former Australia spinner Shane Warne


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/india/10436803/India-batsman-Sachin-Tendulkar-was-my-greatest-opponent-says-former-Australia-spinner-Shane-Warne.html

[GSV]

whatta moment over there..

[19thmay]

Yes I cried! What an emotional speech, remembering all from his childhood. Its hard to find a human like him...

[arulraj]

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

[littlemaster1982]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BZLRo62CMAATgxC.jpg:large

Good bye Sachin :)

[littlemaster1982]

Full text of Sachin's speech (http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/story/689203.html)


All my friends. Settle down let me talk, I will get more and more emotional (crowd gets louder and louder as he composes himself). My life, between 22 yards for 24 years, it is hard to believe that that wonderful journey has come to an end, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank people who have played an important role in my life. Also, for the first time in my life I am carrying this list, to remember all the names in case I forget someone. I hope you understand. It's getting a little bit difficult to talk but I will manage.

The most important person in my life, and I have missed him a lot since 1999 when he passed away, my father. Without his guidance, I don't think I would have been standing here in front of you. He gave me freedom at the age of 11, and told me that [I should] chase my dreams, but make sure you do not find short cuts. The path might be difficult, but don't give up, and I have simply followed his instructions. Above all, he told me to be a nice human being, which I will continue to do and try my best. Every time I have done something special [and] showed my bat, it was [for] my father.

My mother, I don't know how she dealt with such a naughty child like me. I was not easy to manage. She must be extremely patient. For a mother, the most important thing is that her child remains safe and healthy and fit. That was what she was most bothered and worried about. She took care of me for the last 24 years that I have played for India, but even before that she started praying for me the day I started playing cricket. She just prayed and prayed and I think her prayers and blessings have given me the strength to go out and perform, so a big thank you to my mother for all the sacrifices.

In my school days, for four years, I stayed with my uncle and aunt because my school was quite far from my home, and they treated me like their son. My aunt, after having had a hard day's play, I would be half asleep and she would be feeding me food so I could go again and play tomorrow. I can't forget these moments. I am like their son and I am glad it has continued to be the same way.

My eldest brother, Nitin, and his family, have always encouraged me. My eldest brother doesn't like to talk much, but the one thing he always told me is that whatever you do, I know you will always give it 100%, and that I have full faith and confidence in you. His encouragement meant a lot to me. My sister, Savita, and her family, was no different. The first cricket bat of my life was presented to me by my sister. It was a Kashmir willow bat. But that is where the journey began. She is one of those many who still continue to fast when I bat, so thank you very much.

Ajit, my brother, now what do I talk about him? I don't know. We have lived this dream together. He was the one who sacrificed his career for my cricket. He spotted the spark in me. And it all started from the age of 11 when he took me to Archrekar sir, my coach, and from there on my life changed. You will find this hard to believe but even last night he called to discuss my dismissal, knowing that there was a remote chance of batting again, but just the habit we have developed, the rapport we have developed, since my birth, has continued and it will continue. Maybe when I'm not playing cricket we will still be discussing technique.

Various things we agreed upon, my technique, and so many technical things which I didn't agree with him, we have had arguments and disagreements, but when I look back at all these things in my life, I would have been a lesser cricketer.

The most beautiful thing happened to me in 1990 when I met my wife, Anjali. Those were special years and it has continued and will always continue that way. I know Anjali, being a doctor; there was a wonderful career in front of her. When we decided to have a family, Anjali took the initiative to step back and say that 'you continue with your cricket and I will take the responsibility of the family'.

Without that, I don't think I would have been able to play cricket freely and without stress. Thanks for bearing with all my fuss and all my frustrations, and all sorts of rubbish that I have spoken. Thanks for bearing with me and always staying by my side through all the ups and downs. You are the best partnership I've had in my life.

Then, the two precious diamonds of my life, Sara and Arjun. They have already grown up. My daughter is 16, my son is 14. Time has flown by. I wanted to spend so much time with them on special occasions like their birthdays, their annual days, their sports day, going on holidays, whatever. I have missed out on all those things. Thanks for your understanding. Both of you have been so, so special to me you cannot imagine. I promise you [that] for 14 and 16 years I have not spent enough time with both of you, but the next 16 years or even beyond that, everything is for you.

My in-laws, Anand Mehta and Annabelle, both have been so, so supportive [and] loving and caring. I have discussed on various things in life, generally with them, and have taken their advice. You know, it's so important to have a strong family who is always with you and who are guiding you. Before you start clapping, the most important thing they did was allowing me to marry Anjali, so thank you very much.

In the last 24 years that I have played for India I have made new friends, and before that I have had friends from my childhood. They have all had a terrific contribution. As and when I have called them to come and bowl to me at the nets, they have left their work aside to come and help me. Be it joining me on holidays and having discussions with me on cricket, or how I was a little stressed and wanting to find a solution so I can perform better.

All those moments my friends were with me. Even for when I was injured, I would wake up in the morning because I couldn't sleep and thought that my career was over because of injuries, that is when my friends have woken up at 3 o'clock in the morning to drive with me and make me believe that my career was not over. Life would be incomplete without all those friends. Thanks for being there for me.

My cricket career started when I was 11. The turning point of my career was when my brother (Ajit) took me to Achrekar sir. I was extremely delighted to see him up in the stands. Normally he sits in front of the television and he watches all the games that I play. When I was 11/12, those were the days when I used to hop back on his scooter and play a couple of practice matches a day. The first half the innings I would be batting at Shivaji Park, the second half, at some other match in Azad Maidan. He would take me all over Mumbai to make sure I got match practice.

On a lighter note, in the last 29 years, sir has never ever said 'well played' to me because he thought I would get complacent and I would stop working hard. Maybe he can push his luck and wish me now, well done on my career, because there are no more matches, sir, in my life. I will be witnessing cricket, and cricket will always stay in my heart, but you have had an immense contribution in my life, so thank you very much.

My cricket for Mumbai started right here on this ground, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), which is so dear to me. I remember landing from New Zealand at four o'clock in the morning, and turning up for a game here at eight o'clock just because I wanted to be a part of Mumbai cricket, and not that somebody forced me. That was for the love of Mumbai cricket, and thank you very much. The president is here so thank you very much, along with your team, for taking care of me and looking after my cricket.

The dream was obviously to play for India, and that is where my association with BCCI started. BCCI was fantastic, right from my debut they believed in my ability and selecting me into the squad at the age of 16 was a big step, so thanks to all the selectors for having faith in me and the BCCI for giving me the freedom to express myself out in the middle. Things would have been different if you had not been behind me, and I really appreciate your support. Especially when I was injured, you were right with me and making sure that all the treatments were taken care of, and that I got fit and fine and playing [right] back for India.

The journey has been special, the last 24 years, I have played with many senior cricketers, and even before that there were many senior cricketers with whom I watched on television. They inspired me to play cricket, and to play in the right way. Thanks to all those senior cricketers, and unfortunately I have not been able to play with them, but I have high regards for all their achievements and all their contributions.

We see it on the mega-screen, Rahul, Laxman, Sourav, and Anil, who is not here, and my team-mates right here in front me. You are like my family away from home. I have had some wonderful times with you. It is going to be difficult to not be part of the dressing room, sharing those special moments. All the coaches for their guidance, it has been special for me. I know when MS Dhoni presented me the 200th Test match cap on day one morning. I had a brief message for the team. I would like to repeat that. I just feel that all of us are so, so fortunate and proud to be part of the Indian cricket team and serving the nation.

Knowing all of you guys, I know you will continue to serve the nation in the right spirit and right values. I believe we have been the lucky ones to be chosen by the Almighty to serve this sport. Each generation gets this opportunity to take care of this sport and serve it to the best of our ability. I have full faith in you to continue to serve the nation in the right spirit and to the best of your ability, to bring all the laurels to the country. All the very best.

I would be failing in my duties if I did not thank all the doctors, the physios, the trainers, who have put this difficult body together to go back on the field and be able to play. The amount of injuries that I have had in my career, I don't know how you have managed to keep me fit, but without your special efforts, it would never have happened. The doctors have met me at weird hours. I mean I have called them from Mumbai to Chennai, Mumbai to Delhi, I mean wherever. They have just taken the next flight and left their work and families to be with me, which has allowed me to play. So a big thank you to all three of you for keeping me in good shape.

My dear friend, late Mark Mascarenhas, my first manager. We unfortunately lost him in a car accident in 2001, but he was such a well-wisher of cricket, my cricket, and especially Indian cricket. He was so passionate. He understood what it takes to represent a nation and gave me all the space to go out and express myself, and never pressurized me to do this ad or promotion or whatever the sponsors demanded. He took care of that and today I miss him, so thank you Mark for all your contribution.

My current management team, WSG, for repeating what Mark has done, because when I signed the contract I exactly told them what I want from them, and what it requires to represent me. They have done that and respected that.

Someone who has worked closely with me for 14 years is my manager, Vinod Nayudu. He is more like my family and all the sacrifices, spending time away from his family for my work, has been special, so big thank you to his family as well for giving up so much time for my work with Vinod.

In my school days, when I performed well, the media backed me a lot. They continue to do that till this morning. Thank you so much to the media for supporting and appreciating my performances. It surely had a positive effect on me. Thank you so much to all the photographers as well for those wonderfully captured moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life, so a big thank you to all the photographers.

I know my speech is getting a bit too long (crowd roars), but this is the last thing I want to say. I want to thank all the people here who have flown in from various parts of the world, and have supported me endlessly, whether I scored a 0 or a 100-plus. Your support was so dear to me and meant a lot to me. Whatever you have done for me.

I know I have met so many guys who have fasted for me, prayed for me, done so much for me. Without that life wouldn't have been like this for me. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, and also say that time has flown by rather quickly, but the memories you have left with me will always be with me forever and ever, especially "Sachin, Sachin" which will reverberate in my ears till I stop breathing. Thank you very much. If I have missed out on saying something, I hope you understand. Goodbye.

[Murali Srinivas]

Coming to this thread after a long long time!

What a day! When one's emotions got better of oneself!

On this D-day, want to reproduce something that I wrote about the God! I was privileged enough to meet him when he came to our organisation! This was written for the company magazine and I am putting it here for your consumption!

D-Day Destiny

It was a day that one had waited to dawn for the past God knows how many years!

It was a day when one's cherished dream of meeting his idol was about to materialise!

When did it all start? Was it when a 15 year old boy was selected for the (then) Bombay Ranji Team way back in 1988?

Was it when the young fellow scored a century on debut in all three (Ranji, Duleep and Irani Tropy) matches, a feat unheard of till then!

Was it when the media speculated that this young turk would be selected for the West Indies Tour of India in 1989?

Was it when he stood up to the pace quartet of Imran, Wasim, Waqar and Aquib Javed in his debut tour and in spite of literally spilling blood on the turf came back and countered the fearsome foursome?

Was it when in the history draped city of Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province, one saw this guy toying with the likes of the wily Qadir who was treated like a club bowler, with the balls continuously disappearing out of the stadium as if possessed?

Was it when the guy stood on the verge of history to become the youngest ever to score a century in a Test at the far end of the Southern Hemisphere in a little town called Napier?

Was it when the guy scored a match saving 119 not out at Old Trafford in the Old Blighty that prompted then the England batsman Allan Lamb to famously remark "Don't tell me this guy is 17"!

Was it when the guy scored a Nelson's Eye of 111 at Wanderers in Johannesburg at the age of 18 against an attack that had a man called White Lightning ?

Was it when the boy still to get out of his teens scored a jaw dropping 114 at WACA, the paceman's paradise at Perth against McDermott and Co in 1992?

One can go and on and on! Now coming to the present --

This man is coming to Chennai and he is visiting our organisation and I am going to be one of the persons selected for meeting him! It took some time for the message to sink in.

The very thought of seeing him in flesh and blood was good enough for me to lose focus on everything else!

Started planning for the meet. What should I talk, what should I ask and what should I wear? A million things were zooming in my mind and people who know me as an addict were asking me what my preparations are?

The D-Day dawned! It so happened that my daughter was to perform a Classic dance recital in the evening on the same day! But that hardly mattered to me! [My daughter knowing me had said "Dad, I would miss you but still it is fine because I don't want you to miss your D-Day". Such a sweet child!)

Though contrary to my expectations the meet didn't happen in the Branch and we were asked to come to another location for the meet and where it transpired that I rather our team from the Branch had to sit among few hundreds, still that didn't deter me. We had to be at our seat early and so lunch was skipped and I for that matter had not taken breakfast also. One didn't even feel it.

We had taken our seats in front of the podium so that there was no hindrance in seeing him. It was 1.30 pm and he was supposed to come at 3 pm. We never moved out and with the ticking of the clock the huge pantry hall was becoming one large mass of humanity and hundreds kept pouring in. All known faces and colleagues were criss crossing and everybody was acknowledged with a mechanical wave of hands with mind hovering somewhere else.

There was this known gentleman colleague of mine who on seeing my excitement and knowing that I outnumber my idol in age (the only area where I can outscore him!) asked me "Sir, you too a fan of him?" for which pat came my reply " No sir! I am not his Fan" and after a brief pause said "He is like my younger Brother" leaving my colleague stunned!

Now the clock was tickling fast and every time the door opened there was a huge roar only to subside on seeing somebody else. Finally the man walked in and the roar turned into a cresendo that was never to die down!

Somebody welcomed! He acknowledged! Questions were put to him! He answered! For me everything was surreal and were getting registered at the back of my mind. But there at that moment the only thing that I was seeing and enjoying was I was in his presence and that lasted for close to 20 minutes, a chance that not many people get!

I did not speak to him! I did not click a photograph with him! I could not even go near him! Well these are all small things. What finally mattered was I had seen him in close quarters and it was my tyrust with destiny.

Friday the 11th January of 2013 would remain as a blessed day for me!

Thank You (My organisation)!

Thank You Sir for agreeing to meet mortals like us by coming down to our place!

A man whose name is permanently etched in the Hall of Fame!

A man whose name is permanently etched in the History of Cricket!

A man whose name is permanently etched in the hearts of Billions!

But a man who has his head firmly on his shoulders and feet firmly on the ground!

There was no one before him!

There is no one like him!

There will be no one after him!

Supreme Rare Talent

SRT can also be expanded like this!

But SRT will always be Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar !

Long Live Little Master!

Long Live Bharat Ratna Sir Sachin Tendulkar!

Regards

[RAGHAVENDRA]

Dear Murali Sir
Very well expressed statement about SRT and from the bottom of the heart. You almost reflected every one's thought.

[parthasarathy]

This is my posting in the Forum Hub other than the Great Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan.

For the first time, I am posting something for some one other than NT and it is the Great SRT.

At this glorious moment, every Indian should be proud of having Sachin as a man of our own soil.

Long live SRT and thank you Sachin for bestowing on us the joy over the last 24 years.

Regards,

R. Parthasarathy

[CEDYBLUE]

Tendulkar's retirement and the fact that his batting will not be part of my life anymore, is like losing someone near/dear in my family.

I may sound a tad emotional and slightly outdated, but the truth of the matter is, to me, nothing can replace the sheer joy that Sachin brought to my life.

His success gave me joy, when he was hurt, I felt the pain.

Love, you Dear Master and Stay Blessed, forever!!

Thank you for all the Memories.

[Cinemarasigan]

Full text of Sachin's speech (http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/story/689203.html)

Very Very Emotional... it is very difficult digest that Sachin is not going to play Cricket any more for India...

[CEDYBLUE]

DAVID RICHARDSON, CEO of International Cricket Council (ICC):

"He was an exceptional cricketer who earned the utmost respect of his peers, team mates, opponents and fans all over the world through his talent, performances and fierce competitiveness.

"His 664 internationals, 34,357 runs and 100 centuries over 24 years not only illustrate his determination and commitment to the game but also his mental and physical toughness which are the vital ingredients to reach the highest pedestal in any sport.

"Sachin always put his team ahead of himself during his illustrious career but he picked up a number of personal accolades which highlights his brilliance.

"Sporting geniuses like Sachin are rare phenomena and we are privileged to have seen him in action. On behalf of the ICC and the entire cricketing family, I thank Sachin for his unprecedented services to our sport and we wish him well in the future."

[CEDYBLUE]

ANJALI, wife of Sachin Tendulkar:

"I have always known, from even before we got married, he is not only mine. Cricket comes first. He belongs to Mumbai, he belongs to the country and then he belongs to us.

"I can imagine cricket without Sachin but I can't imagine Sachin without cricket."

[CEDYBLUE]

Tweets:

ROGER FEDERER, tennis great:
"What a remarkable career @sachin_rt. Wish you the very best moving forward #ThankYouSachin"

SANIA MIRZA, India tennis player:
"So emotional...the whole country is...we will miss u #RESPECT #SACHIN #LEGEND"

MICHAEL CARRICK, England footballer:
"A true great of sport @sachin_rt retiring, had some innings!! The little master will be missed."

GRAEME SMITH, South Africa captain:
"Sorry I missed @sachin_rt last game.what can you say about a man that did so much for our great game! all the best in retirement & thank you!"

MATTHEW HAYDEN, former Australia cricketer:
"Chase dreams and no short cuts, be a good person #dad patience, prayers and sacrifices #mum whatever you do, do it 100%#brother #Sachin"

BRETT LEE, former Australia cricketer:
"Congrats to the legend @sachin_rt well done mate on everything you have achieved. A phenomenal career"

DARREN LEHMANN, Australia coach:
"Congratulations to Sachin on a magnificent career! One of the best of all time in the world of cricket, plenty of memories from him!"

DAMIEN FLEMING, former Australia cricketer:
"Well done on a great career #Sachin And #ThankYouSachin all the headaches bowling to you in your prime"

TOM MOODY, former Australia cricketer:
"Moving & classy speech by the "little master" composed & graceful to the very end. #ThankYouSachin"

GRAEME SWANN, England cricketer:
"I'm not sure if you heard but Sachin Tendulkar retired today! What a great little player and lovely bloke #ThankYouSachin"

LUKE WRIGHT, England cricketer:
"Such a honour to have watched and played against Sachin. He is a different class and yet still a great person. #ThankYouSachin"

CHRIS GAYLE, West Indies cricketer:
"Was absolutely a pleasure being a part of history Sachin Tendulkar 200 Test Match. #legends"

VIRENDER SEHWAG, India cricketer:
"Been an emotional time for me since the announcement #SRT. Can't articulate what he means to me, it's so personal! #ThankYouSachin"

SANJAY MANJREKAR, former India cricketer:
"He was the first to reach the ground & last to leave for 29 yrs. Don't think any cricketer will miss the game as much as Tendulkar will."

AAKASH CHOPRA, former India cricketer:
"Damp eyes...lump in my throat. A final goodbye. #ThankYouSachin"

HARBHAJAN SINGH, India cricketer:
"Let's salute the master. Cricket won't be the same without u. For me u r cricket. Thank u paji for everything"

IRFAN PATHAN, India cricketer:
"Most emotional retirement of world cricket but Sachin Tendulkar isn't retiring from our heart, #ThankYouSachin" (Compiled by Sudipto Ganguly; editing by Clare Fallon)

[CEDYBLUE]

Omar Abdullah, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister

Haven't been a big cricket fan for a while now but to see Sachin retire today brought a lump to my throat, a true gentleman.

Difficult to imagine Indian cricket without Sachin - the highs, the lows, the celebration & the exasperation that he brought #ThankYouSachin

[CEDYBLUE]

Ashwin Ravichandran

I gave it all i had for the last 24 years,now i see my kids grown up to be on their own".He said this nd my eyes got moist.#ThankYouSachin

[CEDYBLUE]

Harsha Bhogle

oh dear, i am feeling this emotion....what a brilliant speech. just like him to remember everyone. what a man!

[CEDYBLUE]

Michael Vaughan, former England Captain
One of the Greatest ever @sachin_rt is retiring... One of my heroes and a absolute joy to play against.. #BornToPlayCricket

[CEDYBLUE]

Eoin Morgon, England Cricketer

Sad to hear the greatest ever batsman is calling it a day. One man who inspired a nation #Sachin

Monty Panesar

Greatest batsmen retires sachin tendulkar. The Master brought a lot of happiness globally #Tendulkar

Saina Nehwal

I will miss the MASTER! A true legend in every sense.I thank him for encouraging players like us. RESPECT!

Gautham Gambhir

Salutes to Sachin paaji. I think India jersey number 10 should retire as well and preserved forever. Thanks Paaji

Bishen Singh Bedi

Sacho my heart reaches out 2 U Son! This moment had 2 come & V salute U fr yur comitment 2 Ind crkt!May U've all Peace & quiet n retirement!

Ian Bishop

The sight of the straight lines of the bat on its downswing; the power of the back foot punch; thanks for the memories Sachin. Glad you came

Graham Onions

Even if it was only one game I have to say Sachin is one the best players I've bowled against,privilege to have met the little master

[CEDYBLUE]

Freddie Flintoff

Come to the conclusion crickets only ever had 2 greats Sachin and Bradman . Then there's the very good players then the rest of us !

[ajaybaskar]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/575346_570752462980346_126218845_n.jpg

ஒரு மேட்ச் விளையாடியதும் 10 கோடி விளம்பர ஒப்பந்தம் இல்லை.

ஒரு மேட்ச் விளையாட சம்பளம் 10 லட்சம் இல்லை.

அணியில் தேர்வு ஆவான் என தெரிந்ததும் பின்னால் செல்ல ரசிகர்கள் இல்லை.

பேஸ்புக்கில் பக்கம் ஆரம்பித்து புகழ் பாட பேஸ்புக்கும் இல்லை.

வெளிநாட்டுக்கு விளையாட செல்ல முதல் வகுப்பு பயண சீட்டு இல்லை.

படுத்து உறங்க மெத்தை இல்லை, போடும் துணியில் ஆடம்பரம் இல்லை.

உடை மாற்றுவது போல் துணைகளை மாற்ற காதலிகள் இல்லை.

சூதாட்டம் இல்லை. அரசியல் இல்லை.

எதுவும் இல்லை 30 வருடங்களுக்கு முன்னால் சச்சின் விளையாட தொடங்கிய நேரம். வெற்றிக்காக விளையாடிய வீரனின் கடைசி ஆட்டம் அவன் மண்ணில் இன்று.

சச்சின் கிரிக்கெட் விட்டு போனதும் நான் கிரிக்கெட் பார்க்கமாட்டேன் என பலர் சொல்கின்றனர். நான் கிரிக்கெட் பார்ப்பதை நிறுத்தி 6 மாதங்கள் ஆகின்றன. ஏனென்றால் எதையும் உடனே நிறுத்துவது கடினம். இன்று நான் முழுமையாக தயார்.

படம்: ஓய்வு அறையில் சச்சின் உறங்கும் காட்சி

From FB

[CEDYBLUE]

The Little Master's farewell Speech

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

[littlemaster1982]

Discussions related to Bharat Ratna award are moved here (http://www.mayyam.com/talk/showthread.php?10571-Bharat-Ratna-which-sportsman-should-get-it&goto=newpost).

[GSV]

Cedy..Thanks for all the tweets.

[CEDYBLUE]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BZXB_yRIEAAPSAH.jpg

[Russellffj]

Nice tweets :thumbsup:

[Dinesh84]

Mihir Bijur ‏@MihirBijur
Players from the England team urinated on a pitch. Sachin bent to touch a pitch & offer his final respect. The difference. #ThankYouSachin

#ThankYouSachin :bow:

http://pgresize.outlookindia.com/images/gallery/20131116/Sachin21_20131116.jpg.ashx?quality=40&width=964

[Arvind Srinivasan]

Now that all the dust has settled, I would like to take the opportunity to thank Sachin for all the entertainment for the past 20 odd years of my life. I cannot stop watching cricket , but I am pretty sure it wont be the same for me. The rummaging of the stomach every time you walk in, the expectation, the anxiety , the elation every time you get to a century along with the satisfaction I get from it can never be experienced again. Heck I cant even remember the first time I had a glimpse of you on TV. Thank you and Goodbye SRT......

http://services.digigraph.me/sign/ef4f1b6bacdf0682d8bd9f775961275ea645b59b222533a486 f570c6d500ad25180bab57de1edb88ee8cefac608b4234551c 2a41997d49ed7e5928950e577943fce606646a509cf3d02e60 7f7a98d83d31f5b4960a2868e3f25807eecd1d9c97?f=1

[littlemaster1982]

A fine balance (http://cricket.yahoo.com/news/a-fine-balance-103859128.html)

The year was 1996, the venue was Edgbaston in Birmingham, and I was there. England won that game by eight wickets, and it was a low-scoring affair, too. However, the reason I, and many others, remember that game is the way Sachin Tendulkar set about the hapless English bowlers in the second innings. On a fourth-innings pitch that offered everything and more to the seamers, and made the ball seam and swing, Sachin single-handedly took the fight out of a marauding Chris Lewis. Of the team score of 219, he made 122. The second highest scorer was Sanjay Manjrekar, with 18.

The discipline and focus required for an innings of such calibre are perhaps at odds with flair and aggression, yet Sachin displayed plenty of both. What struck us all was his complete fearlessness in the face of a hostile bowling attack with blood on their mind, and his refusal to call it a day, even as his fellows departed in a steady procession from the other end. That temperament, I believe, can only belong to someone whose technique makes him well-nigh invincible, should he so choose. It is the approach of someone who has visited, and conquered, weaknesses that have felled many lesser players.

I have seen so much of Sachin over the years that I now find it impossible to pick and choose my 'Sachin moments'. To give a random example, I recall him getting ready to tackle Shane Warne during an Australian tour of India. Conventional wisdom would dictate that Indian batsmen get ready to counter Australian pace, given the state of things, but conventional wisdom would be wrong. What sense does it make to plan for pace when the pitches support spin? Sachin was perhaps the only member of the team who understood that. And he took the trouble to ask Laxman Sivaramakrishnan to bowl at him, round the wicket, into the bowlers' rough. The results are history, cliches be damned.

I remember that practice session largely because it impressed upon me Sachin's unorthodox intelligence. Here was a batsman who had spotted a possible loophole and was working on it. He wasn't going through the motions as many do, no matter how hard they practise. Practice alone does not make you perfect. Only perfect practice makes you perfect. If you're practising the wrong things, you are merely getting better at being wrong. For the greater part of his career, Sachin has displayed this uncanny ability to practise right. And that has translated into footwork that is a coaching manual's joy. If you ignore the bumpy ride of the past year and a half-and you should because that was simply nature doing its job—I have never seen him put a foot wrong. Like a well-trained dancer, Sachin has, time after time, got into the best position to play a shot. That's because, as I was telling British Prime Minister David Cameron recently, you need to get your feet set first. The arms and hands simply follow.

In Sachin's case, the footwork becomes even more important because, like Sunny Gavaskar, he is a small man. And small batsmen take smaller strides when they play forward. If your footwork isn't right, and your step is just about a foot and a half and you are too far away from the pitch of the ball, the outcome can be fatal, not least because you're caught at the crease and rooted to the spot. During his best time, which was pretty much all the time barring the past 18-odd months, I have never seen Sachin caught at the crease. Ever. But those feet have finally stopped moving as well as they should, I feel. And that's what time is all about, isn't it?

The other aspect of Sachin's technique that has always delighted me is his judgement of length. I probably do not need to explain this, but we've seen so many players play back when they should be playing forward, and vice versa, that this bears repetition. Even a player of the calibre of Mahendra Singh Dhoni nicked one to the wicketkeeper during the recent Kolkata Test against the West Indies because he stayed back instead of coming forward. That isn't something you would normally associate with Sachin. The lad just possesses a sublime sense of length. And that's all, really. Footwork and judgement of length. These are, or ought to be, the basics of any good batsman's technique and the beauty of Sachin's game has always been that he has kept things simple.

This is largely what has allowed him to play any kind of bowling on any kind of pitch. This is also what allows him to play those perfect drives, cuts and pulls with minimal expenditure of energy. That economy of movement comes from hours upon hours of dedicated practice, whereby perfectly orthodox technique wins over on-the-spot, sometimes desperate, innovation, every time.

For anyone who cared to notice, Sachin's feet were always aligned wicket to wicket, bat perfectly in line with the off stump, the back-lift enabling the release of the bat and a cocking of the wrists. The fact that he hits with such power can be attributed to the perfect transfer of weight as well as the release of his wrists at the top of his bat swing.

You can also sense that there is a definite plan behind each and every innings, that technique is subservient to Sachin's assessment of the game, and that he isn't using technique simply for the sake of it. While this may not be actually possible, he gives the impression that he has thought every innings through, prepared for every ball, studied every individual bowler, and conducted a personal risk assessment for every shot. All of which make him a game controller, and a game changer on occasion.

There is no shame in the gradual decline that Sachin has been going through. And I completely understand his desire to continue to play. Through all the ups and downs, Sachin Tendulkar has never stopped enjoying himself. And now that he has finally called it a day, the judgement, as usual, is perfect.

______________

Very good technical analysis by Boycott 8-)

[littlemaster1982]

Why was it so tough to bowl to Tendulkar? (http://cricket.yahoo.com/news/why-was-it-so-tough-to-bowl-to-tendulkar--100119666.html)

Picture this: A genuine fast bowler streaming in from the top of his run-up. Tall, big-built, face covered in white paint; his hands and legs moving in rhythm as he gains in pace with every stride. It's a sight that often keeps batsmen awake the night before a Test match, shuddering at the prospect of what they will face the next morning.

Now picture Sachin Tendulkar at the crease. His crouching five-foot-five frame looking even smaller. His bat aligned with the off-stump. His gentle eyes peering from behind the visor. It's a wonder how this benign vision has turned out to be the most fearsome image for bowlers around the world for more than two decades.

What is it that makes Sachin such a huge problem to tackle? How did bowlers approach a match knowing they would come up against his straight drives, his horizontal bat strokes, and his silken flicks? How hard, really, was it to bowl to him?

Waqar Younis, who had famously struck Sachin on the face with a bouncer in the fourth Test of his debut series at Sialkot, says the oft-recounted incident only tells a fraction of the story. "First, I don't think the ball hit him as hard as it's been portrayed. I was bowling at around 145 kmph but it went off the glove before it struck him. He went down, we had a chat, shook hands, and he was up in a minute, ready to play the next delivery," the former Pakistan captain told India Today.

The episode, Waqar says, turned out to be an aberration. The 16-year-old boy they had first heard about from Ajay Jadeja during India's under-19 trip of Pakistan just before the 1989 tour, didn't allow himself to be dominated ever again. "I remember we didn't think too much when we had our first team meeting. There were other important guys to worry about: Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Mohammad Azharuddin, Kapil Dev and Manoj Prabhakar. By the end of the trip, his image within our team had changed entirely."

Over the next few years, as India and Pakistan started playing one-day cricket on a regular basis, all talk in the Pakistani dressing room would be about how to counter Sachin. "We'd realised that if we didn't get him out in his first few overs at the crease, he could do a great deal of damage."

Waqar says that Sachin had no particular chink in his armour to begin with, and his technique got only better with time. "As a fast bowler, you set a batsman up, bowl different deliveries in a pattern, and then induce him into a false shot. Sachin was much better than any other batsman I've bowled to at reading that pattern. But I always felt that more than any other delivery, he was slightly vulnerable to the ball coming into him at good pace early on in his innings."

Allan Donald, another great fast bowler of the 1990s, had heard so much about Sachin's prowess before India's tour of South Africa in 1997 that he turned to West Indies pacemen Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, who had got Sachin out lbw on a few occasions, for help. "Generally fast bowlers don't give away their secrets, but they knew what I was up against, and were nice enough to talk to me about Sachin," he says. Ambrose and Walsh told Donald to bowl fuller and make him play a majority of the deliveries early on in his innings. They said that he just sits pretty at his crease and leaves the balls he doesn't need to touch. "They suggested I bowl full and slanting in from outside the off-stump," says Donald. The ploy worked, but only on occasion, considering that Sachin got a big century in the series. Donald dismissed him just once in three Tests.

As Sachin's career progressed at an astonishing pace around the mid-1990s, the hardest thing was how to prepare against him. Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar, who began his Test career in dramatic fashion by dismissing Rahul Dravid and Sachin off successive deliveries in 1999, says he knew he needed to treat Sachin differently from all other players. "I never sledged him while he batted against me. There are some players who are better off left alone. Players like Sachin will only hit back harder."

Akhtar says he has no qualms in admitting that most of his plans against Sachin fell through. "I would think that if I bowled like this, he will play like that, and then I will stand a chance. At the 2003 World Cup, I tried to bowl short outside the off thinking he would pull me. Instead, he decided to cut me over point for six. It was a shot that made me famous," Shoaib laughs. "Then I decided to bowl at his body, and he flicked me away. I bowled full to him and reversed the ball, he drove straight." That's how he unsettled most bowlers.

Javagal Srinath, who has bowled to Sachin perhaps more than any other bowler in the nets and in domestic cricket, says the only preparation you could do against Sachin was to ensure your mind was always ticking. If you had a set plan, he would always outsmart you. If you didn't have a counter, he would run away with the game. "From my experience, I can remember only Fanie de Villiers, the South African fast bowler, who could think one step ahead of Sachin and beat him regularly," Srinath says.

The Indian quick, who shared the dressing room with Sachin for more than a decade, says Sachin knew the bowlers' tricks so well that he would keeping telling batsman at the other end what the bowler would do next. "He would say, 'Ab yeh upar dalega (Now he will pitch it up)' or 'Thoda chota marega (The next one will be a little short)'. He would be right 90 per cent of the time," says Srinath.

There is no doubt that Sachin had his flaws. But it was his ability to iron them out that kept him one step ahead. During India's tour of Australia in 2003-04, he offered the ultimate example of this quality by scoring 241 runs in Sydney by cutting out the cover-drive completely from his repertoire. That's what the art of batting is all about-playing to your strengths and minimising your weaknesses. That's what let a tiny little man tower over the world of cricket for as long as Sachin has done.

___________

Another good one!

[venkkiram]

Why was it so tough to bowl to Tendulkar? (http://cricket.yahoo.com/news/why-was-it-so-tough-to-bowl-to-tendulkar--100119666.html)

Javagal Srinath, who has bowled to Sachin perhaps more than any other bowler in the nets and in domestic cricket, says the only preparation you could do against Sachin was to ensure your mind was always ticking. If you had a set plan, he would always outsmart you. If you didn't have a counter, he would run away with the game. "From my experience, I can remember only Fanie de Villiers, the South African fast bowler, who could think one step ahead of Sachin and beat him regularly," Srinath says.





Javagal Srinath, who has bowled to Sachin perhaps more than any other bowler in the nets and in domestic cricket, says the only preparation you could do against Sachin was to ensure your mind was always ticking. If you had a set plan, he would always outsmart you. If you didn't have a counter, he would run away with the game. "From my experience, I can remember only Fanie de Villiers, the South African fast bowler, who could think one step ahead of Sachin and beat him regularly," Srinath says.


இரு தினங்களுக்கு முன்பு இதையே நானும் நினைத்துக் கொண்டிருந்தேன். டிவிலியர்ஸ் ஒரு வானவில் போல. வந்ததும் தெரியாது. போனதும் தெரியாது. ஆனால் விளையாடிய சில வருடங்களிலேயே பத்து வீச்சிற்கே ஒரு தனி இலக்கணமாய் தெரிந்தார்.

He openly says here that http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/531388.html ( I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article)


I reckon I was the best in the world with that offcutter. Without slowing it down. It went whirrrr. And it worked like a bomb. I took a lot of wickets in England with offcutters. Grassy wicket, bowl offcutters. We had a game here where the West Indian A side had nine left-handers. I took eight of the nine. I could have used that more if we had played a lot of Test cricket in India


County cricket taught me how to bowl the offcutter, which is what you should bowl to Tendulkar all the time. I am not talking slower balls - the fast offcutters.

:clap:

[VinodKumar's]

Thanks Sachin for all your memories.

My pick of whole Sachin's career is his century against Aus at Sharjha :notworthy:.

[venkkiram]

Thanks Sachin for all your memories.

My pick of whole Sachin's career is his century against Aus at Sharjha :notworthy:.

To me, 114 v Australia, Perth, 1992 and 136 v Pakistan, Chennai, 1999 are the two best test knocks from Sachin because IMO, these were two occasions Sachin had a terrible bowling line up from opponents. I also rate his first double century for Mumbai against Australia as one of the finest.

[VinodKumar's]

I always feel that each and every run in those two Sharjha innings came at will. Intha ball-la inga run adipaan da appdinu sollitu adicha maari irrukum. Dominance at its best :smokesmirk:.

[Russellffj]

Not to forget Tony Greig's commentary..

http://www.youtube.com/v/x141nJaVijg

What a six what a six... what a player :notworthy:

[littlemaster1982]

Sreedhar Pillai ‏@sri50

#Sachin200 has emerged as the highest rated (TRP') Test match on television (Star Sports) in India in the past 8 years. WOW 8-)

[VinodKumar's]

Ithellam sollanuma :).

[venkkiram]

சச்சின்: கடவுள் இல்லாத உலகம்

http://thiruttusavi.blogspot.com/2013/12/blog-post_25.html

:clap:

சிறந்த நடையில் ஒரு கட்டுரை. தமிழில். ட்வீட்டரில் பகிர்ந்த வெங்கிராஜாவுக்கு நன்றி.

[Russellyhd]

http://tamil.webdunia.com/newsworld/news/national/1401/30/1140130012_1.htm

குடிநீர் கட்டணம் செலுத்தாதவர்கள் பட்டியலில் சச்சின், பால்தாக்கரே

[Russellyhd]

http://www.dailythanthi.com/2014-02-04-tendulkar-prof-c-n-r-rao-to-be-conferred-with-bharat-ratna-today

இந்தியாவின் உயரிய விருதான பாரத் ரத்னா தெண்டுல்கருக்கு இன்று வழங்கப்படுகிறது

புதுடெல்லியில் உள்ள ராஷ்டிரபதி பவனின் தர்பார் ஹாலில் இன்று நடைபெறும் நிகழ்ச்சி ஒன்றில் இந்தியாவின் உயரிய விருதான பாரத் ரத்னா கிரிக்கெட் வீரர் தெண்டுல்கர் மற்றும் அறிவியல் விஞ்ஞானி சி.என்.ஆர். ராவ் ஆகியோருக்கு வழங்கப்படுகிறது.

இந்தியாவின் 2வது உயரிய விருதான பத்ம விபூஷண் இவ்விரண்டு பேருக்கும் வழங்கப்பட்டு உள்ளது. இந்த நிகழ்ச்சியில் இவர்களுடன் சேர்த்து 41 பேருக்கு விருதுகள் வழங்கப்பட்டு கவுரவிக்கப்படுகின்றனர்.

கடந்த நவம்பர் 16ந்தேதி சர்வதேச கிரிக்கெட் போட்டிகளில் இருந்து ஓய்வு பெறுவதாக கிரிக்கெட் வீரர் தெண்டுல்கர் அறிவித்தார். இந்தியாவின் உயரிய விருதான பாரத் ரத்னா விருதை பெறும் முதல் விளையாட்டு வீரர் என்ற பெருமையை தெண்டுல்கர் பெறுகிறார்.

[Russellyhd]

எனது தாயாருக்கு இந்த விருதை சமர்ப்பிக்கின்றேன் என பாரத ரத்னா விருது பெற்ற சச்சின் கூறியுள்ளார். மேலும் அவர் கூறுகையில்; இந்த நாட்டில் பிறந்தமைக்கு நான் பெருமை அடைகிறேன். கிரிக்கெட்டை நிறுத்தினாலும், இந்திய மக்களுக்காக நான் தொடர்ந்து பணியாற்றுவேன். அவர்களின் மகிழ்வுக்கு எனது சேவை இருக்கும். எனக்கு கிடைத்த விருதை நாட்டின் அனைத்து தாய்மார்களுக்கும் சமர்ப்பிக்கின்றேன். அறிவியல் துறையில் பல்வேறு சாதனைகள் புரிந்த விஞ்ஞானி சி.என். ஆர்.ராவுக்கு எனது மதிப்பு கலந்த பாராட்டை தெரிவித்து கொள்கிறேன். இவ்வாறு அவர் கூறினார்.

[Russellyhd]

Respect !

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t1/q71/1779910_10152554657997802_1174475485_n.jpg

[Russellyhd]

http://www.dailythanthi.com/2014-02-05-With-Tendulkar%252C-taikarvuts-meeting

தெண்டுல்கருடன், டைகர்வுட்ஸ் சந்திப்பு

கோல்ப் விளையாட்டின் முன்னணி வீரரான அமெரிக்காவின் டைகர் வுட்ஸ், முதல்முறையாக இந்தியாவுக்கு வந்துள்ளார். டெல்லியில் நடந்த காட்சி கோல்ப் விளையாட்டில் உற்சாகமாக பங்கேற்றார். இதற்கு மத்தியில் அவருக்கு இந்திய கிரிக்கெட்டின் சாதனை நாயகன் சச்சின் தெண்டுல்கரையும் சந்திக்கும் வாய்ப்பு கிட்டியது. பாரத ரத்னா விருது பெறுவதற்காக டெல்லியில் நட்சத்திர ஓட்டலில் தெண்டுல்கர் தங்கியிருந்தார். அப்போது தான் இவ்விரு ஜாம்பவான்களின் சந்திப்பு யதார்த்தமாக நடந்தது.

இது பற்றி டைகர் வுட்ஸ் தனது ‘டுவிட்டர்’ பக்கத்தில், ‘கிரிக்கெட்டின் ஜாம்பவான் சச்சின் தெண்டுல்கரை அவரது குடும்பத்தினருடன் சந்தித்து பேசினேன். தெண்டுல்கர், ரொம்ப அமைதியாக காணப்பட்டார். இந்தியாவில் எனக்கு கிடைத்த வரவேற்பு மகிழ்ச்சி அளிக்கிறது’ என்றார்.

[Russellyhd]

தெண்டுல்கருக்கு விஸ்டன் கவுரவம்

கிரிக்கெட் வீரர்களின் பைபிள் என்று அழைக்கப்படும் விஸ்டன் பத்திரிகையின் 151-வது பதிப்பு ஏப்ரல் 10-ந்தேதி லண்டனில் வெளியிடப்படுகிறது.

இந்த இதழின் முன்பக்கத்தில் ‘பாரத ரத்னா’ சச்சின் தெண்டுல்கரின் படம் இடம் பெறுகிறது. விஸ்டன் புத்தகத்தின் முன் பக்கத்தில் இந்திய கிரிக்கெட் வீரர் ஒருவரின் புகைப்படம் இடம் பிடிப்பது இதுவே முதல் முறையாகும்.

[Russellyhd]

http://tamil.thehindu.com/sports/%E0%AE%9A%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%9A%E0%AE%BF%E0%A E%A9%E0%AF%8D-%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%A9%E0%A F%8D-%E0%AE%85%E0%AE%A3%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%B3%E0%A F%8D-%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8B%E0%AE%A4%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%AE%E0%A F%8D-%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B0%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%95%E0%A F%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%86%E0%AE%9F%E0%AF%8D/article5662236.ece

சச்சின் – வார்ன் அணிகள் மோதும் கிரிக்கெட்


சச்சின் டெண்டுல்கர் – ஷேன் வார்ன் ஆகியோர் தலைமையிலான அணிகள் மோதும் கிரிக்கெட் போட்டி மெல்போர்ன் கிரிக்கெட் மைதானத்தில் ஜூலை மாதம் நடைபெறவுள்ளது.

ஆஸ்திரேலியாவின் மெல்போர்ன் கிரிக்கெட் மைதானத்தின் 200-வது ஆண்டு விழாவை கொண்டாடும் வகையில் மெல்போர்ன் கிரிக்கெட் கிளப் மற்றும் ரெஸ்ட் ஆப் வேர்ல்ட் அணிகளுக்கு இடையிலான கிரிக்கெட் போட்டியை நடத்த முடிவு செய்யப்பட்டது.

இதில் மெல்போர்ன் கிரிக்கெட் கிளப் அணிக்கு சச்சின் டெண்டுல்கர் கேப்டன் பொறுப்பை ஏற்கிறார். ஆஸ்திரேலிய சுழற்பந்து வீச்சாளர் ஷேன் வார்ன் ரெஸ்ட் ஆப் வேர்ல்ட் அணிக்கு கேப்டனாகிறார். இப்போட்டியில் பங்கேற்க சச்சின், வார்ன் ஆகியோர் சம்மதம் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர் என்ற தகவல் மெல்போர்ன் கிரிக்கெட் கிளப் இணையதளத்தில் வெளியிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

அவர்கள் இருவருக்குமே மெல்போர்ன் கிரிக்கெட் கிளப் வாழ்நாள் உறுப்பினர்கள் என்ற கௌரவத்தை ஏற்கனவே வழங்கியுள்ளது. ஜூலை 5-ம் தேதி நடைபெறும் இந்த ஒருநாள் கிரிக்கெட் போட்டியில் ராகுல் திராவிட் உள்ளிட்ட முன்னாள் பிரபல வீரர்களும் பங்கேற்பார்கள் என்று தெரிகிறது.

[uruzalari]

When Sachin almost sent Sourav home midway from the 1997 Caribbean tour


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/When-Sachin-almost-sent-Sourav-home-midway-from-the-1997-Caribbean-tour/articleshow/30954310.cms?

NEW DELHI: Captain Sachin Tendulkar almost sent an errant Sourav Ganguly home midway from the Caribbean tour of 1997 for not doing what he had been told to — go for a morning run — after a humiliating Test defeat, the latter reveals in a new book.

The incident happened immediately after the third Test in Barbados which India lost narrowly by 38 runs. Set to chase 120 on a wearing track with uneven bounce, the visitors collapsed for a paltry 81. The Windies pace trio — Ian Bishop four for 22, Curtley Ambrose three for 36 and Franklyn Rose three for 19 — shared the spoils.

Ganguly begins the anecdote with an admission: "My fault, actually." Then he goes on write, "Sachin was utterly dejected and very angry with us. To get him to think positive and stop beating himself and us up so much, I asked him to tell me what to do. "Go for a run tomorrow morning," he said.

"It's a story to tell now, but when he found out that I had missed the morning run the next day, his face was almost purple with anger. He told me, in language that cannot be printed, that he was going to send me home and I should sort myself out because my career could be ending. The thought of being sent home was enough to light a fire under my shoes. I wouldn't have broken any records, never have, never will, but from the next morning, I was up and running."

Ganguly's recollection is part of a write-up titled, Gifts, appetite, game sense and very little Bengali, from the book, Sachin Tendulkar: The man cricket loved back. Put together by a website, the anthology comprises 41 reminiscences and essays on the game's greatest ever star.

As a captain, Tendulkar was seen as a failure. Under his captaincy, India won four Tests and lost nine. But Ganguly provides a justification of sorts for the poor record even as he takes an indirect dig at the current skipper MS Dhoni.

"Sachin was a better captain than his results show and better than people make him out to be. He led on some very tough tours - South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Australia - and it must be said he didn't lose eight in a row. This when he didn't have a very good team around him. The older players were fading and the newcomers were too raw," he explains.

Every article in the book lauds the Mumbai batting maestro. But when high praise comes from Allan Donald, who took the wicket of Tendulkar 10 times in the five Tests and five ODIs where both figured, it perhaps means a little more.

In the article headlined, The man who made you plan for weeks, the South Africa speedster writes, "You didn't work Tendulkar out in days. You had to plan for him weeks in advance. Otherwise, he could frustrate bowlers. When Hansie Cronje was the captain, our thinking was that the first 20 balls we had to make Tendulkar play every single one, even if we leaked runs. We also decided that we were not going to test him with the short ball early on: it was an easy way for him to get himself into his innings. We wanted to make him sweat as much as we could.

He goes on to say, "When a great batsman is in form, that is when you get really challenged as a fast bowler. Tendulkar turned that bowler's ego to his advantage. We saw it dozens of times, when he counterpunched really well. He had that ability, when the bowler was at his best and in fantastic rhythm and bowling at his optimum pace, to come in and change the state of the game, to hit you off your line, get you out of the attack. He was careful, but if you offered him half a chance he would make you pay. With Tendulkar you were always working with fine, fine margins."

[littlemaster1982]

Ganguly-kku Dhoni mela ivvalavu gaanda? :lol:

[Russellyhd]

Ganguly-kku Dhoni mela ivvalavu gaanda? :lol:

No surprise.. Even Dhoni fans also started to hate his captaincy (not him)

[Russellyhd]

http://www.dailythanthi.com/2014-02-27-Tendulkar-wife-signature-Sports-News

டாக்டராக இருந்தாலும் எனது மனைவியின் கையெழுத்து அழகாக இருக்கும் சென்னை விழாவில் தெண்டுல்கர் ருசிகரம்

சென்னை நுங்கம்பாக்கத்தில் உள்ள நட்சத்திர ஓட்டலில் நேற்று நடந்த அழகான கையெழுத்தை ஊக்கப்படுத்தும் நிகழ்ச்சியில் கலந்து கொண்ட இந்திய கிரிக்கெட் ஜாம்பவான் சச்சின் தெண்டுல்கர், கடந்த காலங்களில் தனது மனைவி மற்றும் குடும்பத்தினருக்கு எழுதிய கடிதங்களை நினைவு கூர்ந்தார். அவர் பேசுகையில், ‘கிரிக்கெட் பந்தை அடித்து ஆடுவது எனக்கு இயல்பான ஒன்றாகும். ஆனால் எனது மனைவி அஞ்சலிக்கு கடிதம் எழுதினால் என்ன எழுதினேன் என்பதை இரண்டு முறைக்கு மேல் சரிபார்ப்பேன். அந்த காலங்களில் செல்போன் கிடையாது. இதனால் ஒருவருக்கு தகவல் அனுப்ப வேண்டும் என்றால் டெலிபோன், அல்லது கடிதம் மூலம் தான் தொடர்பு கொள்ள முடியும். எனக்கு கடிதம் எழுதுவது குறித்து எனது பெற்றோர் சொல்லி கொடுத்தனர். குடும்பத்தை விட்டு வெளியில் தங்கி இருக்கையில் நான் முதலில் எனது பெற்றோருக்கும், பின்னர் என்னுடைய மனைவிக்கும் கடிதம் எழுதினேன். பொதுவாக டாக்டர்களின் கையெழுத்து தெளிவாக இருக்காது. ஆனால் எனது மனைவி டாக்டராக இருந்தாலும் அதற்கு விதிவிலக்கு. அவரது கையெழுத்து அனைவரையும் கவரும் விதத்தில் அழகாக இருக்கும். கிரிக்கெட் வீரர்களில் கும்பிளேவின் கையெழுத்து நன்றாக இருக்கும்’ என்று தெரிவித்தார். கிரிக்கெட் மற்றும் அரசியல் குறித்த கேள்விகளுக்கு தெண்டுல்கர் பதில் அளிக்க மறுத்து விட்டார்.

முன்னதாக சென்னையை அடுத்த பொன்னேரியில் உள்ள அறிவு பூங்காவில் நடந்த நிகழ்ச்சியில் தெண்டுல்கர் கலந்து கொண்டு விளையாட்டு போட்டியில் சாதனை படைத்த வேலம்மாள் தொழில்நுட்ப கல்லூரி மாணவ–மாணவிகளை பாராட்டினார். அத்துடன் ‘டைஸ் 2016’–க்கான பேனரை வெளியிட்டார். விழாவில் தெண்டுல்கர் பேசுகையில், ‘மாணவர்கள் எதிர்காலத்தில் என்னவாக ஆக வேண்டும் என்பதை தீர்மானித்து அதற்காக கடினமாக உழைக்க வேண்டும். இளைய தலைமுறையினர் தங்கள் கனவை நனவாக்க ஒருபோதும் குறுக்கு வழியை நாடக்கூடாது’ என்று அறிவுரை வழங்கினார். வேலம்மாள் கல்வி குழும தலைவர் எம்.வி.முத்துராமலிங்கம், தெண்டுல்கருக்கு சால்வை அணிவித்து வரவேற்றார்.

[Russellyhd]

http://sports.dinamalar.com/2014/03/1394557071/schinsilvercoins.html

‘15,921’ சச்சின் நாணயங்கள் வெளியீடு

மும்பை: சச்சினின் முகம், பெயர் மற்றும் கையெழுத்து அடங்கிய 15,921 வெள்ளி நாணயங்கள் வெளியிடப்படுகிறது.
இந்திய அணியின் ‘மாஸ்டர் பேட்ஸ்மேன்’ சச்சின். ‘சதத்தில்’ சதம் அடித்து அசத்திய இவர், கடந்த ஆண்டு அனைத்து வித கிரிக்கெட்டில் இருந்தும் ஓய்வு பெற்றார்.

200 டெஸ்டில் பங்கேற்ற இவர் மொத்தம் 15,921 ரன்கள் எடுத்தார். இதை நினைவுபடுத்தும் வகையில் தனியார் நகைக்கடை ஒன்று நாணயங்கள் வெளியிட (மார்ச் 14) உள்ளது.

இந்த நாணயத்தின் மேற்புறத்தில் சச்சின் பெயர், கீழே 200வது டெஸ்ட், 2013 என எழுதி, நடுவில் இவரது முகம் பதிக்கப்பட்டு இருக்கும். சுவிட்சர்லாந்தில் இருந்து கொண்டு வரப்படவுள்ள இந்த வெள்ளியில் இருந்து தயாரிக்கப்படுகிறது.

ஏற்கனவே 10, 20 கிராம் எடையில் நாணயங்கள் உள்ளதால், இது 200 கிராம் எடையில் விற்பனைக்கு வரும்.

இதேநிறுவனம் கடந்த ஆண்டு தலா 10 கிராம் எடையுள்ள ஒரு லட்சம் சச்சின் தங்க நாணயங்கள் வெளியிட்டது.

[uruzalari]

Mere batting statistics cannot bring this adulation.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUtBqic1-Rk

[littlemaster1982]

Sachin Tendulkar: The god of small things (http://www.wisdenindia.com/cricket-article/sachin-tendulkar-god-small/115942)

I was only 12 when Sachin Tendulkar first represented India and left a nation instantly mesmerised. I remember watching him dance down the track to hit Abdul Qadir for three towering sixes, and must have tried to do the same innumerable times, if only in my imagination. While I was still learning how to stand properly at the crease, Tendulkar was earning standing ovations around the globe; while I was still learning how to use my feet to get to the pitch of the ball, Tendulkar was taking giant strides. The more I played the game, the more I admired him, for it was only through playing that one truly understood the scale of what he was doing.

By the end of the 1990s, it was as if he had ceased to be just a player, and now symbolised excellence. It was around this time that I started nurturing the dream of playing for India myself. And yet playing for India and playing alongside Tendulkar seemed two separate things. Playing for India would mean countless hours of toil, something I was prepared for. But nothing had prepared me for sitting in the dressing-room next to my idol.

I was a bundle of nerves when I walked into the conference hall of Ahmedabad’s plush Taj hotel for my first India team meeting in October 2003. I had attended many team meetings before, but had little idea of how this one would unfold – and even less idea of how I would react to my first encounter with Tendulkar. Fifteen minutes in, I worried our chat wouldn’t go beyond the customary exchange of greetings: words were failing me already.

Our coach, John Wright, divided the team into batsmen and bowlers to discuss the forthcoming Test against New Zealand. I’m glad he did, for that’s when Tendulkar and I were introduced properly. I had played a couple of warm-up games against the tourists, so questions were thrown in my direction about how their bowlers were shaping up. To my utter surprise and pleasure, Tendulkar was the most inquisitive. How was Daryl Tuffey bowling? Had Daniel Vettori bowled his arm-ball? He wanted to know everything.

He had played these bowlers many times – and successfully. What need was there for a batsman of his capability to ask such questions of a rookie like me? But he did. And the reason became clear. He wanted to allow me to break the ice, to interact with him, to know him better. I suspect he realised that, as with most Indian debutants, I was overawed, and that this wasn’t likely to change unless he made a special effort. I can’t thank him enough for the gesture.

A couple of days later, confident from our last interaction, I called his room seeking an audience. Once again, he was happy to oblige. Until then, I’d been to the hotel rooms of many senior and junior cricketers, and had found most of them like any boy’s room, strewn with dirty laundry, shoes, cricket gear, laptop and iPod. Tendulkar’s was different: meticulous and organised, like his batting.

Gods’ idols were on the bedside table, bats neatly arranged in one corner, bed linen without any creases, dirty linen nowhere. He ordered a cup of coffee for us both, and chatted freely, as if we’d known each other for years.

I asked him about his preparation and game plans, and he began to share details. What I saw of Tendulkar in the days that followed left an indelible mark. He was always first to the team bus, because he didn’t like rushing. He would plan most of his innings by making mental notes for the bowlers he was likely to face – a habit that meant he wouldn’t sleep properly for a fortnight before India’s game against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup. It was during our chat that I realised preparation for every battle was as crucial to success at the top as natural ability. Knowing the opposition is important, but so is knowing your own game. Those 40 minutes I spent with him changed the way I looked at Tendulkar – the player and the man – for ever.

We batted first in the Test, and I made 42. As I walked back to the pavilion, the stadium erupted. Almost everyone in the stands was on their feet. So this was what it was like to play for your country! I was disappointed to have missed a fifty, but that feeling evaporated as I soaked up the ovation. The noise continued even after I was seated in the dressing-room – which was when I realised, to my embarrassment, that the applause might not have been for me.

Needless to say, it had been for the man walking out to bat, not the man walking into the pavilion. Only then did I begin to wonder what it must be like to be Sachin Tendulkar, carrying the burden of so many hopes. And yet he behaved with the utmost humility. In that moment, my respect for him rose several notches.

The real measure of the man lay in the fact that even the most senior members of the team showered him with respect. “I want to protect him. Tendulkar must not come out to bat to play a few balls in the fading light against the raging Aussies – he is our best hope to win the game.” Those words, spoken by another great man, Rahul Dravid, to Nayan Mongia during the First Test at Mumbai during the famous 2000-01 series, still ring in my ears. The beauty of the relationship between Tendulkar and the other senior players was their mutual respect; no one behaved like a superstar. All of them encouraged an atmosphere of comfort, in which even a junior could happily pull a prank.

As I spent more time in the dressing-room, I gained a closer look at Tendulkar’s quest for excellence. Every net session had a purpose, leading to a discussion about what he was doing right or wrong. And he was quite happy getting feedback from the newcomers, including me. Each time he asked me something, I would remind him that it should be the other way around. But he would have none of it, constantly prodding me for my view. Sachin would ask me about his stance, head position, backlift and downswing. And it wasn’t just me: he would ask the net bowlers whether they could see him stepping out, or premeditating his strokes. Greatness isn’t just what you know, but what you don’t – and the effort you make to bridge that gap. Tendulkar mastered that art.

His gift was to appear in control. And that was so different from how I, or my colleagues, functioned. He didn’t always need to score a truckload of runs to spread calm. Sometimes, he just needed to do what felt beyond the rest of us, and put bat to ball. Here was a man who not only timed his moves so well that he looked programmed by computer but, with a twirl of the bat, made the ball kiss the sweet spot.

Criticism is inevitable, and so it was for him. If you’ve spent your life in the middle, with every move scanned by the peering eyes of a billion people, you are bound to be judged. But he endured all censure without resentment. It was as if greatness went hand in hand with humility. That may have been the greatest lesson of all.

[uruzalari]

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/rahul-dravid-sachin-tendulkar-didnt-face-a-single-ball-in-nets-during-2003-world-cup/article6283518.ece

Sachin didn’t face a single ball in nets during 2003 World Cup: Dravid

Sachin Tendulkar produced a fairytale run in the 2003 World Cup, which, in his own words, included the biggest match of his career, without facing a single ball in the nets, according to former teammate Rahul Dravid, who says the iconic cricketer “defied imagination”.

No cricketer ever has scored more runs than the 673 recorded then by the Indian legend in a single edition of a World Cup. The highlight was the 98-run knock that saw him take on the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar with aplomb.

“It (his preparation) changes from time to time. In the 2003 World Cup, Sachin Tendulkar didn’t bat a single ball in the nets, right through the tournament. He only got throw-downs. He just received hundreds of throw-downs through the whole tournament,” Dravid said.

“All of us were wondering ‘Why is he doing that?’ When I asked him, he said, ‘I’m feeling good. I don’t want to go into the nets and waste the touch. I want to feel good about my batting. If I have that sort of feeling, I will score runs when I go in”.

Calling the Mumbaikar the greatest player he has played with, Dravid said Tendulkar changed the landscape of Indian cricket.

“He’s changed the landscape, both on and off the field, for Indian cricket over the last two decades. It’s almost mindboggling. A whole generation has grown up with Tendulkar. They’ve seen his ups and downs and lived their lives and dreams through his feats. So many people in India want to be a cricketer,” Dravid said while speaking on ESPNcricinfo’s ‘Modern Masters’.

“For the last twenty four years, there’s been a whole generation of people who have had this privilege and opportunity of claiming to say they were there when Tendulkar was the best batsman in the world”.

The former India captain said Tendulkar defied imagination.

“A legend, the greatest player that I’ve played with as a batsman. He’s been a huge inspiration. To see a 16-year old boy do what he did was unbelievable. It defied imagination and was a huge inspiration for me. I felt like if he could do it then I should also try to be a Test cricketer,” Dravid said.

On Tendulkar being accused of selfishness, Dravid said: “I think it’s a little bit unfair. All of us want to score hundreds, all of us want to score runs and the team does benefit when you score runs. When someone’s scored a hundred hundreds, if you start nitpicking and looking at each and every innings, sure you’ll find enough innings to prove your point, but there are also other innings when those hundreds have been critically important to Indian cricket. It’s hard to begrudge someone the desire to score hundreds”.

Dravid said Tendulkar could not lead India to victory on a few occasions in Tests because of a weak bowling attack.

“I still think in ODI cricket he has had quite a few match winning, match defining innings. In one day cricket, even if someone scores 300-350, as a pure batsman you can still control the game. In Test cricket, you have to rely on other people; you have to rely on the bowling attacks. Bowling attacks win you Test matches,” he said.

“Especially through Sachin’s golden period (1998—2002,2003), and especially away from home when he got a lot of runs, maybe we didn’t have the bowling attack to back him up in those games. I can remember, even as recently as Centurion, his last Test hundred was a brilliant Test hundred against Steyn and Morkel. But we couldn’t get South Africa out in the fourth innings. The context of those hundreds changes completely if you have the bowling attack to get people out. If there’s one thing he’d like to better about his numbers, though, it’ll probably be his fourth innings in overseas Test series.”

Dravid felt Tendulkar’s greatest biggest strength has been his temperament.

“For me, Sachin’s greatest strength really is his temperament, his ability to handle the pressures that have surrounded him. He’s been the focus of attention since he was a 16-year old kid. And for so many years to be able to handle all of that and still to be able to perform and not get frustrated by it and not get disillusioned by it shows an incredible mind.”

Speaking about Tendulkar’s technique, Dravid said: “One of the things that has always stood out for me for Sachin has been balance. It’s that ability to judge length and to be in that right position for nearly every ball. It’s very rare that I’ve seen Sachin struggle for any particular ball. His judgment of length was marvellous.”

[littlemaster1982]

First Look: Sachin Tendulkar’s autobiography (http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/first-look-sachin-tendulkars-autobiography/)

http://images.indianexpress.com/2014/09/jacket-image-large.jpg

The much-awaited autobiography of batting icon Sachin Tendulkar will hit the stands on November 6 with a high-profile release of the book in his home city Mumbai.

The book, titled ‘Playing It My Way’, will be published worldwide by Hodder and Stoughton and by Hachette India in the Indian sub-continent.
The book has been co-authored by renowned cricket historian and media personality Boria Majumdar.

“I knew that agreeing to write my story would need me to be completely honest, as that’s the way I have always played the game. It would require talking about a number of aspects I have not shared in public before,” said Tendulkar in a press release issued by the publishers.

“So here I am, at the end of my final innings, having taken that last walk back to the pavilion, ready to recount as many incidents as I can remember since first picking up a cricket bat as a child in Mumbai thirty-five years ago,” Tendulkar added.

“My autobiography will be available on Nov 6th Excited,” Tendulkar tweeted.

The front cover of the book shows Tendulkar raising his bat while walking away from the field one last time after his knock of 74 against the West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium on November 15.

[littlemaster1982]

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/79/79af6b3bc5b23131ace1d835c402fa444ebd7cfc574c6b0406 65280337e74d7e.jpg

[Arvind Srinivasan]

^ Will be getting this for sure alright....:D

[19thmay]

:clap: Super!

But this is quick, did not expect that he will come up with his autobiography so soon. Marandhu poidum-nu ippove ezhudhuraaro :lol2:

[elsaen11]

Tendulkar autobiography
'It is never a pleasant thing to be called a liar' - Tendulkar

ESPNcricinfo staff

November 5, 2014
Comments: 73 | Login via | Text size: A | A

Harbhajan Singh sinks to his knees as India slide towards defeat, Australia v India, 2nd Test, Sydney, 5th day, January 6, 2008
Sachin Tendulkar on the Harbhajan-Symonds altercation: " I asked Bhajji not to rise to it but to continue batting the way he was. I knew only too well that by retaliating he would just play into the Australians' hands." © Getty Images
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Players/Officials: Sachin Tendulkar | Harbhajan Singh
Matches: Australia v India at Sydney
Series/Tournaments: India tour of Australia
Teams: India

Sachin Tendulkar has revealed the Indian team was ready to abandon their tour of Australia in 2007-08 and accept the consequences, following a three-match ban imposed by match referee Mike Procter on Harbhajan Singh because of an altercation with Andrew Symonds during the Sydney Test.

Writing about the incident known as Monkeygate in his autobiography Playing It My Way, Tendulkar says, like he did during the inquiry, that "Harbhajan Singh had not racially abused" Symonds and that the issue "almost caused the tour to be called off."

"I must reiterate we were very serious about the boycott … and we were fully prepared to accept the consequences of walking out on the tour, knowing that such an action might have resulted in the ICC banning the Indian team," Tendulkar writes. The Indians, who lost the controversial Sydney Test, were due to travel to Canberra for a tour game but decided, "to lodge an appeal against the decision and in a gesture of protest also decided not to travel to Canberra … It was a time for stern words and strong action."

India were ready to leave the tour because they did not agree with Procter's verdict, "and felt that the hearing in Sydney [after the Test] had been something of a farce." Tendulkar took exception to the words used by Procter in his statement: "I believe one group is telling the truth."

He writes, "That he banned Bhajji for three months seemed to show up which group in his opinion was lying. It is never a pleasant thing to be called a liar and I was extremely angry." Tendulkar, who was with Harbhajan at the crease when the altercation took place, describes the incident:

"Bhajji had gone past 50 when it all started. For a number of overs he had been telling me that Andrew Symonds was trying to get him riled. I asked Bhajji not to rise to it but to continue batting the way he was. I knew only too well that by retaliating he would just play into the Australians' hands. The best thing to do is to ignore such provocation. That's easy enough to say, but of course it's not always so easy to keep your cool at moments of intense pressure.

"Bhajji was doing his best and was actually trying to be civil with some of the Australian players, including Brett Lee, when all hell broke loose. Bhajji had playfully tapped Lee on the back after completing a run and Symonds at mid off took exception to this. He apparently did not want an opposition player meddling with Lee and once again hurled abuse at Bhajji. Bhajji is an impulsive and passionate individual and it was only a matter of time before he would retaliate, which he soon did."

Tendulkar says the skirmish began, "because Andrew Symonds had been continually trying to provoke Bhajj and it was inevitable that the two would have an altercation at some point. While walking up to Bhajji to try to calm things down, I heard him say 'Teri maa ki' (Your mother . . .) to Symonds. It is an expression we often use in north India to vent our anger and to me it was all part of the game."

He writes he was, "surprised to see umpire Mark Benson go up to Bhajji and speak to him. While the umpire was talking to Bhajji, some of the Australian players started to warn him of the dire consequences of his words, presumably to rattle him and disturb his concentration. The ploy paid off when a few overs later Bhajji was out for 63."

At that stage Tendulkar said he thought the "matter had ended" with Harbhajan being dismissed, but was surprised a formal complaint had been lodged with the allegation of Harbhajan having called Symonds a "monkey" - a racial insult. "What surprised me most was the haste with which the Australians had lodged their complaint." Tendulkar said he found out later that during Australia's tour of India in October 2007, following an incident in Mumbai, the two boards had instructed their captains to report any incident with "racial elements" to the match referee. "Even so, I still believe that the matter would not have been blown so out of proportion if Ponting had discussed it with the captain Anil Kumble, Harbhajan and the Indian team management before reporting the incident to Mike Procter, the match referee. In turn, Mike Procter could also have handled the matter with a little more sensitivity."

After the incident, Tendulkar writes the Sydney Test "assumed a completely different character" and describes the Indians fighting to save the match in the face of a spate of controversial umpiring decisions and what he calls, "rather unsportsmanlike conduct" by some of the Australians.

"By the fifth day we were batting to save the game. Mind you, there is little doubt in my mind that we would have drawn had it not been for what seemed to us to be mistakes by the umpires and some rather unsportsmanlike conduct by a few of the Australian players. Rahul Dravid was given out caught behind off Symonds for 38 by umpire Bucknor when his bat seemed to be a fair distance away from the ball. The wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist was standing up to the stumps at the time and was in the best position to see if the ball had touched Rahul's bat. Yet he who prided himself on walking off if he nicked the ball appealed for the caught-behind and to our disbelief we saw the umpire raise the finger. It was a shocking decision. Some of us actually wondered if Rahul had been given out lbw."

Following Dravid's dismissal, Ganguly was given out when, "Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting decided to appeal for what we thought was a grassed catch at slip. Finally, umpire Bucknor gave Dhoni out leg-before when to us the ball would clearly have missed the stumps. It seemed that every decision that could go against us had done so."

Despite the nature of the defeat, Tendulkar says he made it a point to, "go out and congratulate the Australians, regardless of all the controversy and disappointment." His gesture was reciprocated in Perth, when after India's historic victory, "Brett Lee and Adam Gilchrist also came to our dressing room to congratulate us and it was a gesture that was much appreciated." The team had arrived in Perth, "with a sense of purpose. We all felt hurt by what had transpired in Sydney and the best way to vent our anger was on the cricket field. And that is what we did."

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/story/796631.html

[littlemaster1982]

That Sachin is fanatically meticulous about his preparation became evident after a training session in South Africa ahead of the crucial World Cup game against Pakistan. The team had just finished practice at Centurion. We were walking up the 80-odd steps from the ground leading up to the dressing room .

Standard conversation on such occasions is about the match and the ground, and there is the usual speculation about the surface. Sachin noted the track looked good - the pitch hard, true, batsman friendly . But what caught my attention was what he said a little after... not about the pitch but the outfield.

Apparently he had walked round the ground and noticed that the outfield had a thick grass cover, and here is the interesting bit - the blades of grass around third man, he noticed, pointed away from the boundary, which meant they would slow the ball down. If the ball is played there, he said, there is a chance of an extra run because the ball will reach the fielder slowly.

I thought batting was about sorting out the bowler , the ball and the pitch. But the direction of blades of grass in the outfield! Phew.
__________________

:notworthy: :notworthy: IMO, this is what sets him apart from other greats 8-)

Got it from Quora - Source (http://www.espncricinfo.com/sachinfarewell/content/story/685555.html).