Sachin Tendulkar: Not Out forever

Conditions differed. Bowling attack changed. Cricket entered a new millennium of T20 format. But, Sachin Tendulkar never changed.

Many tributes have been written on Sachin Tendulkar since he graced the cricketing fraternity. Books, poems, odes even are still being articulated in honour of his tremendous contribution. As a matter of fact, prolific writers have exhausted their vocabularies in explaining Sachin’s eternal glory. As I write this column, I am being asked whether I want to add ‘Sachin Tendulkar’ to Microsoft Word’s dictionary. How unfortunate! Here is one more entity that is unaware of the God of Indian cricket. On his birthday, I cannot help but go down memory lane and revisit Sachin’s many masterful innings, more so to distract myself from the unconventional cricket we witness these days. READ: Sachin Tendulkar 175 vs Australia: A heart-breaking throwback to the 1990s

Sachin himself was an era – somewhere between a traditional stroke that was a purist’s delight and an unconventional scoop that would compel the cheerleaders to shake a leg, he did everything the cricketing world asked him to. He emulated Sunil Gavaskar’s graceful straight drive as well as played a powerful heave when he played the shortest and fastest format of the game. Read: Brand Sachin Tendulkar: A history in commercials and branding

Every time India played, my grandmother would ask, “How much did Sachin score?” And, if she heard the crackers bursting, she would ask, “Did Sachin score a hundred today?” She did not know a thing about cricket, but still prayed for him to score a hundred. Such was the love Sachin received! READ: Sachin Tendulkar—Life Post Retirement

Sachin peppered the leg side with elegant flicks, pelted the off with sheer panache and drove down the ground with absolute finesse. Every innings of his was an encore of the previous one. He changed his approach as he faced new challenges. From being a middle-order batsman who used his blade to scale up the run-rate, he became arguably the finest ODI opening batsman of all time. He brought a slight change in technique over the years. He drove everything on the up until ICC Cricket World Cup 2003. And, as he faced injuries post that World Cup, he watched the ball even more closely, waited for it, played to its merit and spelled doom for the bowlers. However, one thing did not change: he still managed to score century after century. READ: How Sachin Tendulkar made me fall in love with cricket

He walked through his fears and failures and conquered all his dreams. It took him 22 years to lift the World Cup trophy. Like every other sportsman, he was criticised too. He was asked to retire by the very people who once showered adoration on him. READ: How much has Tendulkar’s ODI retirement affected India?

His Twitter bio says only two words: Proud Indian. In fact, it has always been his dream to see India dominate the cricketing world. He did it time and again. He took his team out of the woods time and again. He was at the forefront of a rescue effort time and again. Be it saving a Test or chasing a mammoth target, he did it all. This Indian juggernaut made sure Team India waltzed to glory time and again. Indeed, cometh the hour, cometh the champ. Read: Sach is Life!

In his 24-year glorious journey, little did he know that he was being admired not only by the Indians but spectators all across the world as well. Remember the respect he received in the bicentenary match played at the Lord’s in 2014? Watch the video on YouTube to relive it. You will get goose bumps (yet again) even if you have already watched it.

Sachin’s stats just tell the preface of the book on his talismanic batsmanship. There is so much we do not know yet. What went through his mind when he was hit on the helmet? Why did he not react when the opposition sledged him? He never expressed; no badmouthing on the field; no verbal spat in the Press Conferences. He just smiled and let his bat answer. Cricket is a gentlemen’s game, they said. Gentlemanly, he played.

His genius extended past the blade of his bat. Off spin, leg spin, in-swinger, out-swinger; he had every delivery in his bowling armoury. The world knows him as a legendary batsman, but he was indeed a superior all-rounder as well. Mind you, he has defended 6 runs in the last over twice.

He showed no mercy on any bowler. He played a straight drive off Wasim and Waqar’s reverse swing, paddle sweep off Shane Warne’s leg spin and upper cut off Brett Lee’s lethal bouncers. He rattled the greatest of bowlers. In fact, more than fear, he instilled respect in the hearts of the opposition.

Conditions differed. Bowling attack changed. Cricket entered a new millennium of T20 format. But, he never changed. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar – Not Out forever.

(Kaustubh S. Mayekar, a reporter at CricketCountry, played cricket at U-16 level. Like his idol Rahul Dravid, he often shadow-practises cricket shots. His Twitter handle is @kaumedy_.)

About the Author