Intro to the Master
We all call him the little man but throughout his 24 year tenure he showed the world what amount of vast destruction he can do with his 1.5kg bat. He was rated by Wisden as the 2nd greatest cricketer after Don Bradman. The lad from Mumbai who started off at the tender age of 17 years has faced the fastest bowling attacks from all around the world and in time successfully established his name as the greatest cricketing legend of his era.
From the legend’s mouth
Throughout his cricketing career he has seen more of the highs than the lows and gained many a critical acclaims from all the legends of the game. Shane Warne has mentioned the little master as the best attacker with the bat of his time and sir Vivian Richards has even gone far-fetched to say that ‘He’ is 99.9% perfect and that he would pay to watch his class. Sir Don Bradman’s wife has agreed on the fact that there is an uncanny similarity in stroke playing, shot selection and mentality of playing between ‘Him’ and her husband. Allan Donald recalls that while their team meetings they would talk about getting him out in the first 12 balls otherwise it would be a complete Sachin show till the end of the innings and also that it was his great pleasure to bowl to what many has claimed to be ‘God’. Barry Richards has literally tagged him as ‘God’.
Probably the last time on field
On a bright Tuesday morning Sachin Tendulkar entered the Wankhade stadium, Mumbai to an exploding crowd of 60 thousand as even the Gods above took a comfortable seat to watch the master blaster play his last knock. The game was running pretty smoothly as Murali Vijay and Shikar Dhawan carried on with their natural game against the Sammys and the Pollards.The commentators made their predictions about India batting the entire day and till the next evening and that Dhoni would declare after that-the likely game-plan. But then again this is cricket- as unpredictable as the English Weather. Two hurried shots ended the opener’s innings and that made way for Pujara. Vijay managed a well made 43 and Dhawan made a well-efforted 33.The 6o thousand-seater stadium erupted chanting ‘Sachin Sachin’. The master has entered the ring to set flame to the 22-yards. Inspired by Sachin’s two quick boundaries Pujara gained confidence and entertained with his natural game.
With India requiring 97 odd runs to draw level with the hosts, the crowd got on to their feet every time the ball hit Sachin’s MRF. Kapil Dev mentioned that Sachin had to control his footwork to get the singles and also save himself from getting out by LBW. Sress was evident on the little master’s face. Amir Khan along with Nita Ambani holding the tricolour flag waited in anticipation as the master took a single. A well left ball from Sachin showing character gave him the confidence that he’s there to stay for a century as the hosts felt the chills. Sachin’s entire family along with Ramnath Ahrekar his first coach were shown on the giant screen as they were simply happy enough to just attend the test match. The pressure was released with Sachin hitting another boundary on the leg-side welcomed by loud cheers from millions of fans around the world. A survey by the television channel showed that almost 71% of the audience believed Sachin would score a ton.
India reached 109 for 2 with Sachin settling for another boundary. The crowd was being entertained by two people on and off the field. No prizes for guessing the first and the second was a certain turban headed commentator- the colourful Navjod Singh Sidhu. In 27 overs India was at 134 for 2 with another class boundary from the God’s bat. Yet another square drive took India to 140 for 2. Sidhu paji agreed to the fact that Sachin was in full control.
The day ended at Sachin 38 not out as the world quietly waited for day two of the Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar show.