As the biggest cricketing news of my time breaks out, it scares me a little bit. The only strand that connects me to my oldest memory of cricket is about to be severed. I have been one of those folks calling for Sachin's head in the last few years, because I learnt from Sachin himself that no one is bigger than the game, but a couple of months down the line, when Virat Kohli walks out to bat at No.4 for the Indian National Test cricket team, I'm not sure I can keep my tears in check!
My earliest memory of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar was him bowling India to victory in a match, and for a good part of the next two years, I was under the impression that he was a bowler. Many people imitate his batting to date, but he was my inspiration to bowl off and leg spinners, and seamers as well! A couple of years later, in 1998, when I wasn't still watching cricket that actively, except for of course following the scores from time to time, I happened to turn on the TV for a match. It was in Bahrain's own backyard, Sharjah, and there was a sandstorm in there, but there was one man, in fancy Indian clothes with the Indian flag and all in it, hitting the ball to every part of the ground. That 143, made me, like many other Indians, a devotee of the man. A few months later, during the World Cup 1999, his father passes away, and he misses the game against Zimbabwe, which India lose. He returns for the next match, against Kenya, and cracks a century. Once he gets to the hundred, he lets loose of his helmet, and one gets a first look at the stubble that would come to define Sachin over the next couple of years. The eyes are moist, the head and bat go up, facing the skies, something that would become a Tendulkar regular again. That day, he became my hero, and has always remained one.
There are so many many memories, personally associated, that I can't really pick any. There is his first double century in Ahmedabad, the 186* against New Zealand which remained his highest ODI score for a long time, the 193 at Headingley (the only test in which Sachin, Rahul and Dada scored centuries), the now famous March 1 '03 Centurion World Cup 98 vs Pakistan, and more recently, the 175 that reminded everyone of the tragic hero he was once upon a time, the World cup lap of honor, the 103* in the fourth innings which I was fortunate to witness firsthand and the 83 he scored in what will probably end up as his last fluent innings in Test cricket, in a match that is better remembered for M.S.D's double century, another match I watched from the stadium.
Sachin has been more than just the cricket, he has been the icon of this country. I have been among those who forgot every bit of pain when Sachin was batting, and conversely, got immensely pained when he got out, irrespective of the team situation. Over the last couple of years, Sachin showed me how it feels to get behind a team, ironically something which lead to me to cheer against Sachin's own IPL team!
I'll be eternally thankful to him for have made farewell a whole lot easier, by have given his 100% to the team. I am now, in that phase of being a cricket fan, where I can still see an Indian team sans Tendulkar take on the field, and cheer it with all my heart. Now, he for sure, can't give more, clearly once the best batsman in the world is struggling to put bat on ball. But as that second last ball cover drive in the CLT20 final showed, form might die, but class doesn't ever.
Thankfully Youtube has the records of everything I want to preserve about him, and that will be played, and replayed, again and again. I will miss the childlike enthusiasm in the ground. I will miss the man walking down to the boundary to field, and getting the loudest cheers in the ground, even while the opposition is leading by like 300 runs. I will miss the straight drives, the paddle sweeps, the square cuts, hell, every shot in the book and out of it!
Most of all, I'll miss the loudest cheers at the fall of the second Indian wicket, and the little man, walking into the ground, looking upwards into the sky, walking to the middle putting his gloves on, taking guard, shadow practicing, moving away to look at the field placements, walking back to the stumps, adjusting the guard by jumping up and down in signature Sachin style, calmness defined by the expression on his face, and then playing the ball exactly where he wants it to go.
My earliest memory of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar was him bowling India to victory in a match, and for a good part of the next two years, I was under the impression that he was a bowler. Many people imitate his batting to date, but he was my inspiration to bowl off and leg spinners, and seamers as well! A couple of years later, in 1998, when I wasn't still watching cricket that actively, except for of course following the scores from time to time, I happened to turn on the TV for a match. It was in Bahrain's own backyard, Sharjah, and there was a sandstorm in there, but there was one man, in fancy Indian clothes with the Indian flag and all in it, hitting the ball to every part of the ground. That 143, made me, like many other Indians, a devotee of the man. A few months later, during the World Cup 1999, his father passes away, and he misses the game against Zimbabwe, which India lose. He returns for the next match, against Kenya, and cracks a century. Once he gets to the hundred, he lets loose of his helmet, and one gets a first look at the stubble that would come to define Sachin over the next couple of years. The eyes are moist, the head and bat go up, facing the skies, something that would become a Tendulkar regular again. That day, he became my hero, and has always remained one.
There are so many many memories, personally associated, that I can't really pick any. There is his first double century in Ahmedabad, the 186* against New Zealand which remained his highest ODI score for a long time, the 193 at Headingley (the only test in which Sachin, Rahul and Dada scored centuries), the now famous March 1 '03 Centurion World Cup 98 vs Pakistan, and more recently, the 175 that reminded everyone of the tragic hero he was once upon a time, the World cup lap of honor, the 103* in the fourth innings which I was fortunate to witness firsthand and the 83 he scored in what will probably end up as his last fluent innings in Test cricket, in a match that is better remembered for M.S.D's double century, another match I watched from the stadium.
Sachin has been more than just the cricket, he has been the icon of this country. I have been among those who forgot every bit of pain when Sachin was batting, and conversely, got immensely pained when he got out, irrespective of the team situation. Over the last couple of years, Sachin showed me how it feels to get behind a team, ironically something which lead to me to cheer against Sachin's own IPL team!
I'll be eternally thankful to him for have made farewell a whole lot easier, by have given his 100% to the team. I am now, in that phase of being a cricket fan, where I can still see an Indian team sans Tendulkar take on the field, and cheer it with all my heart. Now, he for sure, can't give more, clearly once the best batsman in the world is struggling to put bat on ball. But as that second last ball cover drive in the CLT20 final showed, form might die, but class doesn't ever.
Thankfully Youtube has the records of everything I want to preserve about him, and that will be played, and replayed, again and again. I will miss the childlike enthusiasm in the ground. I will miss the man walking down to the boundary to field, and getting the loudest cheers in the ground, even while the opposition is leading by like 300 runs. I will miss the straight drives, the paddle sweeps, the square cuts, hell, every shot in the book and out of it!
Most of all, I'll miss the loudest cheers at the fall of the second Indian wicket, and the little man, walking into the ground, looking upwards into the sky, walking to the middle putting his gloves on, taking guard, shadow practicing, moving away to look at the field placements, walking back to the stumps, adjusting the guard by jumping up and down in signature Sachin style, calmness defined by the expression on his face, and then playing the ball exactly where he wants it to go.
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