Topics Topics Help/Instructions Help Edit Profile Profile Member List Register Paatha Gnyapakaalu - Archives from Old DB  
Search New Posts 1 | 2 | 8 Hours Search New Posts 1 | 3 | 7 Days Search Search Tree View Tree View Latest tweets Live Tweets   Hide Images
Bewarse Talk Discussion Board * Archives - 2013 * Cine Talk - Reviews, Gossips, Insider Info etc. * Archive through November 18, 2013 * FAREWELL TENDULKAR Mega thread < Previous Next >

  Thread Initiator Last Poster Posts Pages Last Post
Tell Sachin to make a hundred for meTthanksRavanabrahma11-14-13  1:54 pm
ThankYouSachin TrendsTthanksTthanks11-14-13  1:40 pm
Sachin EntryMavericTthanks11-14-13  12:44 pm
A Fan about SachinTthanksGaali11-14-13  1:21 pm
GadgetGuru 15% Discount with Promo code "SACHIN"TthanksTthanks11-14-13  12:32 pm
Sachin is the greatest Of All Time - British PMTthanksTthanks11-14-13  12:21 pm
Dhoni About Sachin (As told to Ajay Naidu)TthanksGaali11-14-13  1:37 pm
  ClosedClosed: New threads not accepted on this page          

Author Message
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Fakester
Censor Bewarse
Username: Fakester

Post Number: 1898
Registered: 07-2013
Posted From: 106.51.206.105

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Friday, November 15, 2013 - 2:40 am:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

sad day for cricket
I support #NTRdoNotcampaignforTDP trend in twitter.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Kingchoudary
Censor Bewarse
Username: Kingchoudary

Post Number: 89420
Registered: 03-2004
Posted From: 86.85.78.32

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Friday, November 15, 2013 - 2:10 am:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

MOVIEART--odarpu....
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Racchamass
Mudiripoyina Bewarse
Username: Racchamass

Post Number: 20293
Registered: 01-2005
Posted From: 106.206.128.18

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Friday, November 15, 2013 - 2:06 am:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

emotion ekkuva ayi esa aa fost
It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped....
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Racchamass
Mudiripoyina Bewarse
Username: Racchamass

Post Number: 20292
Registered: 01-2005
Posted From: 223.190.69.60

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Friday, November 15, 2013 - 1:24 am:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Words can't express still the feeling I had when I watched cricket for the first time. As a kid of 7 years old I just started to remember things vaguely and how they feel like. We were watching rather infamous India tour of pakistan in 1989 final day of the fourth test. India were at 22/4 when I saw someone coming to bat who did not look much older than me.

Then came the incident when I saw him go down with a bloody nose against this big bad bowler. Being a kid at my age meant he needs to go and take rest, but what I saw happen next left me astounding and question the thought that when you go down you have to stay down. This batsman not only got up but started playing again for entire day contributing to saving the match, even though at that age it did not make sense to me of a draw match.

From that day onwards cricket means watching every moment of Sachin playing like a crazy lunatic. Lashing out at everyone and everything if power goes out and acting like a maniac trying to figure how to watch the game.

Growing up, I felt the need to imitate him. He taught me no matter how much pain I have being hurt playing cricket/soccer I will keep going. No matter what happens you keep fighting. Sachin as a person is much more than just a record setting batsman. He is/was the one I've always looked up to in my darkest of times and his retirement leaves a hole inside me that won't be filled in this lifetime.

Adios to my hero and role model who taught so much to an unknown like me!!!!
It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped....
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Blazewada
Mudiripoyina Bewarse
Username: Blazewada

Post Number: 19692
Registered: 08-2008
Posted From: 111.223.89.209

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Friday, November 15, 2013 - 12:47 am:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWHa2FnKtPc
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 517
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.64.10

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 5:29 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Tendulkar has been given 500 tickets himself to give away. One was for his disabled mother, Rajni, and he was so determined that she would be able to see him play in a stadium for the first time that he made arrangements for a new wheelchair ramp to be installed at the Wankhede.

Then on the Thursday of Diwali, Tendulkar turned up out of the blue at the home of his first coach and biggest influence, Ramakant Achrekar, to invite him too.

The venerated coach is 82 now and cannot speak because of partial paralysis down his right side but his daughter Kalpana explained how her father was moved to tears when he had first heard Sachin was retiring because he had always hoped that day would never come while he was alive.

“My dad can still understand everything and it made him so happy when Sachin came and said: ‘Please come to the game, Achrekar sir. My wife Anjali will come and collect you’,” says Kalpana. “It was a very emotional meeting. Dad had five daughters but his two sons died young so he treats Sachin as if he were his own son. I think he might shed a few more tears this week.”

MOVIEART--sunil.cry
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 516
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.64.10

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 5:28 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/india/10445391/Sachin-Ten dulkar-Its-simple-India-is-in-love-with-him.html

“He means the world to the country, more than being a mere cricketer,” says Ranade. “He is like the son of the whole country and the whole country embraces him like a mother.

“So when he comes into bat this week, even in this diverse country with its many languages and changing landscape and rivalries, he can bring a feeling of togetherness in a way nobody else can.

“From here in Mumbai, to Kashmir in the north to Chennai and Kolkata in the east right down to Kanyakumari in the south, everybody wishes him well on Thursday. It’s simple; we all love him.”
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 515
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.64.10

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 5:23 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/india/10445798/Sachin-Ten dulkar-what-they-say-I-have-seen-God.-And-he-bats-at-No-4-for-India.html



Here are a selection of quotes on the man dubbed the 'Little Master':

Donald Bradman: "I saw him playing on the television and I was very, very struck by his technique. I asked my wife to come and have a look at him. Because, I said, I never saw myself play, but I feel that this feller is playing much the same as I used to play... It was just his compactness, his stroke production, his technique, it all seemed to gel as far as I was concerned."

Shane Warne: "Sachin Tendulkar is, in my time, the best player without a doubt - daylight second, Brian Lara third."

Viv Richards: "He has been a genius when it comes to ability, a Trojan when it comes to work ethic and manic when it comes to his focus."
Related Articles

'It's simple, India is in love with him'
12 Nov 2013

Family helps Tendulkar hold world at bay
11 Nov 2013

Shed a tear for Marshall, the greatest
11 Nov 2013

Ticket chaos for Sachin Tendulkar's final Test
11 Nov 2013

Warne: Tendulkar greatest opponent
09 Nov 2013

How to improve your cycling speed Santander

Rahul Dravid: "What he has done is set a benchmark for future generations which, probably, would be almost impossible for anyone to emulate."

Brian Lara: "Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal. When I speak about cricket, I will speak about Tendulkar. Just like you mention Mohammad Ali when you mention boxing and Michael Jordan when it comes to basketball."

Anil Kumble: "I am fortunate that I've to bowl at him only in the nets."

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: "His schoolboy-like enthusiasm for the game is something I envy and admire. For the team he is the best available coaching manual."

Andy Flower: "There are two kind of batsmen in the world. One, Sachin Tendulkar. Two, all the others."

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan: "I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing us to breathe the same air as you do."

Matthew Hayden: "I have seen God. He bats at number four for India."
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 514
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.64.10

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 5:22 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/westindies/10441787/As-Sa chin-Tendulkar-retires-shed-a-tear-for-the-great-Malcolm-Marshall-who-died-14-ye ars-ago-aged-41.html
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 513
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.192.10

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 5:20 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

A piece of Sachin Tendulkar will remain forever Yorkshire. He depicts his unlikely allegiance with the White Rose, consummated in the heady summer of 1992, as “one of the greatest four-and-a-half months I have spent in my life”.

And yet to savour the most exotic flavour of this chapter of Tendulkar the Tyke one needs to plot a course beyond Headingley, to the Texaco garage on Savile Road in Dewsbury, above which Solly Adam still cherishes the memories of when the young Sachin was neither the Little Master nor even a star, but simply the deferential teenage guest at his dining-room table.

“He would come for Indian food at my house, and my wife and sister-in-law would iron his clothes,” says Adam, the garrulous businessman and self-made cricketing kingmaker whose extensive web of local-league contacts in old Bombay helped anoint Tendulkar as Yorkshire’s first non-white player.

“Whenever he was free we would take him to weddings or the cinema. We would go up to Leeds for Kentucky Fried Chicken - for some reason he loved it.”

It was a time of such innocence that Adam, personally invited by Tendulkar to the farewell of kaleidoscopic madness in Mumbai this week, can barely believe it happened. “It clicks in my mind every time I see him now,” the 61-year-old admits. “He is the god of cricket, mobbed whenever he steps outside his house, but here in the early Nineties he could be freer. We gave him a small Honda car with his name on and still he would not be bothered.”
Related Articles

The little master
14 Nov 2013

India v WI, day one: as it happened
14 Nov 2013

Little Master and former servant
13 Nov 2013

Dhoni: Tendulkar 'greatest of all'
13 Nov 2013

Warne: Tendulkar greatest opponent
09 Nov 2013

India's hero-worship of Tendulkar
13 Nov 2013

What is IBM TryTracker? IBM

To sift through Adam’s album of photographs of Tendulkar at 19 is to glimpse a world, a mere 21 years distant, already bathed in sepia.

The famous photograph of him trussed up as a quintessential Yorkie, with a flat cap and foaming pint of Tetley’s bitter, would be worth around half a billion rupees according to his image rights today. But by virtue of those few months as his host and protector, Adam has arguably the most privileged insight of any man in England into the boy behind the billboards.

“With us, he was quite a character, very bubbly,” he reflects, negating more recent impressions of Tendulkar the wary diplomat, whose public pronouncements are so charming as to be bloodless. “He mixed with my kids, with my parents, and whatever he took part in he regarded very seriously. I remember that we took him to a snooker hall in Blackpool one weekend. He had never seen one of these tables before but within 30 minutes he was better than the rest of us. It was the same with tennis. An hour later, he would be striking the ball more cleanly than the chap teaching him how to play.”

It is a dismally damp day here in West Yorkshire, where Adam runs a thriving cricket suppliers’ business from his manic Dewsbury office, but still he exudes an effervescence befitting his role as the consummate fixer.

He has close family ties with Sunil Gavaskar and, upon moving to England as a schoolboy in 1963 and relishing a spot of minor counties cricket with Cumberland, he established himself as the crucial conduit for a generation of players from India and Pakistan - Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Brijesh Patel - to follow his path to play club cricket in God’s Own County. Tendulkar, however, represented by far his most dramatic and implausible coup.

For in 1992, Yorkshire County Cricket Club were not exactly the most lavishly hospitable recipients of imported talent. Indeed, Fred Trueman described the very decision to look overseas as a “b----- disgrace”.

It had been a cornerstone of policy for seven decades for their team to be resolutely homegrown, until a precipitate decline in form throughout the Eighties forced their hand, prompting Geoffrey Boycott’s committee to vote by 18 to one to usher in a fresh age of enlightenment.

As per the wishes of captain Martyn Moxon, Australian fast bowler Craig McDermott was their original choice as foreign player until, just one month before his scheduled debut on Good Friday, he pulled out of the deal citing a groin injury.

Through much gnashing of teeth in the Yorkshire boardroom, the name 'Sachin’ finally passed the lips of chairman Sir Lawrence Byford and Adam, who knew Tendulkar and could claim a mutual friend in Gavaskar, took his cue.

“I hadn’t brought guys like Imran or Javed over as an agent, but as a hobby,” he explains. “It was exactly the same with Sachin.

"I was the captain at Chickenley, here in Dewsbury, and he would ring me to say, 'Solly-bhai - literally, 'Solly, my brother’ - I want to play in local league cricket for you. Why haven’t you called me?’ He was asking for £100 a match. Ultimately, it didn’t happen, but when Byford and Brian Close confirmed that they were interested in signing Tendulkar I said that it would be my pleasure.

“Sachin was with the Test team in Australia, but this time he sounded uncertain. 'No, I’m too busy,’ he replied. Then, after a pause: 'But let me think about it.’ So straight away I called up Gavaskar. He was the one who best understood Sachin’s ambitions, and he was going to persuade him.” Sure enough, Gavaskar imparted the right solicitous words and Sir Lawrence, with Yorkshire’s touring party in South Africa, spoke to Tendulkar in an effort to cement the deal. By April 3 Chris Hassell, the club’s chief executive, had arrived in India with a contract for their man to sign.

A more practical problem was the issue of where Tendulkar, suddenly transplanted from Bombay to the Broad Acres, would live. Adam, who took no commission from the arrangement and insisted he perceived the teenage Sachin “like a son”, offered his own house but Tendulkar, in an early sign of the cultivated manners that would become his trademark, refused on the grounds that he might return too late from away games and disturb his elders.

Thus it transpired - through the cluster of rented houses that Adam had already acquired for Vinod Kambli and Praveen Amre, two of Tendulkar’s World Cup colleagues to have made the journey - that he made 34 Wakefield Crescent, a cream-coloured residence deep in Dewsbury suburbia, his first home on these shores.

His maiden match for Yorkshire was, alas, a trauma. In the teeth of the bowling of Malcolm Marshall, against Hampshire at Headingley, he was out for 86. Adam recalls: “He was so upset when we met afterwards. He had been run out at the non-striker’s end and said: 'I’m very disappointed. I always like to score a century in my first match. Wherever I have made my debut before, I have always done so.’”

Tendulkar’s score of 100 not out on his maiden first-class appearance for Bombay, aged 15, bears this out eloquently enough. But if his fleeting career at Yorkshire might be characterised as one of near-misses - given that he was caught short in the 80s three times and in the 90s twice, either side of a solitary century at Chester-le-Street - his time away from the wicket was exquisitely happy. “Sachin can be a quiet and lonely person, but there were a lot of cricketers from Mumbai here, and my house was like the family home for him,” Adam says. “Plus, his girlfriend Anjali, now his wife, would travel over from Gloucester to see him. While he tends to keep himself reserved, I found that he opened up once he thought he knew you. Once he makes friends, he doesn’t forget.”

Adam discovered that Tendulkar could be strikingly generous with his time, “drinking” the game to such an extent that even after county practice, he would come to support him at his matches for Spen Victoria in the Bradford League. “He respected me like a father and my wife like a mother. He had a great background, as the son of a writer and a teacher. I have always believed that while Brian Lara was a brilliant cricketer, he deteriorated because nobody was there to guide him. But Sachin always knew how to keep his feet on the floor.”

Upon leaving Yorkshire, Tendulkar confided to him that the exposure to the English county system “has made me eager to do better”. And as India’s greatest prepares to take his leave amid the splendour of a five-day carnival in his native city, Adam paints him unambiguously as the man who changed cricket. “Kids in India will ask, 'If Sachin can play at this level at 19 years old, why can’t I?’ Players will come into the Test side younger than 21 purely because of him. He has transformed the entire tradition.”

He is convinced, too, that Tendulkar has chosen a propitious moment to retire, claiming: “I always like it when people say, 'He could have played for another two years’, rather than, 'I’m glad he’s gone.’ ” But the most abiding picture for Adam arises not from this week’s glorious valediction but from a gesture that his guest made upon leaving Dewsbury. “I will take it with me for as long as I live,” he says, visibly emotional. “Sachin had his plane ticket back to India, and he knocked on my door at 11.30 at night. He came in, and he touched my feet. It is a traditional sign of respect in Hinduism. 'Solly-Bhai,’ he said. 'I am going tomorrow.’ And I gave him my blessing.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/india/10447958/Sachin-Ten dulkars-year-at-Headingley-changed-Yorkshire-cricket-forever.html
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 512
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.192.10

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 5:07 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

sachin valla mother-in-law british anta...peru Annabel Mehta

also anajli goes to church daily ani chadiva...


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sachin-Anjali-Jodi-No-1/articleshow/451 03681.cms

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/india/10442544/How-family -helps-Indian-great-Sachin-Tendulkar-hold-the-world-at-bay.html
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 511
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.192.10

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 3:43 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Kumble about TEndulkar

In the last couple of years, Australia, India, England and South Africa have all been No. 1 in Tests. Cricket, generally, is in a good place right now, with greater competition among more teams, faster rates of scoring and a wonderful range of bowling among the teams.

Pakistan can lose to Zimbabwe one day and then beat South Africa soon after. India can lose a series 0-4 in Australia and turn it around by the same margin when the series is played at home. When I made my debut for Karnataka, the idea of India becoming the No. 1 side was far-fetched. In that same week, another man was making his debut, for India in another country. A 16-year-old named Sachin Tendulkar had arrived, and now nearly a quarter century later, he gives his name to an era in cricket.

Turning points are not so easily recognised when they occur, but seen in perspective, on the eve of the great man's 200th Test match, we - both those who played with him and those who watched him - know we lived through this era.

Sachin and I played 122 Test matches together; I never threatened his place in the team as a batsman. But I can tell you he sometimes threatened mine as a bowler - he was such a natural as a legspinner. That he has played for so long and with such great authority is testimony both to his passion for the game and his incredible capacity for hard work.

Fans see only the final product - the exquisite straight drive or the smooth on-drive - but tend to forget the hours of sweat that went into producing such strokes. Perception leads many astray when they confuse the product with the process: the former is effortless only because of the effort that goes into the latter.

Sachin is three generations of players in himself. He began when Kapil Dev was still the spearhead of our attack, was a contemporary of the Dravids, Laxmans, Gangulys, Zaheers, Harbhajans, Dhonis and Sehwags and has placed Indian cricket in the strong and capable arms of Virat Kohli and Cheteswar Pujara.

The role of the game in India, as we bear witness to a handing over of the baton, cannot be exaggerated. Neither can the role Sachin has played in it being all things to all men.

The game unites people like nothing else does, bringing together the politician and his driver, the society lady and her hairdresser in a manner that is unique and somehow inevitable. When you consider the median age of the country is roughly the number of years Sachin has been playing first-class cricket, you can understand what I mean.

For a great majority of our countrymen, Sachin Tendulkar has been a fixture all their lives. Of no other sportsman in any other place or time can it be said that he symbolises both the essence and the aspirations of a whole people. Yet even in the case of this genius, our perceptions have shifted.

When India dropped out of the World Cup in 2007, it was assumed that we had blown the last chance to crown the greatest one-day batsman with a deserving crown. Yet, four years later, there he was, being carried on the shoulders of the next generation - literally - as the elusive World Cup was finally won in his sixth attempt.

When he turned 37 the previous year, many felt he had overstayed his welcome - a perception that was hammered home by the media. Yet it was then that he scored the first double-century in one-day internationals. Few players have done as much as Sachin to alter the perception of the game in our country either individually or as part of the best teams to take the field for India. But it wasn't just Sachin the batsman or Sachin the sharp thinker of the game alone who made the difference.

I remember him saying on a tour of the West Indies that "cricketers' stories come pouring out when it rains." With the game being held up or sometimes not even starting, the youngsters always sat around with the seniors listening to their stories, to their early hopes and disappointments and to their future aspirations. This is some of the best education that juniors can have.

And those who come in with preconceived notions about superstars and their superhuman ways soon come to realise that even the greatest players are human beings, with all the insecurities and uncertainties that we as a race are subject to.

Not all changes are planned, not all alterations in perception are logical or inevitable. Yet, despite everything, I firmly believe that cricket will endure. It has for 136 years.

The optimism is based on the thousands of boys I see playing in various grounds around the country. It stems from the look in their eyes and the passion in their voices as they talk of becoming the next Tendulkar or Dhoni.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 510
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.64.10

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 3:39 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

David to a thousand Goliaths
Tendulkar has become a national symbol of optimism and pride but when he bats, we still see him as an underdog
Mark Nicholas November 14, 2013
Tweet
The airwaves fizz every time Tendulkar walks out to the middle © BCCI
related links
Players/Officials Sachin Tendulkar Mohammad Azharuddin Brian Lara Dale Steyn
Matches India v West Indies at Kolkata
Series/Tournaments West Indies tour of India
Teams India

For the past two decades, the fall of the second Indian wicket has created an unparalleled frenzy. This comes first from the crowds, who at once animate a mild sadness at the departure of one man and an unbridled joy at the entrance of another. In homes all around India, families alert one another to the moment and gather close to their television screens.

At the ground itself, the cameramen have switched their focus from the pitch to the Indian dressing room, where a small, strong man is reacting. Still sitting, he pulls on his arm guard and rubs his hands as if drying the palms. Before standing he puts the first batting glove on his right hand and then, as he rises to his feet, he carefully positions a protective helmet upon his head, eases the strap under his chin and tucks almost 3lbs of bat under his left arm. As he begins the walk to the middle he pulls on his right batting glove. He is now ready for the calling that has been his life.

Sachin Tendulkar is 40 years old. He first played for India when he was 16. He made a hundred for India when he was 17 years and 112 days old. He has made 51 Test hundreds and 49 one-day hundreds. He, along with his captain MS Dhoni and a couple of film stars, is the best known person in a land of more than a billion people. But even his recognisable peers do not carry the hopes of that nation each minute of every day. Tendulkar is a victim of himself and so powerful is the impact that adoring followers hyperventilate around him.

He is unarguably a great cricketer and a near-perfect ambassador for modern, progressive India. He likes popular music, clothes and cars, and he has worn jewellery. Yet he retains an old-fashioned perspective. His wife is a doctor, his children like cricket. The family takes holidays behind walls or disappears into cities on faraway continents. He is unfailingly polite, angelic almost. He is as much a part of the fabric of India as the Red Fort, the Pink Palace, the Maharajas, and Diwali. Indians like cricket but they truly love Sachin Tendulkar. He has been David to a thousand Goliaths. He may, or may not, be the second-finest batsman to have played the game. To many Indians, he is a god. Or God. And now he retires from the game that has defined him.

Twenty yards from the pavilion, he stretches his back and rocks his torso from side to side. He rolls his shoulders and swings his arms before linking his bat to his body with a series of left- and right-handed movements. He rehearses some strokes. The bat looks too big for his body. It always has. He twists his mouth and contorts his jaw. He squints and then opens his eyes, wide as they will, to the brighter light. He looks to the heavens, as if acknowledging a friend.

The television director brings the statistics of a life's work to the screen: 15,837 runs at an average of 53.87; 67 fifties, 51 hundreds; highest score 248 not out. The commentators talk lavishly of his achievements and of the legacy. The excitement is at fever pitch. The spectators stand and roar their appreciation. The airwaves fizz. The viewer feels a shiver through his spine.

“ There is no single thing that can be attached to Tendulkar. You cannot say he has a style and he reveals little of his personality

Tendulkar takes guard, marking a line in the crease with a forceful rip of the spike in his shoe. I think back to Karachi in 1989 when he did this for the first time in a Test match. The attack against him was Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Abdul Qadir. He may have never faced better. He looked boyish then because he was a boy. He still appears boyish now. In those days, he had set records at school, club and state level. India wondered if the kid could cut it. Now they know. In the fourth Test of that first series, Imran floored him with a short ball. Tendulkar refused the idea that he should retire hurt, dusted himself down and made a fifty. He may never have achieved more. But he did.

Now, in Kolkata, in the only innings of his 199th Test, he looks around the field. Is this for fielders or for gaps? He blocks convincingly off front foot and back. Then he drives Shane Shillingford through the gap at midwicket. The ball rolls over the boundary rope. Two balls later, he hits the same gap. The ball speeds over the same rope. The crowd goes apoplectic. He fiddles with his thigh pad, pushing one way and the other and then he squats, stretching out his groin, before repositioning his protective box and settling deliberately back into his stance. These fidgets, these idiosyncrasies, have never changed. Ball after ball, match after match, year after year they have remained the same. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

I think back to the catch at Lord's on his first tour of England. An athletic, running effort that hinted at real talent. I think of his match-saving hundred in the next Test, at Old Trafford, when, aged 17 years and 112 days, remember, he appeared to marshall his senior partner, Manoj Prabhakar. I think of the way in which hard-bitten Yorkshire embraced him as their first overseas cricketer. I think of his smile and of the sense of fun that burst from his youth.

Oddly, this makes me think of his bowling, which always looked like a release from the strain of true responsibility. I think that I remember him saving a match with the ball. I look it up. He did, using a quirky mix of swing and spin to restrict South Africa to just three runs when six were needed from the last over of the Hero Cup semi-final in Kolkata. Mohammad Azharuddin was his captain then.

Tendulkar plays quietly forward. It is an aesthetically pleasing push/punch. His hands hold the lower part of the bat handle, revealing the butt at the top of the grip to be covered by a different colour of rubber. In the push/punch the blade of the bat is exactly straight, showing its whole face to the bowler. It was ever thus.

Sachin Tendulkar upper-cuts Shoaib Akhtar, India v Pakistan, World Cup, Centurion, 1 March, 2003
A primeval instinct: the upper cut off Shoaib Akhtar in Centurion in the 2003 World Cup © Getty Images

He went to that first hundred at Old Trafford with a wonderful boundary past mid-off from his back foot. It is about the most difficult stroke there is and it is a Tendulkar trademark. That, the straight drive that misses leg stump at the non-striker's end, and any number off wristy leg-side moments that draw intakes of breath from opponent and audience alike. Then I think about the slaughter of Shoaib Akhtar during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa and the almost primeval approach to that innings that set him apart. Even Virender Sehwag has not played an innings of such brutality. Tendulkar has said that he was once like Sehwag. But we all run out of years.

He dips at the knees in that squat once more, shuffles his box and settles into another perfect stance. Side-on, eyes level, bat tucked behind the right foot. He watches the ball closely of course, a prerequisite of good batting, and has uncanny balance in all his strokes. I think of the systematic attack on Shane Warne and the Australians in India in 1998 - pre-planned, well practised and brilliantly executed - a performance of which Ian Healy said: "Bradman must have been good if he was better than him." I think of the double-hundred in Sydney - a considered and controlled performance that came from a chronic elbow injury and the desire to succeed in spite of it.

A tweet from Brian Lara flashes across the screen: "The only man I would pay money to watch," says Lara of his old adversary. Was one a better batsman than the other? Perhaps the West Indian was the greater match-winner; the Indian, the greater technician. I think of two innings at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. Lara's unbeaten 153 to outwit the Australians and Tendulkar's 92 on a really bad pitch, a dangerous pitch (one of the few on that fine field) against Curtly Ambrose and Ian Bishop. The most revered right- and left-handed batsmen of the age. I imagine them at the wicket together, a kind of nirvana.

The age of Tendulkar has seen five unarguably great batsmen. Lara had an arrogance, Viv Richards an aura. For Jacques Kallis' statesman think Ricky Ponting's streetfighter. But there is no single thing that can be attached to Tendulkar. You cannot say he has a style and he reveals little of his personality. Perhaps this is a conscious approach, designed to give the opponent no clue. Summarising his emotion is impossible, he doesn't do drama. If anything there is sense of vulnerability that makes him attractive. We still see him as the underdog, and this a man who has become a national symbol of optimism and pride.

Now he is in his stance again. Shillingford rolls in and delivers the doosra. It beats our hero on the back foot and hits him around the upper thigh. Shillingford and other West Indians appeal ferociously. The English umpire, Nigel Llong, gives it out. Ye gods, Nigel, what were you thinking!

My mind goes to Cape Town in 1997 and the post-lunch partnership with Azharuddin. I have never seen such batting. Nor, one suspects, had President Mandela, who had come to say hello. Of the first 12 balls of the session, 11 were hit for four or six. In 40 overs they put on 222. It took a remarkable catch to finish Tendulkar at 169. I was as disappointed then with the man who took the catch, Adam Bacher, as I am now with Umpire Llong.

I stay in a Cape Town sort of mind for the innings less than three years back, when a spiteful pitch encouraged Dale Steyn and company. I asked Sachin about this and he rated the 146 that day among the best. I asked if the standard of bowling had diminished during his time in the game and he thought it had changed in method rather than quality. The bowlers defend better than earlier, thus his own game has retreated from aspiration towards attrition.

I recall Perth in 1992, when the free-thinking 18-year-old model flayed Merv Hughes and Craig McDermott on the world's fastest pitch. Incidentally, he thinks Steyn is as good as anyone, which, given a list that begins with Imran and incorporates Malcolm Marshall, Wasim Akram and Allan Donald, is high praise.

The crowd reacts with shock to Llong's decision. Tendulkar appears resigned to the moment, as if he has seen it before. The DRS would have saved him but he and colleagues have not supported it. With typical dignity he begins the long walk to the dressing room. The crowd rise to applaud, more than aware of the dying light. It is hard to be sure when greatness slipped away from Tendulkar but the World Cup win in 2011 seemed to provide the perfect final chapter to an extraordinary story. He chose to write an epilogue but it has lacked the possibilities of the previous narrative.

Suddenly he has gone from view. As he will next Monday, for ever. A piece of us goes with him. I have seen, either live or on television, every one of the innings remembered here and many more. Each of his journeys to the wicket has led to a nervous excitement and each performance has given immense pleasure. India's most precious son has been a gift to the rest of the world too.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/sachinfarewell/content/story/688341.html

This is the best so faaarrrr
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Kubang
Yavvanam Kaatesina Bewarse
Username: Kubang

Post Number: 6757
Registered: 09-2011
Posted From: 161.141.1.1

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 2:57 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

keka collection, thanks
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 509
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.192.10

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 2:52 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

http://www.sakshi.com/news/top-stories/aamir-khan-turns-commentator-in-wankhede- stadium-80718
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 508
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.64.10

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 2:49 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

WSJ: What effect do you think he has on the national psyche?

Mr. Premachandran: I think it’s a difficult one to answer. I have written this before, I don’t think there is a single individual since Gandhi who has rallied so many people behind him or her. I don’t think there has been a single person who has enjoyed that kind of popularity wherever you go in India. If you take the big Bollywood stars for example, if you go to Chennai, they have no sort of following because Bollywood in not big in Chennai. There has never been a pan-Indian icon truly. Even politicians, they have their pockets of influence whether that’s north or their own state. I don’t think you have ever seen somebody with the sort of pan-Indian appeal that Sachin has had. Wherever I have seen him play, it’s been a same sort of raptured response whenever he comes out, not just to bat. But even he just walks out to the field for practice whatever the case may be, it has always been a uniform thing.

MOVIEART--bemmi.whistle MOVIEART--bemmi.whistle MOVIEART--bemmi.whistle MOVIEART--bemmi.whistle
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 507
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.161.160.10

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 2:39 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Q&A: Why Tendulkar Is Greatest Since Gandhi

Article
Comments

Scene Asia HOME PAGE »

By
Saptarishi Dutta
CONNECT

Indranil Mukherjee/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Sachin Tendulkar walked in to bat during a Ranji Trophy match between Mumbai and Railways at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, Nov. 2, 2012.

Sachin Tendulkar, arguably India’s greatest sportsman, started playing his last Test match Thursday against West Indies in his hometown Mumbai.

After this, his 24-year old cricket career will come to an end. Here is a quick summary of the mindboggling statistics Tendulkar’s cricket career has generated.

Lately, the 40 year old hasn’t been as lethal as he used to be on the cricket pitch. But his departure will surely bring tears to the eyes of his fans in India and abroad.

Dileep Premachandran, editor-in-chief of Wisden India, a cricketing magazine, who has been covering cricket in India for nearly 15 years, spoke to The Wall Street Journal about Tendulkar’s retirement, his influence on young cricketers and why he’s the only true pan-Indian icon since Mahatma Gandhi.

Edited excerpts.

The Wall Street Journal: You say when Sachin Tendulkar started his career Indian economy was opening up and growing rapidly. Now that he is retiring, India’s economic growth is also declining. Can you please elaborate on how Tendulkar can be seen as a totem for India’s economy? Do you think there is a direct link, or is it just a coincidence?

Dileep Premachandran: It was more as a joke. It is pure co-incidence. I don’t think the two are related in any way but it’s something that caught my eye that the decline in his personal fortunes just happens to occur at the same time as the economic slowdown. It’s obviously not related in any way.

WSJ: What effect do you think he has on the national psyche?

Mr. Premachandran: I think it’s a difficult one to answer. I have written this before, I don’t think there is a single individual since Gandhi who has rallied so many people behind him or her. I don’t think there has been a single person who has enjoyed that kind of popularity wherever you go in India. If you take the big Bollywood stars for example, if you go to Chennai, they have no sort of following because Bollywood in not big in Chennai. There has never been a pan-Indian icon truly. Even politicians, they have their pockets of influence whether that’s north or their own state. I don’t think you have ever seen somebody with the sort of pan-Indian appeal that Sachin has had. Wherever I have seen him play, it’s been a same sort of raptured response whenever he comes out, not just to bat. But even he just walks out to the field for practice whatever the case may be, it has always been a uniform thing.

WSJ: What kind of impact does Tendulkar have on young cricketers such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina on and off the field?

Mr. Premachandran: I think all these guys have benefitted hugely from him by playing alongside him for all these three or four years whether it’s Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma. When you have someone with such an impressive work ethic and such commitment to the game, how can you not learn from that? They have seen what he has achieved. They have seen the work he has put into to achieve that. And, you know, if you don’t learn from that then you are a fool. And I don’t think any of these kids are fools.

When you are sharing a dressing room with someone who has been there done that, enjoyed tremendous highs and enormous lows, when he tells you ‘Don’t get nervous just play out the first 20 balls and you’ll be okay’, you listen to that because it’s coming from somebody who has done what needs to be done.

WSJ: Who do you think has the potential to match or beat Tendulkar’s records?

Mr. Premachandran: I honestly don’t think the 200 Tests, the runs record and the hundreds record will be broken, because I know there are people like Alistair Cook [England’s leading Test century maker and the youngest player to go past 7,000 runs in Test cricket], but I honestly cannot see him going on to play for another 15 years. Not too many players enjoy the kind of consistent run that [Tendulkar] had. Of these 24 years, about 18 or 19 were good ones. You probably had five bad years. It’s hard to imagine another player having 19 good years. I look at somebody like Ricky Ponting [the former Australia captain] who at one stage people said was going to go past Tendulkar. Look what happened there. Once you hit the wall at a certain age, usually most people don’t come back with the greatness of Sachin. He did come back.

I think Virat will probably do it on the One-day [international] numbers. But again it depends whether he can stay focused, can he stay consistent for 20 years, which Sachin did. In the One-day game, he churned out runs relentlessly for two decades. Can any of these guys do that? I feel Virat is at the best place to threaten the One-day record. But again I wouldn’t get carried away because not too many people have what it takes to play that long with that level of consistency.

WSJ: There is never ending debate on who is the greatest batsman in the world out of Sir Donald Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar? Who do you think is the greatest or is the debate futile?

Mr. Premachandran: I think it’s a futile debate. I think Bradman played cricket in two countries if I am not wrong, against four teams. I think Sachin played in over 100 venues internationally and in three different formats. It’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges. Of the batsmen I have watched in my lifetime, Tendulkar is definitely the most complete all-round batsman. I can’t think of anyone who is that versatile across formats.

WSJ: Sachin’s absence from the Test team will be a major void. Do you think the Indian cricket team is prepared for that or will they need to re-strategize?

Mr. Premachandran: I think they are prepared for that. They have been preparing for that for pretty much close to a year. We have already seen players like Shikhar Dhawan coming to the team, Pujara has been there for a year and a bit now after his comeback, Virat is there for more than a year. Rohit is just coming. I think what India needs to do now is to get over the whole comparison mentality. Pujara is not the next Dravid. Kohli is not the next Sachin. Let them be their own people and we’ll see how good they are in a few years’ time.

I think it will take a little patience. They are not going to go to South Africa and win two-nil or win five-nil in England straight away. That’s not going to happen. I think people need to give them some time. Sachin also took some time to find his feet, so did Rahul Dravid, so did Saurav. All these players took time to find their niche.

WSJ: What’s your favorite Tendulkar innings and why?

Mr. Premachandran: Of the ones I have seen on television and overall, I would still go with Perth when he was 19 years old back in Feb. 1992. Just to see a boy take on Australia with a series lost, on what was the fastest pitch in the world and a score a hundred like that, it was something incredible. I think it probably gave an entire generation of players the belief that if this guy can do it, if we work hard, maybe we can too. So for that reason, probably it remains my favorite.

WSJ: Do you think all the hype with his last Test might impact his game? Will he be able to enjoy his last cricket match?

Mr. Premachandran: I think he will enjoy. Obviously the hype and the hoopla around it, you can’t shut it out totally. But if there is any man who is capable of shutting out the distractions, I think it’s him. I guess being the last Test, there will be a sense of liberation. You know this is it and ‘Let me just go out and enjoy.’ I think he will. I saw after the nets today, he was smiling, cracking jokes. I think he will just go out and have a good time.

WSJ: There was a debate that he has overstayed his international career. What do you think?

Mr. Premachandran: The issue I have with this debate, people who are debating, like you and me have no concept of greatness because we are not great. We do not know what it is like to be in that position. These players know when they are on their way down, but they also find ways to compensate. In Tendulkar’s case, I think we shouldn’t judge him by the numbers of the last two years. It’s also been a team very much in transition. It lost Rahul, it lost VVS [Laxman.] It has now lost Sehwag and Gambhir maybe not forever, but they are not in the team now. It would have been a huge sea change if there was not one old head in the team to guide the younger players. So, I think in that sense he had a job to do and he has done that.

Transition is one of the hardest things to manage when you have a team that is aging. By and large, India has done it well. They have phased out guys almost series by series and brought in one or two new guys each time. That’s the best way to go about it because if four or five guys go at the same time, you just collapse in a heap, which is pretty much what happened to Australia after 2006.

See the best of India Real Time’s coverage on Sachin Tendulkar here.

Share your favorite Tendulkar innings by tweeting to us @WSJIndia or leave your comments in the comment section
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 506
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.161.160.10

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 2:38 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/14/sport/indias-sachin-tendulkar-enters-cricket-p antheon/


Sachin Tendulkar: India's 'Little Master' thrills fans in final Test

In boxing it's Muhammad Ali, in soccer it's Brazil's Pele and in basketball it's Michael Jordan, but this week India, already a country with no shortage of deities, will place batting great Sachin Tendulkar in the pantheon of cricketing legends.

On Thursday the 40-year-old began his world-record 200th and final Test match -- the longest form of the game, which can last up to five days -- in his hometown of Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium, in a series that could have been sold out more than 10 times over.

He walked onto the pitch to a standing ovation from the capacity crowd, with the opposing West Indies team forming a guard of honor as he came out to bat.

"The Little Master" gave fans plenty to cheer about as he reached 38 not out at the end of the first day's play, hitting six boundaries from 73 balls faced.

It lifted India to 157-2 at stumps, a deficit of just 25 runs with eight first-innings wickets remaining.
Sachin Tendulkar makes cricket history
India's 'God of cricket' popularity
Imran Khan says Tendulkar should retire

This could be Tendulkar's final chance at the batting crease, as the tourists -- who lost the first Test of the two-match series by an innings and 51 runs -- capitulated again earlier Thursday, making just 182 as Indian spin bowler Pragyan Ojha took five wickets.

A similar performance in the second innings could deny Tendulkar another turn at bat.

He is not just a sports star, but also an icon in a country of more than 1.2 billion people.

His fans often wave placards at matches that read, "Cricket is my religion and Sachin is my God." Himself a devout Hindu, the diminutive 5-feet 5-inch all-rounder was well-known throughout his career as a modest superstar who never lost his cool either at the batting crease or in front of the cameras and fans.

READ: Indian cricket legend endulkar announces retirement

Former India captain Rahul Dravid told CNN that Tendulkar would be remembered as "the benchmark" against which all the nation's cricketers measured themselves.

In a game where 100 runs -- or a century -- is regarded as the high-water mark of batting achievement in any match at any level, Tendulkar last year reached 100 hundreds at international level and now holds almost all coveted batting records except for cricket legend Don Bradman's career average of 99.94 runs.

Even "The Don" as he is known in Australia -- the cricketing prodigy of the 1930s and '40s who was still alive when Tendulkar made his Test debut in 1989 -- once remarked on the Little Master's prodigious talent.

"I saw him playing on the television and I was very, very struck by his technique. I asked my wife to come and have a look at him. Because, I said, I never saw myself play, but I feel that this feller is playing much the same as I used to play ... It was just his compactness, his stroke production, his technique, it all seemed to gel as far as I was concerned," Bradman told reporters.

Throughout a stellar career, Tendulkar has scored 15,847 runs in 199 Test matches at an average of 53.71 each innings, and 18,426 runs in 463 one-day international matches at 44.83 each time at bat.

Shane Warne -- the famous Australian leg spin bowler and another of Bradman's favorite contemporary cricketers -- rated him the greatest player of the modern game.

"Sachin Tendulkar is, in my time, the best player without a doubt -- daylight second, Brian Lara third," said Warne, who said of the Indian that it was "a pleasure bowling to him."
Sachin Tendulkar is, in my time, the best player without a doubt - daylight second, Brian Lara third
Shane Warne

Australian cricket commentator Gideon Haigh said Tendulkar was well-known for his grace under pressure in a sport better known in modern times for its towering egos.

"Certainly, he has left a strong imprint on his cricket contemporaries," Haigh wrote in The Australian newspaper. "They knew him, for example, for never throwing his bat after a dismissal; he would sit down in the dressing room, reflect, but never brood."

In India, his popularity has reached beyond cricket's stadiums and -- with a career unsullied by controversy or scandal -- he has become a marketer's dream.

With a net worth of about $160 million from endorsements, property and cricket earnings, according to Singapore-based Wealth X, Tendulkar is cricket's richest player and the country's biggest icon.

Walk into any shopping mall in India, and there's a good chance you will see Tendulkar on a poster or a billboard. He endorses 17 products including Canon, Visa and Adidas.

Canon has spent $50 million on advertising over the past five years -- and half of that on Tendulkar alone.

"It has worked phenomenally," Canon India's senior vice president Alok Bharadwaj told CNN. "We notice that the awareness of our brand is improving and since people respect him a lot there's almost a subtle admission that if Sachin is saying it, then it has to be true."

Tendulkar is known to be choosey about what he endorses and will not, for instance, put his name to alcohol, despite large offers from corporations

Despite his commercial success, the "Little Master" says it's always been about the cricket.

"The fact was that it was all happening because of cricket and my focus always stayed on cricket, the rest of these things happened around cricket and even today cricket is the focal point, cricket is the ultimate thing for me ... it's that simple," he told CNN in an interview in 2008
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 505
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.161.160.10

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 2:36 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

WALL STREET JOURNAL :

TENDULKAR IS GREATEST SINCE GANDHIJI

http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2013/11/14/qa-tendulkar-is-greatest-since-gandhi/

MOVIEART--bemmi.dance MOVIEART--bemmi.dance MOVIEART--bemmi.dance MOVIEART--bemmi.dance
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Sachinfan
Celebrity Bewarse
Username: Sachinfan

Post Number: 34910
Registered: 10-2010
Posted From: 8.28.19.76

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 2:35 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

http://www.starsports.com/cricket/video/videoid=1291367/index.html#sachin-farewe ll-test-day-replay


Gaalannai, if you want to record the entire 1st day, here is the replay.

BTW naan ipude recording pettanu..CLIPART--bluebouncer
Signature... inka edi decide kaaledu CLIPART--smoke
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 504
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.161.160.10

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 2:35 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

http://sportzcosmos.com/2013/11/14/growing-up-with-tendulkar-finale/


Growing Up With Tendulkar – Finale
Sportz Cosmos / 16 mins ago

You can read the 1st part of Growing Up With Tendulkar, here
The first decade of new millennium

The new millennium came and I stepped into my first job. Despite the project deadlines, long office hours and CAT preparation, I always watched cricket. The whole schedule used to revolve around cricket. Office timings during the cricket tournaments became function of India’s batting. And it remained so for a long time. The new millennium also saw Indian cricket come out relatively unscathed from the match fixing scandal. Post that dark period, the team actually became better. Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman along with Tendulkar were as daunting a batting line up as any in the world and in Kumble we had a match winning bowler. The results also started to show as we started winning matches overseas. The Indian cricket team was no longer overly dependent on Tendulkar. Although he was still the star of the team, he realized that he doesn’t need to go bang bang every time. He redefined his role, his approach to the game for team’s cause. And that’s where I see a lot of parallel between my own life and that of Tendulkar the cricketer. When you are out of your student life and enter the corporate world, you become a professional and are expected to behave like one. Suddenly maturity, career, planning, saving, finances are the words that become associated with you. And I feel that is what also happened to Tendulkar. He became mature, he was part of a team and there was a collective objective, a collective plan and he was a significant part of the plan. Earlier he was the plan. He can no longer be the flamboyant batsman that he was because that was now somebody else’s job. He transitioned from the destroyer to the accumulator, a mature guide and mentor for the younger ones in the team. A mature fan like me understood this very well. There were some fickle fans who felt that he should always bat the way he batted during the 90s and it was difficult to explain the transition to them. And it indeed was no simple transition, earlier he was the team, now he was a member of the team, albeit the most significant one. Overall it benefited the team. As a true fan of the sport, I actually loved this transition as it led to lesser heartbreaks. And then the next world cup came around, in South Africa. We started poorly but ultimately it was Tendulkar who came to team’s rescue. His batting gave the Indian team a lift from the stuttering beginning and carried the team to the final. Two of his shots that are still etched in the memory of every Indian cricket fan – the pulled six off Caddick in Durban and the upper cut off Akhtar at Centurion. And in the end, it was like 90s all over again, India riding on the back of Tendulkar’s genius went until the last hurdle but failed. Despite having the best batsman of the World Cup at our disposal, we couldn’t win it. This World Cup final defeat brought back memories of ’96 WC. There were similarities– in 96, the eventual winner SL beat us in the group stage and then again in the semi-final and in 2003 the eventual winner Australia beat us first in the group stage and then in the final. But somehow this defeat did not feel as painful as the one against Sri Lanka in the 96 world cup semi, to me at least it did not. May be because by the time we came out to bat in the 2003 WC final, we knew that task was nearly impossible. Only a perfect script could have ensured a win and perfect scripts are for movies or fantasies and this was real. Or may be by this time, as a Sachin fan I had matured enough to understand that a perfect script where Sachin taking us to win against all odds is just a fantasy and will remain that, a fantasy. No shame in admitting that we lost to the team that had won every single match in that World Cup and will do so again in the next edition.

And I think it was this maturity as a fan that has helped me remain sane during the next few years as a cricket fan. There was a period of 3-4 years after the 2003 world cup when Sachin admittedly hit a bad patch in his career. Of course more than a decade and half of toil, injuries and aging body did not help matters. There were trigger happy cricket fans, pundits, tv anchors and journalists for whom bashing Sachin became favourite past time. I for one could understand the hysteria when in a space of few years, the same people who had elevated Sachin to the status of cricketing demigod have now made him their favourite punching bag. Every loss was because of him, if he did not score then he was to be blamed for the loss and if he had scored, still he was to be blamed because his score did not help India to win a match. Every tom, dick and harry had an opinion on the position at which Sachin should bat, the way he should bat, the kind of shots he should play. This was possibly the best period an armchair critic of Sachin would have had and some did try and get as much mileage as possible. There were some who made a career out of Sachin bashing and few in their enthusiasm to jump on to the “bash Sachin” bandwagon even crossed the limits of lunacy. I met one such intellectual who in his zeal to prove that Sachin should retire, picked up some random period where Mutthiah Muralidharan outscored Sachin by few runs! The point being, in the selected period Mutthiah Muralidharan was a better batsman than Tendulkar. And then there were some who I had the fortune of never meeting, a certain dumb-wit who even coined a term “Endulkar” and a leading daily published an article with the same term way back in 2006. I am sure some of the pseudo cricket fans may have even reasoned that somehow global warming is caused by Sachin. But one good thing actually came out of that period was that it separated the real fans from the bandgwagoners. As far as I was concerned, I knew it’s a phase that was bound to pass. Yes sometimes Sachin did appear out of touch but more often than not he appeared in good form but somehow was not able to convert the starts into something big. As a Sachin fan, that truly was a depressing time. Not because I did not believe that he will come back to form soon, but because every lowlife and his dog wanted him to quit the game. I was even mocked when I said that I am sure Sachin is going to play the 2011 World Cup in India. And that was even before the 2007 World Cup.

And as a true Sachin fan had hoped, things did turn around for good. Yes, they did become worse and the 2007 World Cup was possibly the nadir. But what a turn around it was. We again saw the same Sachin, especially against Australia in 2008. And he went on to get some big scores from then on. In the process he did address some of the charges levelled against him such as not scoring a century in an ODI final while chasing successfully or not scoring a century and winning the match in the 4th innings of a test match when India is set a difficult target etc. Had he not done that, I don’t think his greatness would have been any lesser. Anyways it was particularly interesting to see the same people who criticised Sachin and were baying for his blood during 2004/05-2006/07 were now posting on Facebook as the biggest fans. Well success does bring some bandwagoners with it.
The closing stages

One by one, Sachin started calling it a day from other formats of the game. And now finally the time has come when I will not even see Sachin walk out to bat anymore. When the news broke out, it took some time to sink in. The realization that you will not be seeing the same cricketer play ever again that you have grown up watching was hard to take. In the last 2 decades, I have slogged to get into an IIT and an IIM, worked in multiple companies, travelled to multiple countries, have had relationships and their highs and lows, made new friends and lost touch with some old friends, enjoyed the joys of fatherhood and the endless sleepless nights changing diapers. But one thing that has always remained close to the heart is cricket and Sachin. And I don’t think in this age and era I will again be able to give two decades or more of my life to a single sport and a sportsman.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Sachinfan
Celebrity Bewarse
Username: Sachinfan

Post Number: 34909
Registered: 10-2010
Posted From: 8.28.19.76

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 2:20 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

em matladakudadhu.. emanna cheyamani cheppava endi naku..MOVIEART--bemmi.adi
Signature... inka edi decide kaaledu CLIPART--smoke
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Kichidi
Censor Bewarse
Username: Kichidi

Post Number: 29567
Registered: 02-2010
Posted From: 66.193.93.3

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 2:18 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post


Sachinfan:


nuvvu matladakamma.. nuvvu matladaku.. MOVIEART--bemmi.angry
ITALIAN MAFIASOCLIPART--smoke
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Sachinfan
Celebrity Bewarse
Username: Sachinfan

Post Number: 34907
Registered: 10-2010
Posted From: 8.28.19.76

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 2:07 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

talent supistannava bava..MOVIEART--kummesana1
Signature... inka edi decide kaaledu CLIPART--smoke
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Kichidi
Censor Bewarse
Username: Kichidi

Post Number: 29566
Registered: 02-2010
Posted From: 66.193.93.3

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 2:06 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

All threads in one place.. sachin fans enjoyy....
ITALIAN MAFIASOCLIPART--smoke
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Gaali
Celebrity Bewarse
Username: Gaali

Post Number: 37854
Registered: 03-2004
Posted From: 131.247.54.65

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 2:02 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Sachin is "In the News" in all major USA newspapers.

MOVIEART--bemmi.whistle
Be Positive!
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Gaali
Celebrity Bewarse
Username: Gaali

Post Number: 37853
Registered: 03-2004
Posted From: 131.247.54.65

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 2:01 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

The Washington Post

Goodbye, ‘God of Cricket’

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/goodbye-god-of-cricket/2013/11/12/ce1c52e8-4 b04-11e3-ac54-aa84301ced81_gallery.html#photo=1
Be Positive!
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Gaali
Celebrity Bewarse
Username: Gaali

Post Number: 37852
Registered: 03-2004
Posted From: 131.247.54.65

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 1:59 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Time Magazine - Person of the Moment

Sachin Tendulkar

http://time100.time.com/2013/10/15/person-of-the-moment/slide/sachin-tendulkar-p lays-his-last-match/
Be Positive!
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Gaali
Celebrity Bewarse
Username: Gaali

Post Number: 37851
Registered: 03-2004
Posted From: 131.247.54.65

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 1:57 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

The Wall Street Journal
Farewell to Cricket's Little Master

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304644104579193602772850562
Be Positive!
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 503
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.194.11

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 1:57 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Eenadu special page
http://eenadu.net/sachin-tendulkar-farewell/sachin-tendulkar.html
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 502
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.194.11

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 1:56 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

TIME :

http://world.time.com/2013/11/14/everything-you-need-to-know-about-sachin-tendul kar/
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 501
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.194.11

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 1:55 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

BBC vadu super coverage isthunnadu

Sachin Tendulkar: A debut that hinted at genius to come

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/24934482

Sachin Tendulkar is greatest cricketer in history - Brian Lara

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/24921333

Why Indians love Sachin Tendulkar

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-24830995
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Gaali
Celebrity Bewarse
Username: Gaali

Post Number: 37850
Registered: 03-2004
Posted From: 131.247.54.65

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 1:54 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

New York Times

Where the Gods Live On ... and On

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/opinion/tendulkar-finally-retires-from-cricket .html?ref=sports


quote:

In a land of chronic inefficiency, he was remorselessly efficient; in a land with a global inferiority complex, he was the best in the world; in a land where public figures are strutting peacocks, he was often a picture of painful humility; in a land that thirsts for self-respect, Sachin spelled pride.




Oh! My God!MOVIEART--cover drive
Be Positive!
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Gaali
Celebrity Bewarse
Username: Gaali

Post Number: 37849
Registered: 03-2004
Posted From: 131.247.54.65

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 1:52 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

New York Times

Final Innings for a Cricket Giant

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/sports/cricket/tendulkar-stepping-away-from-cr icket-but-his-impact-remains.html?ref=sports&_r=0


quote:

“Jordan, Woods and Beckham may cross more boundaries,” the American writer Mike Marqusee wrote in 2002, in a profile of Tendulkar on the ESPN Cricinfo website. “But nowhere do those players carry the weight of expectation that Tendulkar carries in India (and among the Indian diaspora).”



Be Positive!
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Sachinfan
Celebrity Bewarse
Username: Sachinfan

Post Number: 34903
Registered: 10-2010
Posted From: 8.28.19.76

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 1:48 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post


Tthanks:


MOVIEART--bemmi.muddu
Signature... inka edi decide kaaledu CLIPART--smoke
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Esperanza
Celebrity Bewarse
Username: Esperanza

Post Number: 25142
Registered: 08-2004
Posted From: 88.114.31.209

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 1:48 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

chala emotional ga undindi eerojanta nakuMOVIEART--dv.cry
space for lease
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 500
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.194.11

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 1:47 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Sachin is the greatest of all time - British PM

NEW DELHI: Describing ace Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as "the greatest of all time", British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday wished him good luck for his ongoing 200th Test match against the West Indies in Mumbai.

http://www.rediff.com/cricket/report/slide-show-1-sachin-is-the-greatest-of-all- times-admits-british-pm-tendulkar-tribute-salute/20131114.htm

"He is the greatest of all times. He's an extraordinary cricketer...a fantastic player. I wish him well today," he said while interacting with Indian businessmen.

Cameron said it's not just about cricket but also the consistency one needs to score a century.

Noting that Tendulkar has inspired a lot of youth, he said, "If you look who has done more to inspire the young cricketers, he has done well in that."

Tendulkar is playing his last Test match at his home ground Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai before bidding goodbye to international cricket. He has already announced retirement from one-day cricket.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 499
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.194.11

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 1:46 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

GadgetsGuru 15% Discount with Promo code "SACHIN"

http://www.gadgetsguru.com/deals/

http://www.gadgetsguru.com/
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Proofdada
Bewarse Legend
Username: Proofdada

Post Number: 131542
Registered: 03-2004
Posted From: 213.240.112.240

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 1:45 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

sachin CLIPART--sad
Narsiah fans Ramu,Gali...
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 498
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.64.10

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 1:45 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Don Bradman’s farewell Test teammate

Neil Harvey was among the eleven who played in Don Bradman’s farewell Test. For him, after Bradman there has been only one name — Sachin Tendulkar. Now 85, and one of only two surviving members from that 1948 historic game, he is keenly following the activity around the Mumbai maestro’s swansong series.

Both captured the imagination of their respective generations like no one else. Bradman’s farewell game had the undivided attention of the entire cricket world; Tendulkar’s final hurrah starting in the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday is commanding similar hysteria.

“Tendulkar has been the best player I have seen since Bradman; he’s been a top class player for a lot and lot of years. It’s sorry to see a great player retire, but it is going to come sooner or later, now it has come for him.”

“But he’s been a real spectators’ man, people have paid money to go and watch him play,” the Sydney-based Harvey told HT.

“He’s got a mystique about him, little bit like Bradman, where guys take the afternoon off and go and watch him bat.”

Ever since Harvey set eyes on him in Sydney in his debut series in Australia (1991-92), Tendulkar has been his favourite player. Every innings of the Mumbai champion is followed keenly. He’s at an age where the memory is playing tricks, but ask him about the Little Master and he is quick to point out he made only 10 in Kolkata.

Tendulkar’s last Test is also his 200th and Harvey said like Bradman’s average of 99.94, it’s a milestone Tendulkar will come to identify with. “No way, anyone is going to break the record of 200 Tests. It’s like Bradman’s 99.94, it will stay forever. They can’t play anymore Test matches than they are playing today. It took me the same amount of time as Ponting and Waugh, 15 years, to play 79 Tests and he played 160-plus in the same time,” said Harvey, dubbed the ‘The Kid’ by Bradman’s men.

The greatest career in cricket ended with a duck, and Harvey wishes Tendulkar doesn’t go the same way. “If you see Tendulkar, tell him to make a hundred for me. It’s a golden era in Indian cricket, a golden era for Tendulkar himself. He’s been an ornament for the game of cricket, all over the world, not just India. He’s made runs all over the world and he deserves what he has done, he’s just a great cricketer,” said the former left-hand batsman.

Harvey said Tendulkar’s game evoked comparisons with the Don for many reasons: “The way they go about their work, they are both strokeplayers, they are great entertainers, their footwork is great. Their choice of shot is great, they get on with their game. They just prove themselves of great value to the sporting public.”

He has watched quite a few Tendulkar specials, including the 155 at Chennai in 1998, but his personal favourite is the first hundred against Australia at the SCG. “(My favourite hundred is) When he was the youngest to make a century in Sydney, it’s a long time ago, I was there, and it’s always been a pleasure to watch him play.”

Even though he wishes from his heart for one last Tendulkar special, Harvey is not so sure if it will happen. “He’s only made 10 in his last innings and he’s got only one go left. I hope he does it,” said Harvey, hinting that Tendulkar may have stuck around for a year too long.

Many stories from his last Test will become part of the Tendulkar folklore, like how Bradman reacted after the duck in his last innings.

Harvey remembers vividly: “He came in, like anybody else, sat down, took his pads off and quipped: ‘Fancy doing a thing like that,’ that’s all he said.

Everybody in the team felt sorry for him, but we still didn’t know he needed only four runs (for averaging 100). Nobody knew.”

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/tell-sachin-to-make-a-hundred-for-me-do n-bradman-s-farewell-test-teammate/article1-1150934.aspx
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Gaali
Celebrity Bewarse
Username: Gaali

Post Number: 37846
Registered: 03-2004
Posted From: 131.247.54.65

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 1:44 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

The LEGEND will Live Forever!

MOVIEART--bemmi.whistle
Be Positive!
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 497
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.64.10

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 1:44 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

A Fan(YS from SBDB) About Sachin

He is more than my favourite player. He has been part of the life and keeping me in joy for past 24 years irrespective of Team's win or loss.

When it comes to my other favourite actors, leaders etc I try to support,fight for them from bottom of my heart and wants everyone to know about their achievements but when it comes to Sachin I am very callous and really dont care abut what media, others say negative about him. I havent developed the attitude wantedly.

For me Sachin is only a positive feeling. Inspiration, motivation, entertainment, joy and excitement. I always had my heart in my mouth when Sachin plays irrespective of how comfortable the team or Sachin is.

I don't think I can have those kind of emotions or feelings again. Thanks Sachin for everything !
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tthanks
Pilla Bewarse
Username: Tthanks

Post Number: 496
Registered: 01-2013
Posted From: 171.159.64.10

Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 1:43 pm:    Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Dhoni About Sachin

A billion people, including Sachin Tendulkar himself, face their moment of truth on Thursday. As the little great man of Indian cricket plays his last Test match, an entire nation is ready to bid an emotional farewell to the cricketer who has given them unbridled joy for well over two decades.

In his privileged company, I have had a first-hand experience of how just one man can hold a nation's breath; how he can even put a smile on a billion faces with the magic of his willow.

I usually keep my emotions in check. But then, there so much happening around 'Paaji's' farewell Test which keeps reminding that this one is indeed a very special occasion for a very special person. Sachin Tendulkar - and Amitabh Bachchan - were my childhood heroes.

I got hooked on to cricket because of Tendulkar. So, personally, it has been an amazing fairytale for me and I feel blessed to have got an opportunity to share the dressing room with Paaji for ten long, illustrious, years.

Millions yearn to wear the India colours. There are those who perhaps would be too happy to wear the India cap at least once. Then there are those who hope to play a bit longer say 25-30 Test matches.

And 100 Tests is a rare milestone even for the best of players and it brings a huge sense of satisfaction and delight. But for someone to play 200 Test matches, in a glittering career for almost 25 years, is simply mind-boggling. It is also a tribute to Paaji's skill, endurance and most of all his passion for the game.

Playing cricket has been Paaji's pilgrimage. All along, he has been totally devoted to the game. Like most cricketers, I too am amazed by his child-like enthusiasm for the game.

Right through his wonderful journey he has been extremely fit and focused and conducted himself with great dignity. He is an institution by himself; all those cricketers who took a leaf out of his book - and there are many of them - have gone on to become better at their craft.

Much like a beautiful early morning dream, everything about Sachin Tendulkar is notably good and he leaves people yearning for a bit more.

He has his own impeccable ways of doing things. He has kept himself in great shape right through, wears that lovely smile, oozing confidence that rubs off on to others. And seldom has this man spoken a word in anger. He is just too happy to let his bat do all the talking.

At times of crisis you always need your best support system to fall back on; a kid would want his parent around, a wife would want her hubby by her side and vice-versa. In much the same way, having Sachin Tendulkar in the dressing room was a great comforting thought for all of us. He has been our 'go-to' man for every problem.

I guess, I never ever had a normal conversation with Paaji simply because of the respect I have for him. Despite knowing and playing with him for a decade now, I must confess, I am still extremely shy, in fact in awe, of him; As far as I could, I would rather avoid him. Of course, the only time I overcome these mental blocks was once I stepped onto the field. There, everybody is equal for me.

Simple, humble, unassuming; Sachin has been a heady cocktail of a cricketing genius, great sporting ambassador for the country, a good mentor and a true friend. He was the boy who brought boys' dreams to life.

He was the son every parent so passionately desired. In that famous movie, 'Mr. India' is an invisible man but Sachin Tendulkar might as well have been a true 'Mr. India' in flesh and blood. Such has been his chemistry with an adoring nation. To his die-hard fans, Sachin is India and India is Sachin.

As the story goes, after Rahul Dravid gave up captaincy, the selectors were keen to give the job to Tendulkar who politely refused and instead backed me for the job.

I feel humbled by the fact that he suggested my name. I felt happy that he reposed his trust in me. Honestly, even if I had not been given the job, the fact that my childhood hero had confidence in me was itself was a good reason to make me feel extremely proud.

I guess, a part of me will be gone too once Paaji leaves; such has been his overwhelming influence on my psyche in the ten years that I have known him. But then, as they say, all good things do come to an end sometime, somewhere.

I am sure, he will continue to spread warmth and sunshine wherever he goes and be exceptionally good at whatever he does. Thank you so much Paaji.

You were a gift from the heavens. You were India's pride and joy. There won't be another one like you. We all will miss you. And the memories will linger.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournament/sachin-tendu lkar-to-hang-his-boots/top-stories/With-Sachin-Paaji-a-part-of-me-will-be-gone-t oo/articleshow/25719688.cms

Topics | Last Hour | Last Day | Last Week | Tree View | Search | Help/Instructions | Program Credits Administration