It happens only in India.
- Dhoni on strike. Off drive. Misfield at long-off. India is batting and we get an extra run. But everyone goes crazy and hurls the craziest abuses on the fielder.
- Dhoni on strike. Four. Cries of "Shit", "WTF". Next delivery. Six. Hall on fire. Wrath against Dhoni manifests itself in the form of a huge uproar and banging of tables. "Ek Do Teen Chaar...Dhoni Ki G**** M***".
This is the atmosphere in the Father Enright Mess when 'strike' eludes the little master for what seems like an eternity. We have waited 20 years for this moment. Some bugger from Ranchi can't snatch it away from us.
No one's moving from their places. India's GDP takes a dip. The whole nation is at a standstill. Its only in the last over when he touches the magic figure. The hall erupts. Yes, the wait is over. Gwalior is the new Mecca.
Click on the video to view crazy devotees in their moment of ecstasy
Yet another milestone. Yet another record. The day is not far when cricket will be remembered and addressed as a game this man played.
--
Don't bowl him bad balls. He hits the good ones for fours." - Michael Kasprowicz
--
My dad hates him like hell. He isn't quite fond of idolizing people and he knows what this man means to me. For me, he is beyond critiques.
When I was a eight, he was an example of someone who everyone seemed to know and love. Wills World Cup 1996 made me marry cricket. 523 runs in a single ODI tournament. Courtney Walsh couldn't make so many in his life!
When I was ten, he was reliability personified. 9 ODI centuries in 1998. Sharjah. Kangaroos. The tourney is etched in the collective conscience of a nation of fanatics. Indian cricket team ceased to be anything more than a one-man-army.
When I was eleven, he was an example of guts, grit and gumption. The legend stormed the Kenyan side in the 1999 WC by his 140* immediately after he returned from home after the most tragic incident in his life - his father's death. That's fortitude. That's determination.
When I was twelve, he was an idol already. He gave Shane Warne nightmares in 2000. That was what he could do to one of Wisden's five cricketers of the century. And this is what he can do to a server in Bangalore: cricinfo.com is down from the moment he brushed past 200.
When I was fifteen, he was an example of consistency and living upto the expectations of a billion loons. This man singlehandedly took the Indian side to the WC 2003 finals with 673 runs in 11 matches.
When I was seventeen, he told me what will power is when he returned with full steam after the tennis elbow injury to rule the world again in 2005 by hitting his 35th test century.
When I was eighteen, he showed me how to defy all odds and emerge a winner. He was booed at his home ground and he underwent a painful shoulder surgery. But he rewrote history with a 141* on his comeback debut in 2006.
When I was nineteen, he taught me how to remain unaffected of the criticism,keep the insatiable spirit alive and finally let go of the nerves that made him get out in his nineties seven times in 2007.
He is a living example of humility in the true sense of the word. Rahul Dravid's declaration in Multan, the ball tampering controversy, the Chappell brothers' wrath and even the newspapers calling hin "ENDulkar": he knew how to maintain his composure and let the newer stars balk in the newfound adulation. He saw the likes of Sehwag and Dhoni rise to what they are today. He even recommended Dhoni as the captain to the selectors and we all know he's never wrong. He's the one who is placed in an eternal pressure cooker with the colossal expectation of a one billion people burdening his shoulders everytime he comes to bat. The man has remained in the top for twenty years now. And he's practically unaffected. He's not one of the dime-a-dozen "rockstars" who change in a flash by fifteen-minutes-of-fame. Every single opponent who has had the (mis)fortune of playing against him admires him. And he's as respected, if not more, off the field as on it.
And today when I'm twenty two, he did something that around 2000 cricketers with ODI caps till date can only think of. He made 200 runs and remained unbeaten in a single one-day international!
He is Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. He's God.
Was thinking and expecting this one to come.
ReplyDeleteYes he is sachin, he is god,the eternal, the immortal SACHIN RAMESH TENDULKAR. We salute him, the nation salutes him,and the entire world salutes him.
i promised on face book i will click on the like tab on whosoever praises sachin today....n then saw your blog....it makes me nostalgic....make me remind of all the stomach aches i pretended to skip school just to watch the God's matches .... standing ovation tym n again to the immortal talent ....
ReplyDeleteNow that is an article! Comprehensive and interesting.
ReplyDeleteI'm not much of a freak. Not as much as you seem to be but I love the God and the whole nation loves him. [:)] Hats off.
I just hope the critics get to read this. Kudoz!
ReplyDeleteSachin is timeless.
@ shourav: Praise the Lord :)
ReplyDelete@ raj: :) we've all done that. made all the silly excuses to watch him play leaving everything else that exists in this world :)
@ nilanjana: thanks :)
@ abhishek: even if they do, it wont make a difference. If one hates Sach, it only because he/she wants to be different. Duh!
I agree to everything. But isn't this much of idolization a bit over the bord? The man is a great cricket player but his record in the fourth innings and cricket finals is dismal.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, hail Sachin Tendulkar.
Sachin is truly a legend and a paragon of consistency....
ReplyDeleteBut i agree with your intial part...the Sachin craze reached new levels of incredulity and fanaticism today...Brilliant sixes by Dhoni were booed, abused....suddenly Hasim Amla became a hero for stopping a certain Dhoni boundary to a single....
In India, it is certain that the individual is above the team...we always seem to forget that Cricket is a team-sport...
This also reminds me of Sachin's previous great knock of 175...the guys didn't care if India pulled off a brilliant chase or not, so long as Sachin "God" gets to 195 and maybe even 200...
We know that in the end the work was left incomplete...now i dont want to sound like a cynical person, but what came of that knock..nothing much; Sachin, out of desperation (Jadeja had hit a few 4's then) to reach 194 before the chase ends, played a ridiculous shot and it was all over...
I guess this is the difference between India and Australia...no matter how much u hate the kangaroos, it is their team effort that allows them to succeed consistently...I hope Dhoni's team can still emulate that
@ Shyam Sir: The same argument again and again. The man takes the team to the finals singlehandedly and fails in the final before a mammoth total. Isnt he allowed that bit of weakness? I cant list out all the forth innings classics and the centuries in the finals: each of those occasions India won the match!
ReplyDelete@ Potty: We are Indians. We love milestones. We are crazy. Why don't you understand cricket is just a sport for the kangaroos. For us, its away of life, its our religion. And because of loons like us, cricket is the sport it is. We dont mind idolizing someone to this extent though its a bit overboard to cremark that we give a damn to the team. When the team had reached a total above 350, we all wanted Sachin to get the strike and reach 200 because 350 is practically out of danger. That 175 knock...dude thats a peacock term that you are using...desperation...ridiculous...how on earth do you know, sitting miles away from Sachin's mind, that he wanted to crack the 194 and not win? What he did was the need of the hour. Till the moment he didnt get out, he played aggressively and made India reach the position where it could win from absolutely zilch!!!!! You dont appreciate that. Even he makes mistakes. A wrong shot selection, ball in the air and he got out. The rest of the uselss buggers couldnt even win an already won match!!!
Going by his past experiences with useless buggers (read Indian tailenders), especially that heroic knock of 136 at Chennai, one would've thought that he would be more determined to stay till the end.
ReplyDelete"need of the hour"...dude at that time India's required rate was a shade over 6...Jadeja had got into his groove and had hit a few 4's...all that was needed was 1's and 2's...not a paddle scoop of a pacer for 4...
See, I'm not criticizing Tendulkar at all; i'm just saying its a tragedy that such a great knock (i feel that knock was his best, better than today's even), would go to waste...
If there's 1 criticism that he faces, its that he cannot finish off matches (which is partly true)....how i wanted that with 1 great knock, he would silence all those critics...but that was not to be..
you are talking like a kid, dude. do you understand that a batsman has no control over when he gets out? so you mean to say that sachin should not have attempted to hit fours AT ALL? i mean however great a batsman he may be, he is prone to mistakes. give him that right at least. i am not in sachin's head. i dont know whether he was desperate to cross 194 or not. so in absence of the luxury of being a psychic who reads minds, lets not malign him by making motherhood statements.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree it was the best knock he played(obviously my opinion) and what made it so special was that he brought india from nowhere to a position where it could chase 351. He did that by playing aggressively from the word go. 175 off 141 dont come without hitting boundaries.
We still needed 40 odd runs and we needed boundaries. I guess that pretty much sums it all.
You are the one who sounds incensed at my comments, apparently under the impression that i'm committing sacrilege to say anything negative about the little master....
ReplyDeletewell, u may be rest assured, i'm not doing anything of that sort :) ...my point of bringing tat knock was not to doubt Tendulkar's greatness, rather it was just to point out the craze that exists for him...so much so that the victory became secondary to the individual effort...
it was just to further support your first few lines which has become a part and parcel of all the brouhaha and fanfare tat exists in Indian hero-worship...and i guess u have just proved that again :)
PS - Did u see the whole of that innings (175)...the reason it was such a great knock was his ability to hit the boundaries with no risk at all (while raina looked like getting out every 2nd ball)....that was the first risk-laden shot he had tried...and ironically when it was least required, with India coasting away to victory
I agreed on that craziness bit! We are crazy! Crazier than the JOKArs!! :P Bhagwan ke khilaf kuch bolo, dangey ho jayenge!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I did watch most of that innings...even you would agree that when sachin plays, he makes everything looks so easy and effortless as if there was no risk invloved, even the running between the wickets...he's one heck of a judge! So, the ease with which he played those shots was merely because of his class. One wrong selection and he was gone.
The team performance is not secondary, its never secondary....its just that thoda josh zada hai sachin ko leke!!
yaar no words for d God.. for me is everything.. he is d reason I feel happy even in my worst times..... I can't describe what he means to me..
ReplyDeleteyaar aaj maine manat mangi bhagwan se yahan shiv mandir me prasad chadunga 200 hone pe.. I m going tommorow morning to complete my wish.. It's one of d best days in my life.. One more wish I have that India wins a world cup while he is playing.. The God deserves it more than any one else...
I totally agree. He has brought us moments of extreme joys to the faces of millions. He has made cricket a religion in India. He is a true God.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, loved the video to bits. You guys rock.
ReplyDelete@ ankesh: hats off! exactly, the feather in the cap and an apt conclusion to a glorious career would be a WC win at Wankhede! Go India! Go Sachin!
ReplyDelete@ Shahenshah: Exactly! We cannot discount his contribution in making cricket what it is in India. And it is Indians who have made cricket this big a thing. Imagine cricket without India. No MNCs would then spend billions on it then. So, in a sense, Sachin is a major reason for today's cricket. :)
Crazier than the "Jokars" ?...In terms of being Illogical ? Hmmm, need to think that over...that is a tricky one :P
ReplyDeleteAwesome video. Awesome article. Awesome Innings. Awesome man. Sachin Tendulkar
ReplyDeleteWell what do I say? I agree to both of you, Pathikrit and Varun. As fans, our craziness knows no bounds. But Team India sometimes gets thrown to the background when Sachin is on the ground.
ReplyDelete@ Pathikrit: Sachin. God. Perios.
ReplyDelete@ akshhar: Awesome :)
@ Sapna: Well, agreed :)
Yeah bhai. Sachin is real God. At da last of the overs when dhoni was hitting sixes nd boundaries we were abusing him that c'on man take a single nd give da strike to sachin. At da last over when sachin got his double hundred we all jumped in da air and enjoyed a lot. And believe me i hve never seen da india's total in the screen for all da 50 overs. Always i was looking at sachin's individual score. Thats it. Sometime individuals like sachin come above the team.
ReplyDeleteSalute to u sachin.
Highest ODI runs..this was one record I wanted Sachin to break,more than Sachin I always loved watching Dhoni play but yesterday I just wished Dhoni would get out and stop hitting six and fours...
ReplyDeleteAagar kal record nahi bantha toh Dhoni ki toh
ek do teen chaar jarur ho jatha ..hehe :P :D :)
Sachin is just 'Destined to be great'- Barry Richards
^
I second tat :)
@ mukesh: sahi mein yaar...india ka total toh main bhi nahi dekh raha tha...pata hi nahi chala kab 400 ban gaye!
ReplyDelete@ dipa: record kaise nahi banta...hum 50 overs mein game khatam hi nahi hone detey! :)
Who can doubt Sachin? He is the pole star. The saviour. The bagpiper.
ReplyDeleteHail SRT.
incredible innings by a superhero - the one who brings joy to the faces of millions in these gloomy times.
ReplyDeletehe is beyond questions, he is timeless.
gr8 article man...interesting and with full of facts...
ReplyDelete@ dharmarajanpaul and prajakta: interestingly, the saem views at the same time! There's no denying to it. The phenomenon called Sachin Tendulkar brideges across all divides - social, communal, economic or otherwise. He is the great leveller! :)
ReplyDelete@ Lav: Thanks man :)
aaj maine apni zindagi me pheli baar akele prasad chadaya wo bhi Sachin ke liye... wasn't able to control my self... People say I m kinda made but yes I am... and I m Loving it... Sach is Life :)
ReplyDeleteTrue...Sach is Life! Kudos!
ReplyDelete:D
ReplyDeleteHeyy this post was like.. soulful washes by a Worshiper.
( Though I wished Dhoni ki beizzati naa hoti.. :().
Besties man..!!
@ 12三 : #$#$%$@%$%% :D
ReplyDelete@ Tulika: Hail God! Arre dhoni apna hi rockstar hai...usey farak nahi penda!! :)
salute to sachin tendulkar and his gr88tness , very nicely composed yaar.
ReplyDeleteseriously salute to the new orange cap holder this year!
ReplyDeletethanks!!