On the tour of NZ in 2003-04, Sachin remarked that pitches were something he had never experienced before. Even the net wickets were terrible. Parthiv Patel was a handful on them..He remembered facing him and he really had to apply himself!..On questioning him on the apparent change in his batting style, Sachin said that there are days when he still goes all out. In many matches in the 2003 World Cup he batted like that. In the match against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 2003, when Sachin and Sehwag put on 182 runs in 30 overs, I told Veeru, "Aaj toh tera role mein khel raha hoon, aur mera role tu kar raha hai."
He is the second ever player to score 10 Test centuries against Australia, after only Sir Jack Hobbs of England more than 70 years previously.He sponsors 200 underprivileged children every year through Apnalaya, a Mumbai-based NGO associated with his mother-in-law, Annabel Mehta.India has won all six times that Tendulkar has made a hundred in an ODI final.He also practices left-handed throws at the nets on a regular basis.Tendulkar has been seen taking his Ferrari 360 Modena for late-night drives in Mumbai. In an interview with Tim Sheridan, Tendulkar admitted that he sometimes went for quiet drives in the streets of Mumbai late at night when he would be able to enjoy some peace and silence.He currently has the most sponsorships out of all players in world cricket. Sachin Tendulkar was an early pioneer in India on cricket business dealings when he signed a then record sports management deal with Worldtel in 1995, the value of the deal being 30 crore rupees over five years. His next contract with WorldTel in 2001 was valued at 80 crores over five years. In 2006, he signed a contract with Saatchi and Saatchi's ICONIX values at 180 crores over three years. He is the highest earning cricketer in the world.
In a series against Sril Lanka, promotion of Irfan Pathan up the batting order which, although only temporary, had an immediate effect on the team's fortunes, was an idea of the master blaster.. Bowlers receive a lot of help from him.. Sreesanth and Agarkar have already voiced their views on this..According to Sachin, ”Whatever I see from mid-on, what the batsmen are trying to do. I walk up and tell them that I get the feeling that this batsman is setting himself up to play everything on the off side or off the back foot - so, try and work on him accordingly”, leaving the final decision upto the bowler..
Sachin is the first batsman to be declared run out by third umpire in 1992 in South Africa.He had scored 16 Test hundreds before he turned 25. In 2000 he became the first batsman to have scored 50 international hundreds.Seven of his centuries had been scored before his 21st birthday, a unique record.Just 30, he has already made more than 50 international centuries.
He is the only player to have over 100 innings of 50+ runs in ODIs.He is also the fastest to score 10,000 runs in test cricket history. He holds this record along with Brian Lara. Both of them achieved this feat in 195 innings.
Craig McDermott told Allan Donald after he saw Sachin on his first tour to SA that he was going to be the best in the world.Late Naren Tamhane, once remarked as a selector, "Gentlemen, Tendulkar never fails."Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin’s idol, once remarked that "It is hard to imagine any player in the history of the game who combines classical technique with raw aggression like the little champion does".
"You almost want him to get a few runs," Mark Waugh once remarked, "just to see him." Odd how a cricketer so Australian as Tendulkar could provoke such un-Australian sentimentality.
Unless he is terribly mobbed, Sachin always stops to sign autographs for children. He always takes a bit of time to ask kids what class they are studying in, or some similar question that makes them feel that the little master cares.When he married Anjali, a doctor and friend from his childhood, he rejected massive sums from satellite TV for live coverage, keeping the ceremony a family affair. He knows his worth, and is wealthy beyond the dreams of almost a billion Indians, but he is not a grabber.He stills feels uncomfortable with the limelight. He feels embarrassed with television cameras around him.Walking back to the pavilion after he was out in th 2003 WC final was one of the most wretched experiences of Sachin’s life, a trek that he hopes he will never have to repeat..
Two biggest testimonies to Sachin’s greatness- The first was Sir Donald Bradman's famous remark to his wife during the1996 World Cup that Tendulkar put him in mind of how he himself batted. The second is the widespread understanding in the cricket community that match-fixers will not successfully get on with their crooked business until Tendulkar is out..
Once, a night train winding down from Simla to Kalka stopped halfway for refreshments at a station lit by flaming torches. On a small television screen wreathed in cigarette smoke in the corner of the dining room Tendulkar was batting in a match in Mumbai. No one moved or spoke or looked away. The train was delayed by 20 minutes. Not until Tendulkar was out could the world resume its normal timetables and rhythms.He is the very first Indian sports personality to be portrayed at the waxworks museum said.A unique initiative by Sachin and his wife Anjali Tendulkar, 'Sachin Crusade Against Cancer in Children', became the biggest fundraising event of its kind in the country. By the end of the evening the record stood at Rs. 1.3 crore and counting.
Sachin's wife Anjali tends to become nervous while he bats, whereas his brother has become so superstitious that he allows the family members to only watch the match recording. On pre-mature and early exits, Sachin likes to take out his anger somewhere. He prefers to be left alone, till he cools down. Sachin strongly believes in the concept of re-birth, existence
of Hell and Heaven. He loves celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi at home with his family and believes that it firms his ties with his loved ones. Once Sachin was batting with Vinod Kambli for a school match. Vinod dropped his bat, in the middle of the game and started to fly a kite. Sachin regards this as the most funniest moment of his career.
SACHIN'S FAVOURITES-
Ground : Sydney cricket ground
Movie : Coming to America
Music : Pop
Hobby : Collecting CD's.
Car : Maruti
Actors : Amitabh Bacchan, Nana Patekar
Actresses : Madhuri Dixit
Cricket Heroes : Gavaskar, Viv Richards and Sandeep Patil
Other Fav. Stars : Maradona, Borris Becker
Drink : Orange / Apple juice and water
Food : Steak
Pastime : Listening to peaceful music with friends
Clothes : Official jacket and tie, else jeans and T-shirt
Magazine : Sportstar
Newspapers : Times of India, Mid-day, Afternoon Dispatch
Restaurant : Bukhara, Maurya Sheraton
Holiday Resort : Yorkshire, Headingley
Hotel : Park Royal Darling Harbour, Sydney
Other Sports : Tennis
Memorable Day : Beating Pakistan in the 1992 World Cup
Worst Day : Losing the fist ODI in RSA in 1992
Greatest Influence : Family
Embarrasing Moment : People asking for my autograph and then asking me my name
Hate : Rumors
Any Changes you desire to have : None
Playing table tennis he is ambidextrous. By all accounts he is a brilliant, if hair-raising, driver. He is a champion Snake player on the cellphone, according to Harbhajan Singh, whom he also taught a spin variation Sachin is a big fan of Mark Knopfler.According to Sachin,the 2003 World Cup game against Pakistan was the biggest match of his life while his counter-attacking 114 at Perth is his favourite ton.
Sachin Tendulkar’s roommate during his under-15 days, Dalbir Singh Gill finally returned home full of life. Tendulkar not only paid all expenses for his hip replacement surgery at Shalby Hospitals but also visited him on the day he was operated. Legend goes that Dalbir used to hit sixes at will. Tendulkar knew Dalbir’s capabilities and respected him even more for that. “I still remember a West vs East Zone match in 1988 where Gautam Dutta (former Assam’s Ranji captain) dismissed Tendulkar cheaply. I was in next and as we crossed each other near the boundary line, Tendulkar signalled to me that I should teach Dutta a lesson. And I did. I hit four sixes and we won the match comfortably . Tendulkar was the first to rush onto the ground. He lifted me off the ground and I still remember that incident vividly,” “, says Dalbir.There were times when Sachin and Dalbir used to sneak out at night and ride the cycle rickshaw . Tendulkar used to love riding it and Dalbir used to be the passenger. Sachin used to draw beard on Dalbir’s face with toothpaste. Other times, he would squeeze toothpaste inside his shorts and T shirts.
Sachin is inspired by the memory of the first ever match he saw in a stadium. It was the India-West Indies Test in the 1983-84 season in Mumbai. Michael Holding was fielding at third man and he was right behind him in the stands. Then he saw Vivian Richards.Those memories inspired him.Sachin’s mother doesn't understand much about cricket, but she prays for his and India's success. He has long discussions with his brother on cricket and support from the other brother and his sister .He shares his difficult moments with his wife, my entire family, and that is one reason he has been able to last for such a long time.
One never-to-be-forgotten day in Adelaide was when Tendulkar was adjudged shoulder-before-wicket..He has toured Australia on four occasions, as many times as Bradman toured England. Like Bradman, he has never gone home without a Test hundred to his name. When asked which bowlers had troubled him the most, Sachin smiled an almost embarrassed smile and said, "You won't believe this." When probed, he said, "Pedro Collins and Hansie Cronje." "In fact," he said, "I once told my partner 'Will you please take Hansie for me? I don't mind playing Allan Donald" In the 1993 Hero Cup, against SA, South Africa needed six runs to win in the last over. There was no plan for Sachin to bowl that over but he said he was very confident of bowling it successfully. He conceded just three and India won. Sehwag got 58 off 51 balls and picked up three wickets in his ODI debut. Tendulkar later walked up to him and said, "You've got talent. Continue playing the same way and I'm sure you will make your name." That ability to motivate youngsters is a trait that makes Tendulkar special.
Sachin is a very quick good reader of the game.A good example was in the Centurion ODI of the 2006-07 series. India were batting first. Shaun Pollock bowled the first over and fired in a few short-of-length balls, against which Sehwag tried to play the back-foot punch. Tendulkar cautioned him immediately and said that shot was not a good option. A couple of overs later Sehwag went for it again and was caught behind, against Pollock.
Sehwag thought it was a joke from Sachin that he will avoid the cover drive in the next match at SCG.He realised Sachin was serious in Sydney when he was on about 180-odd and he had missed plenty of opportunities to play a cover drive. Sehwag was stunned.
Sachin keeps guiding his younger teammates through the innings..A good instance of this was in Multan in 2004 where Sehwag, in the first hundred of the triple century, had hit a few sixes. Sachin walked up to him after he reached the century and said he would slap him if he hit any further sixes in that game. Sachin said that if he tried hitting a six and got out the team would lose the control over the game. Sehwag did not hit a six till he reached 295, by which time, India was in a very strong position.
At the calcutta cricket stadium, Brad hogg took Sachin’s wicket. At the end of the match, Hogg gave that ball to Sachin for autograph. Sachin put his sign with one beautiful sentence.Do u know that sentence??"IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN"..Till date, Hogg has not taken his wicket for the second time..Sachin looked to David Boon for advice when he was in Australia in 1991.He hadn't played many West Indian fast bowlers. He thought he should be picking up things from the top players in the world and wanted to get as much information as possible and become a better cricketer.
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