SACHIN TENDULKAR - THE LITTLE KNOWN - PART 2

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.

SACHIN TENDULKAR - THE LITTLE KNOWN - PART 1

During a match against Pakistan on his first trip, Sachin hit Mustaq Ahmed for 2 sixes in an over, this led to Abdul Qadir the mentor of Mustq Ahmed to taunt Sachin, “Bache ko kya maar rahe ho, hume maar ke dikhao”. Sachin didnt reply to Qadir, but when Qadir came to bowl, Sachin hit him for 6, 0, 4, 6, 6, 6. Yes 28 runs in an over and that was it !! The kid had arrived well and truly. The champion legspinner from Pakistan had been hit and his ego badly bruised.



During the same tour,he was struck flush on his nose by a Waqar bouncer, who was also on his debut, and was bleeding profusely…As the physio checked Sachin, Sidhu put an arm on Sachin to inquire if he would like to go off… Pat came the reply, “Paaji Main Khelenga !!”



In a charity match in Peshawar, the crowd jeered and taunted Sachin and came with posters citing,“Sachin go back and have milk”.



In the only ODI on that trip Sachin made a duck on debut… !!



During his school days,Sachin attended the MRF Pace Foundation to train as a fast bowler, but Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee, was unimpressed, suggesting that Tendulkar should focus on his batting instead.



During his young age, he argued and fought for McEnore with his colony friends who supported Swedish Bjorn Borg. Sachin sported a head-band, sweat-band and a tennis racquet showing his staunch loyalty towards his idol.



Till the age of 11, Tendulkar had not played with a cricket ball.



Once, during his boyhood, Sachin traveled all night for a game, reaching the destination at 3am and slept for one hour. Well before dawn, the coach was woken up and he asked him whether they could proceed to the ground because little Sachin wasn't happy with his game.



When after a hard session, Sachin became exhausted,his first coach Achrekar would put a one-Rupee-coin on the top of the stumps, and the bowler who dismissed Tendulkar would get the coin. If Tendulkar passed the whole session without getting dismissed, the coach would give him the coin. Tendulkar now considers the 13 coins he won then as some of his most prized possessions.In his first two matches under Achrekar Sir, he made zero and zero.



He scored his first century at the age of 12. He was unbeaten on 96 overnight and couldn't sleep. He was impatient to get to my first ever century. Another reason for the impatience was that he had invited Achrekar sir to dinner at his home but he said the day Sachin scored a century, he would come. Next morning Sachin’s father took him to pay obeisance at a Ganpathi temple. He scored the century in the very first over. The first thing he told Achrekar sir on going back to the change room was he now had no way out but to come to his house.After he was introduced to Achrekar, Sachin got a fifty and a friend of Achrekar, who was umpiring that game, came and told him that this boy would play for India. He laughed at him and said that there were so many boys like Sachin in his net. But the friend insisted. 'Mark my words, he will play for India.'




Sachin spent most of his time at his uncle's house, just off this nursery of Bombay cricket as his house was at a good distance from the ground. Quite often, Sachin played all day."I don't get tired," he said, referring to them. "If you practise every day, you get used to it." Sachin used to arrive at Shivaji Park (place where he practised as a boy) at dawn and ask if the gardeners could be instructed to erect nets right away, failing which he could do it himself.Early in his carrier, captains used to send him to third man as he was a chatterbox with a head full of ideas.He is always first for practice sessions. After he is done with batting, he makes it a point to bowl in the nets till the last man comes off.He never comes late to the team bus, never comes late to any meeting - he is always five minutes ahead of time. Sachin begins to wear his gloves when he approaches the infield, to busy himself against distraction from the opposition.




When he was 14, Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar gave him a pair of his own ultra light pads. "It was the greatest source of encouragement for me", said Sachin.Even when 15, Sachin was so famous that people kept calling him for some felicitation or the other. Once, he was asked to inaugurate a children's library!!. His coach hoped all this would stop so that Sachin could concentrate and work hard.Sachin was presented a Gunn and Moore by the Indian captain when he was 15.The same year, Sachin was disheartened when he did not receive the Best Junior Cricketer award. Sunil Gavaskar, the highest test run getter at that time, wrote to Tendulkar to tell him that several years earlier another youngster too had not got the award and that he didn't do too badly in Test cricket. For him the letter from his hero is a prized possession. Another great moment was a meeting with him where "… he told me that I should forget the past every time I go to bat. I should always remember that I have to score runs each time."




Everybody remembers the 326 not out in the 664-run gig with Kambli. Few remember the 346 not out in the following game, the trophy final and that he came back to ball the first ball. Everyone knows the centuries on debut in the Ranji Trophy and Irani Trophy at 15 and 16. Few know that he got them in the face of a collapse in the first instance and virtually out of partners in the second. Everyone knows his nose was bloodied by Waqar Younis in that first Test series, upon which he waved away assistance. Few remember that he struck the next ball for four.



Sachin scored a small matter of 1028 runs in five innings! A 178* in the Giles Shield and a sequence in the Harris Shield of 21*, 125, 207*, 329* and 346*!



Late Raj Singh Dungarpur, the chairman of selectors at a time when Sachin was about to play in Ranji semi-finals, walked up to Sachin and said, "I know there has been talk and there've been articles in the papers that you may go to West Indies, but I want to tell you that you won't be going because we still feel that it's too early and it's important for you to prepare for your SSC exams." He also said: "There'll be Irani Trophy, I'm sure you will be a part of it, and go out there and enjoy yourself, give your case, and good things will happen."He was selected for the tour of Pakistan after only one first class season..



After his debut test, Sachin doubted if he belonged here. He scored a half century in his second test match. That innings was the turning point of his life because after that he felt he did belong here.



THE BOY WHO MADE IT RAIN- Lismore, a place of board shorts and stubby coolers, on the far north hippie trail of New South Wales, was a strange location for Tendulkar's maiden first-class innings in Australia. . Lismore hadn't seen rain - the kind of rain that wet your shirt - in months. The Indians arrived on a Friday, November 1991, and all that morning it poured, drowning out the net session they'd scheduled. They moved indoors and it poured some more.
Fifteen hundred people saw the century, the great Alan Davidson among them. Davo was dumbfounded: "It's just not possible… such maturity." Tendulkar hit 82 that afternoon, when no one else passed 24, then 59 out of 147 in the second innings.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.In 1992, after his breathtaking century on a fast, bouncing pitch at Perth, Merv Hughes commented to Allan Border, "This little prick's going to get more runs than you, AB."



In 1992, at the age of 19, Sachin became the first overseas born player to represent Yorkshire.In 1994 India was playing in Auckland. Sachin was the vice-captain then and just before the ODI, he got to know that Sidhu was not fit as he had woken up with a stiff neck. He requested both Azhar(captain) and Ajit Wadekar(coach) to "Just give me one opportunity. I'm very confident as in the first 15 overs I can play some big shots. I feel I'll be able to deliver. And if I fail I'll never ever come to you again". They both agreed graciously, and he was able to go out and perform.



When Sachin had got it on the nose by Waqar, Ajit(his elder brother) had come to watch him for the first time and he could see him sitting in front of the dressing room. Sachin told that even before, he had had been hit on the nose in school cricket on bad practice wickets, an experience that had got rid of the fear.



Before the Test series against Aus in 1998, Sachin not only practiced with Laxman Sivaramakrishnan but with Nilesh Kulkarni and Sairaj Bahutule in Mumbai too. They gave him a lot of practice. He clearly remembers saying to his friends after he scored a double hundred for Mumbai against Australia that Warne had not bowled a single ball round the wicket and he knew that he will do it in this Test series.



A chronic back problem flared up when Pakistan toured India in 1999, with India losing the historic Test at Chepauk despite a gritty century from Sachin himself. The worst was yet to come as his father died in the middle of the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Tendulkar flew back to India to attend the final rituals of his father, missing the match against Zimbabwe. When he returned,Harsha saw him and approached him hesitantly. He couldn't see his eyes because they were shrouded by these huge dark glasses. He asked him if he would talk to him about coming back to play. He nodded his head and only briefly took the glasses off. His eyes were red and swollen(he had been crying copiously). For the interview he put them on, and once the camera had stopped rolling, admitted he didn't want to return, that his mind was all over the place, that he felt anchorless. It was the only time he didn't want to play for India but he had been forced back by his family, aware that only cricket could help him overcome his grief. When he got a hundred the next day and looked heavenwards, some other eyes were moist. Even in his grief there was resolve, for he wanted that century.He dedicated it to his Father.




According to Sachin, the century in a lost cause at Chennai in 1999 will haunt him for a long time.2003 was his worst year in test cricket, with an average of 17.25 and just one fifty.Tendulkar is the only player of the current generation to be included in Bradman's Eleven.

IPL RESPONSIBLE FOR INDIA’S T-20 WC LOSS??

People say IPL is destroying Indian Cricket.. This is merely an excuse as IPL is played just before the WC T-20.. What about rest of the series India has been loosing, including the series played in India against SA, Aus and Sri? What about the player attitudes?

Gambhir now forgets to drag his bat in while running and his judgement suddenly seems to fade away.. Sehwag cannot curb his natural instincts according to the situation, never mind if Dhoni and Symonds can..Most players cannot learn the basics of fielding as that is not their job!..What about the lack of consistency at the top level? (Ishant,Irfan and RP Singh easily qualify for this category)..What about the problem of batsmen against the short stuff?.. It is a fact that this problem existed before IPL also..

India lack a consistent opening bowling pair.. Also, the lack of a genuine fast bowler is hurting India’s prospects against good quality teams. This problem can be attributed to the poor level of pitches and domestic cricket in the country..It is baffling to see no genuine fast bowler discovered in the domestic circuit, given the amount of cricket being played. Surely, this has nothing to do with the IPL.

IPL should be used for preparation, for recognising talent and then harnessing it (instead of directly giving players a chance at the top level) and not as an excuse every year.. Why can’t people just accept that Indian Cricket is all about stardom and money at present.. The money minded board is the root cause of all the problems. Utilizing the money for a better future of Indian cricket and following strict rules and regulations regarding player performance and attitudes would certainly go a long way in negotiating the basic problems.


Dhoni says IPL is sub-standard when compared to international cricket.. Instead of raising the standards of pitches and players to the international levels, the “money minded” authorities are expected to say, " Common! Let us raise the standards of IPL.. Let 6 foreign players be allowed to play from every side in a game and IPL be changed to FPL (Foreign Premier League)!! " :P