Friday, February 26, 2010

A Double Ton from a Loaded Canyon

Ever since I started following Cricket at the age of 10, I remember one batsman fascinated me a lot. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, the man who created a special place for cricket in my heart. It wont be exaggerating that I follow cricket for Sachin and that's what Cricket is all about for me. I saw his first cut in the 92 World Cup hosted by Australia and New Zealand. 2 innings from him at the age of 19, made me realise that we have a master in making for the ODI. He already proved his importance in the Test Cricket with few centuries. Among them were the maiden one against England, which was a match saving effort. And 2 tons against the Aussies in Australia before the 92 WC.But it was from the 2 world cup innings I thought that this man has plenty to prove. And he did it. After 20 years of hard work, dedication,concentration and adaptations, we see a man standing....the living legend of India.

Ah...was bit away from it..the 2 innings at the 92 world cup, the one was against Zim of 81 and the other one a 54 vs Pak, which sealed the match. In both the matches, he was the Man of the Match. Both were simply great cameos. Reason 1- It came when he was too young to the international arena and Reason 2 - It was a big stage, a WC and he came up with his best. And since that encounter at the WC, it was not looking back. World Cup cricket became his own backyard with the runs came flowing out of his bat and they are flowing and will continue to. Batting was never easy in those 90's, since the great bowlers like Walsh, Ambrose, Pak W's (Waqar, Wasim), Glenn, Vaas, Donald, were on their peak. And batting against them was not a cake walk. But this man made it with a clinical perfection. All the great knocks came from him, whether the century at Kotla in the 96 WC vs SL, the 186 at Hyderabad vs Kiwis, or the deserted outing of 143 vs Aus at Sharjah in 98, followed by a masterly 134 in the Final to seal the series against the Aussies, or the destroying 98 vs Pak in the 2003 WC, or the latest 175 knock of a genius against the great Aus, where all simply mesmerizing. And the Double ton was an absolute exhibition of sheer stamina and dedication towards his duties, which proved to be a legendary knock. Not because it was a record of all time in One dayers, not because it was a knock against one of the top side,but it was an inning from a man who showed the world that hardwork,temperament, consolidation still matters in Cricket.

What much to tell about him. The world knows everyting - How the small boy who used to play cricket on the streets of Mumbai became a legend of Cricket infact the Greatest Batsman in the history. He has made a special place in the league of Extra Ordinary Batsmen of all time - Bradman, Sutcliffe, Sobers, Richards, Border, Gavaskar, Waugh. The list is quite long but the Master is at the top.
We salute him and his greatness...Well played Sir...

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