Thursday, April 23, 2015

sachin and me

     My association with Sachin and cricket started during the 1996 World Cup when the elders in my family talked about his batting skills. I was fortunate to watch his maiden World Cup century against Kenya in 1996. As a school-kid, I had went to my neighbour's home to watch that match and I clearly remember one particular shot he played, which came like a thunderbolt in the direction of the gallery,just missing the umpire.     At that moment I realised how hard this man can hit the cricket ball!
Till the years I was in Cuttack and India played at Barabati, I was there in the stands and so also Sachin in the middle. My career forced me to leave my hometown and the venue changed from Barabati to Chepauk. I would have cursed myself thousand times for missing the fifth and final day of the Test match against England at Chepauk. England reluctantly agreed to tour the country for the Tests after the horrific terror attacks in Mumbai. In this Test in December 2008, Sachin redeemed himself for the Pakistan loss in 1999 by scoring a match-winning 103.
      Working on a sports desk has its benefits. Equipped with complimentary tickets, I, along with two colleagues, entered the MA Chidambaram Stadium on day one only to be disappointed to see England bat. After watching him play for so many years, the 'Sachin mania' had subsided in me, but not for those who had come to watch the match. Whenever Sachin turned back from first slip in our direction, where I was seated, people jumped from their seats shouting, 'Sachinnn...Sachin'. This exercise of the crowd kept me amused until I left the stadium at tea. However, on my way back I kept thinking, how a mere look from a man could induce such excitement? Such was the aura of Sachin.



       Due to some reason, I could not make it for the rest of four days of the match and was deprived to see one of Sachin's best Test knocks. Next month, in January, Sachin was in Chepauk again and this time playing for Mumbai in a Ranji Trophy semi-final against Saurashtra. In the 2008-09 season, Saurashtra's Cheteshwar Pujara had scored heavily and was touted as India prospect. On day one of the match, I reached Chepauk early to see the new batting talent. I was pretty much surprised to see the security outside the stadium, knowing it to be a domestic match.
       The security hassles while making my way into the stadium forced me ask one personnel. Why so much of fuss? Prompt came the reply, "Sachin playing." Sachin and Zaheer Khan, if I recall well, were drafted into the team late for the semi-final, but I didn't mind and for a moment I forgot Pujara. My purpose of watching Pujara didn't materialise as Mumbai batted first. Nevertheless I got to see a classy hundred by Wasim Jaffer. On day two, Sachin slammed a century and I was not there.
       Four years later, I happened to see Sachin in Delhi up-close and this time not on the cricket field. It was a press conference of some event with Sachin and Virender Sehwag as guests. I had tagged along with a colleague, who expected to churn out a copy if Sachin happened to speak something on cricket, which he didn't and that left the other scribes also present disappointed. He stayed there for an hour and one feel his powerful presence. Such was the aura of Sachin.
      Who has won more matches for India, Sachin or Dravid? I often get into an argument at work over this question and being a big Dravid fan had to criticise Sachin. But, I only know it was all said to prove myself as a Dravid loyalist.
      In the 90s, a middle-class family aspired to have a colour television, Maruti 800 a dream car to possess, mobile phones were unheard of, kids didn't pester their parents for PlayStation or Xbox. But everyone looked forward to watch Sachin bat - his centuries gave everyone joy, his dismissal gave many heartbreaks.
I also had my moments of joy and despair with Sachin. The two back-to-back centuries against Australia in Sharjah where he ruthlessly took apart the Aussie bowling attack. In the Hero Cup semi-final in 1993, where he bowled India to win with South Africa needing six runs off the last over. His dismissal in two matches left me in anguish, one was in the semi-final of 1996 World Cup against Sri Lanka and second in the Test match against Pakistan in Chennai. In both these matches, India dramatically collapsed after Sachin's departure. I'm sure every other Indian growing up at that time would have a Sachin story to tell.
      He was one last cricketer of a great generation to step away from the game. Will cricket remain the same? Can't say. But I can proudly say I have grown up with Sachin Tendulkar and seen him bat.


Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Quotes on Sachin

I have played cricket for 24 years, it has been only 24 hours since retirement, and I think I should get at least 24 days to relax before deciding these things.

Sachin Tendulkar doesn't want to think of what lies ahead just yet
Nov 17, 2013

I can imagine cricket without Sachin, but I can't imagine Sachin without cricket.

Sachin Tendulkar's wife, Anjali, on the bond her husband shares with the game
Nov 17, 2013

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.

Anil Kumble in the MAK Pataudi Memorial lecture he delivered in Mumbai
Nov 13, 2013

'We have to get the wickets ready for the Test match. Please ask your boy to come in.'

Chandu Borde, team manager on India's tour of Pakistan in 1989-90, remembers the country's groundsmen asking him to get Sachin Tendulkar out of the nets
Oct 29, 2013

I really like Iceland. One of the nicest things about it is that I hardly ever had to reach for my credit card. There's practically nothing there to go shopping for.

Sachin Tendulkar's idea of a holiday does not include souvenir-hunting
Oct 25, 2013

Maybe, but only for the five days. If the young man is listening, unfortunately, that's how it is.

Sourav Ganguly, when asked during a TV commentary stint whether Sachin Tendulkar would be more popular than him in Kolkata during his penultimate Test match
Oct 19, 2013

I hope we have a Hollies in our team tomorrow when we bowl to Sachin.

Justin Langer hopes to send Sachin Tendulkar off with a duck in his final T20 game, like Eric Hollies did to Sir Don Bradman
Oct 1, 2013

You are going to laugh at this, but that ball and the ball I bowled Chris Martin at the Gabba. Exactly the same thing, through the gate.

Nathan Lyon when asked if bowling Sachin Tendulkar between bat and pad was his best Test delivery
Mar 8, 2013

Only those who've played at least 150 Tests should be analysing Sachin's game

Bishan Bedi, who played 67 Tests, disqualifies himself from the Tendulkar debate
Nov 30, 2012

Muesli; the aggression builds up gradually.

Sachin Tendulkar reveals what he ate for breakfast before his brief but brutal attack against Glenn McGrath in the Champions Trophy 2000
Nov 2, 2012

I actually feel very embarrassed because I rejected him as a fast bowler. I think I did him and the game of cricket a favour

Dennis Lillee who advised Sachin Tendulkar to focus on his batting, instead of bowling, when he came to the MRF Pace Academy in 1987
Jun 26, 2012

It hasn't yet sunk in yet but I've definitely lost around 50 kilos.

Sachin Tendulkar admits a weight is off his shoulders after he reached his 100th international century
Mar 16, 2012

They know what they are. You are naming three precious stones of the BCCI.

India's media manager GS Walia attempts to answer the question, "Do Gambhir, Sehwag and Tendulkar now know they are slow fielders?"
Feb 24, 2012

Peter Siddle's first Test wicket.

Peter Siddle struggled to keep a straight face as he answered the question "How would you describe Sachin Tendulkar?"
Jan 2, 2012

Courtney found it a little more difficult than me, but trust me Test centuries are not easy to get.

Sanjay Manjrekar ribs co-presenter Courtney Walsh while discussing Sachin Tendulkar's wait for a 100th century 
Nov 9, 2011

How come you didn't ask me about being Rahul Dravid?

Rahul Dravid ribs Nasser Hussain after the latter asked Sachin Tendulkar at an event whether he liked being Tendulkar, but didn't pose a similar question to Dravid
Aug 17, 2011

He [Sachin Tendulkar] is an inspiration to all of us older guys, because he was written off a couple of years ago, ironically by one of our selectors, and the fact is he has proved him wrong.

After being denied a contract, Simon Katich reminds national selector Greg Chappell of his track record
Jun 11, 2011

Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It is time we carried him on our shoulders.

Virat Kohli leads the Tendulkar tributes after India's World Cup triumph
Apr 2, 2011

He has been in form longer than some of our guys have been alive

Daniel Vettori on Sachin Tendulkar ahead of New Zealand's Test series in India
Nov 2, 2010

Hansie Cronje. Honestly. I got out to Hansie more than anyone ... I never knew what to do with him

Sachin Tendulkar on which bowler troubled him the most
Oct 30, 2010

Test cricket is bloody hard work, especially when you've got Sachin batting with what looks like a three-metre-wide bat

Michael Hussey is another Australian sick of seeing Sachin Tendulkar rack up the runs
Oct 20, 2010

As the total crept, we weren't allowed to change places. Our manager was near the toilet and I was by the food, so I kept munching away. I can tell you I was very full by the end.

Sachin Tendulkar relives India's unforgettable chase of 326 in the 2002 Natwest Series final
Jun 17, 2010

I have joked before that there is a good chance that I might retire before Tendulkar

MS Dhoni on Sachin Tendulkar going strong at 37
Apr 24, 2010

He's not going to sleep for a week.

Harsha Bhogle comments when little-known legspinner Rahul Sharma excitedly celebrates getting the big wicket of Sachin Tendulkar
Apr 3, 2010

I want to clarify that this nightmare thing was a joke. Sachin is the best batsman of my time... but I am not scared of him, or anybody for that matter.

Twelve years after getting caned by Sachin Tendulkar in Sharjah, Shane Warne insists he never experienced sweaty nights, as the rest of the world liked to believe 
Mar 30, 2010

I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing us to breathe the same air as you do

Kolkata franchise owner and film actor Shahrukh Khan makes script and tribute writers around the world cringe with his over-the-top sentiments about Sachin Tendulkar
Dec 10, 2009

If you try to hit a six I will hit you on the bum.

Sachin Tendulkar's warning to Virender Sehwag during the Test against Pakistan in Multan, 2004. Sehwag reached his triple century with a six.
Sep 17, 2009

I'll chew his ear off.

Phillip Hughes vows to talk shop with Sachin Tendulkar in Mumbai
Aug 30, 2009

Twenty20 cricket is the dessert and you can't survive on that. Who wants to eat only desserts?

Sachin Tendulkar resorts to a food analogy to explain the pecking order of cricket's formats
Aug 6, 2009

"Maybe they all think it's my last tour."

Sachin Tendulkar on the standing ovations he gets wherever he plays in the world.
Mar 20, 2009

"I used to receive letters written in blood, but not anymore."

Sachin Tendulkar reflects on how the adulation directed at him has changed over the years
Feb 19, 2009

"A batsman is so much covered with protective gears that one might say [Sachin] Tendulkar is playing if I go in the middle to bat."

MS Gill, the Indian sports minister, clearly feels today's cricketers have it far easier than those of the past
Jan 23, 2009

"Tall peaks are not always better than long plateaus as true greatness must include protracted excellence."

The ICC explains why their idea of including Matthew Hayden in their list of all-time greats, while excluding the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, wasn't such a great one after all
Jan 15, 2009

"I couldn't sleep all this time. I am numb. The images keep playing in my head. This was just not an attack on Mumbai, it is an attack on India."

Sachin Tendulkar recounts the horrors of watching the terrorist attacks on his hometown
Dec 2, 2008

"Sachin and Sehwag are also spectacular, but when in full flow Yuvraj really stands out."

Mahendra Singh Dhoni praises Yuvraj Singh
Nov 19, 2008

"It was like holding a Rolex watch and a Patek Phillipe watch and saying which one looks best"

Andrew Symonds pays tribute to the batting of Laxman and Tendulkar in the 2008 Sydney Test, in his book Roy on the Rise
Nov 14, 2008

"That Porsche comment ... why would I say that to Tendulkar? He's got aeroplanes."

England wicketkeeper Matt Prior says the infamous "I drive a Porsche, what car do you drive?" sledge to Sachin Tendulkar didn't happen
Oct 27, 2008

"We don't need him to say these things [about Tendulkar] just because he is retired."

Harbhajan Singh delivers his take on the Gilchrist-Tendulkar affair
Oct 25, 2008

"The archives recall not one single incriminating incident, not one drunken escapade, not one reported affair, not one spat with a team-mate or reporter ... As Matthew Parris wondered of Barack Obama in these pages recently, is he human?"

Michael Atherton ponders the sinless Sachin Tendulkar in the Times
Oct 19, 2008

"I'm so disappointed at what's being written and said about Anil Kumble ... He's been around for over 18 years and his achievements do all the talking."

Sachin Tendulkar defends his team-mate
Oct 19, 2008

"Why did you get out to such a silly shot?"

Anjali Tendulkar tells off her record-breaking husband for a poor stroke.
Oct 18, 2008

"To me he will not just be remembered as a great player and a lovely human being, but as somebody who tried to learn Bengali for the last 14 years but never managed to do so!"

Sourav Ganguly pays a sort of tribute to Sachin Tendulkar
Oct 18, 2008

"I don't know how they can figure out what's going on in my mind when sometimes I myself can't figure that out."

Journalists work in mysterious ways, Sachin Tendulkar finds out
Oct 17, 2008

"Success is a process... During that journey sometimes there are stones thrown at you, and you convert them into milestones."

Sachin Tendulkar in an interview at the end of the day he went past Brian Lara to become the leading run-scorer in Test cricket
Oct 17, 2008

"I think you are at the wrong press conference."

Sachin Tendulkar answers a query about his retirement plans
Sep 18, 2008

"Even my father's name is Sachin Tendulkar."

Tendulkar's daughter, Sara, tells her class her father's name after the teacher informs them of a restaurant of the same name in Mumbai 
May 31, 2008

"Performance is one thing, performing back to back is something else. People may call him [Tendulkar] a sitting elephant, but he's the best. He never said a word, and wanted to let his bat do the talking."

Mahendra Singh Dhoni speaks for his veteran team-mate
Mar 8, 2008

"With Tendulkar, it's like the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about."

Sanjay Manjrekar wonders why Sachin Tendulkar's failures, especially while chasing, are not questioned by the media
Feb 28, 2008

"With Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, it was better to be friends and make them smile rather than wind them up."

Sledging doesn't work with all players, warns Shane Warne
Feb 10, 2008

"I now know what Sachin Tendulkar feels every time he bats in India."

Adam Gilchrist soaks it up while batting in his final Twenty20 in front of a packed MCG 
Feb 6, 2008

"Sometimes I need to look at the scoreboard to figure out whether I'm batting hundred-plus or whether I am on zero."

Sachin Tendulkar struggles to distinguish between his standing ovations for entering the pitch and then for getting his half-century and century.
Jan 30, 2008

"Commit all your crimes when Sachin is batting. They will go unnoticed because even the Lord is watching."

A placard at the SCG when Sachin Tendulkar was on his way to a magnificent century
Jan 9, 2008

"He is my hero and playing against him is a special moment in my life. I cherish that."

Sachin Tendulkar reflects on playing against Viv Richards during a Yorkshire-Glamorgan county match
Dec 2, 2007

"He loves India. He has named his child India. His biggest player is actually Tendulkar. Right now I'm hoping Tendulkar does not hit a catch to him because he will probably drop it to watch him bat."

Irving Romaine on team-mate Lionel Cann, who is just a bit overawed by being at the World Cup
Mar 3, 2007

"It really surprises me ... you are so consistent and I'm not"

Sachin Tendulkar, on his 33rd birthday, thanks the media for their unwavering love and affection and assures himself of a good press into the bargain
Apr 25, 2006

"The positions of Jupiter and Mars are not good. I wish I am wrong but this is what the stars tell."

Abdullah Shaukat Chowdhry, a 70-year-old astrologer from Lahore, predicts that the end is nigh. The end of Sachin Tendulkar's career, that is ...
Jun 4, 2005

"Come on, his sleeves are absolutely unique."

A female fan in Kolkata explains how to recognise Sachin Tendulkar
Dec 6, 2004

"Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it."

Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a flight
Dec 2, 2004

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

Shane Warne delights the Indian press with his views on batting greats of this era
Oct 8, 2004

"If you get Dravid, great. If you get Sachin, brilliant. If you get Laxman, it's a miracle."

Brett Lee repeats the words of wisdom of his former captain, Steve Waugh
Sep 27, 2004

"The thing about India is that while they will miss Sachin, they have the ability to put out another batsman nearly as good."

Michael Vaughan gives overestimation a new meaning before the first match of the NatWest Challenge
Aug 31, 2004

"Sometimes you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar that you lose focus on your job."

Yasir Hameed tries to zero in on the exact reason for dropping a vital catch in the third Test at Rawalpindi
Apr 13, 2004

"Sachin was so focused. He never looked like getting out. He was batting with single-minded devotion. It was truly remarkable. It was a lesson."

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova joins the Sachin Tendulkar fan club after watching him bat at Sydney
Feb 2, 2004


"You can never say that he is out of form. He is a volcano waiting to explode and we hope he doesn't do that against us in the one-dayers."

Daryl Tuffey hints that Sachin Tendulkar's modest form may be the calm before the storm
Oct 22, 2003