Sachin Tendulkar

One of the best cricketers in the world, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar was born on 24 April 1973 in the city of Bombay. Sachin’s father named him after his favourite musician, Sachin Dev Burman. Sachin’s elder brother took him to Ramakant Achrekar; Ramakant Achrekar was considered a very famous coach. It is said that when Sachin batted in front of Achrekar for the first time, he did not perform well, seeing Sachin’s poor performance, Achrekar refused to teach Sachin cricket. At the request of Sachin’s brother, Achrekar saw Sachin’s game again, but this time not being present in front of him, rather hiding from Sachin’s eyes. This time Sachin played an excellent inning, Achrekar was impressed by seeing this innings, he accepted Sachin in his academy. After this, Ramakant Achrekar advised Sachin Tendulkar to change his school, following the advice of his coach, Sachin enrolled at the Shardashram Vidyamandir School, which was done because the school’s cricket team was very decent there. Playing in a good team would also benefit Sachin. After this, Sachin started practising in Shivaji Maidan under the supervision of Ramakant Achrekar. A very unique anecdote/story is often told about Sachin’s practice at the Shivaji Maidan. When Sachin came to practice batting, his coach Ramakant Achrekar would place a rupee coin on the wicket in place of bails. Now the condition was that whoever took the wicket of Sachin, that bowler would get that coin as a reward and if someone could not dismiss Sachin for the whole day, that coin would go to Sachin. Sachin had told during an interview years later that even today he has kept those coins very well. He had said that he has 13 such coins and these coins are more than any other reward for him.

He also made his mark in the Kanga League, one of the most prominent club tournaments in Bombay. Sachin then also went to Chennai meanwhile after this, going there, he wanted to learn fast bowling from Dennis Lillee at the MRF Pace Foundation, Dennis Lillee asked Sachin to focus on his batting, after which Sachin never looked back. Sachin used to bat so well at such a young age that he was considered the winner of Bombay’s best cricketer, Sachin was also confident that he would win. When the winner’s name was announced, it was revealed that Sachin Tendulkar had not received the prize, Sachin was disappointed. One of India’s finest batsmen of that time, world-renowned batsman Sunil Gavaskar gave him his pad as a gift to boost Sachin’s morale. In 1988, Sachin Tendulkar formed a world record partnership with his very good friend and former Indian batsman Vinod Kambli. Against Sant Xavier School, playing in the Harris Shield tournament, Sachin and Kambli formed a huge 664 partnership. Tendulkar had 326 runs to his name in this partnership. Shortly after, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar’s year-long dream came true in 1989 at the age of just sixteen. Sachin got the best reward for his brilliant performance in the domestic tournament, he was observed by Indian selectors playing Kapil Dev very comfortably. Apart from this, in the Ranji Trophy too, Sachin proved his mettle; Sachin scored a century against Gujarat in his very first match.

On November 14, 1989, Sachin Tendulkar got his first chance to play for the country. It is the story of Pakistan tour, Ram Singh Dungarpur is credited with the selection of Sachin. Before Pakistan, Tendulkar was about to be sent to the West Indies, but it was not considered right to play such a young batsman in front of the fast bowler there. In his first international innings, Sachin scored just 15 runs, the biggest thing was that the Pakistan fast bowler’s balls were breathing fire and it hit his body many times, even after that, Sachin did not panic but strived hard and batted along. In the last match of that series, there was an accident with Tendulkar, a nasty and pacy ball of Waqar Younis hit his nose in Sialkot. Despite all this, Tendulkar refused to seek medical help, despite all this, he batted despite the injury. Tendulkar scored 57 runs in this match, with the help of which India managed to draw that match. After this, when Tendulkar got his first chance to play ODI, Tendulkar returned to the pavilion at the score of zero. After this tour, Tendulkar got a chance to go to the New Zealand tour. There too he played some of the best innings, scoring 88 runs in one of these, he missed on becoming 0the youngest centurion in this innings. Going on the tour of England, Sachin scored the first century of his Test career, he batted very well against a brilliant English bowling unit. India survived a certain defeat when Sachin’s bat did the talking on the field of Manchester. This inning is considered to be one of Sachin’s finest innings; the special thing of this innings was that Sachin played his game with full confidence on the English soil at such a young age.

After this tour, India toured Australia, where it is often said that batsmen have trouble with the bounce. Tendulkar was of short stature; his height was just five feet five inches, despite all this, Tendulkar faced the short balls brilliantly. Be it a hook or a pull, Tendulkar had mastered everything. His performance here was also better than England, here he scored two big centuries, he surprised everyone by performing so brilliantly on the fast and bouncy pitch. A few days later, the World Cup was going to be held, Tendulkar was also part of that team. The Indian team did not perform great in the World Cup, Tendulkar played some exemplary innings. After this, Tendulkar gradually started showing his class in ODIs too. After playing 78 ODIs, Sachin Tendulkar hit his first century against Australia. Tendulkar made a lot of runs on foreign soil; in fact, India also did a lot of foreign tours at that time. Meanwhile, in an innings played in New Zealand, he scored 82 runs in just 49 balls. At that time, a batsman playing at a strike rate of 100 was also considered pretty quick, according to that this inning was unbelievable. Over the years, Tendulkar’s batting continued to flourish year after year, one series after another, thus making the entire world enchanted to his batting. When the whole world was mesmerised by Tendulkar’s batting, Sachin was enthralled by someone else. The meeting with Anjali at the airport in 1990 made her an admirer of Anjali; finally, in 1995 she married Anjali. In the 1996 World Cup, India was considered a strong contender for the title, India’s journey to the semi-finals was very impressive, even beating Pakistan in the quarter-finals. Tendulkar was the highest run-scorer for India in the entire tournament, batting brilliantly in almost every match.

Tendulkar played another brilliant inning of 169 runs on the tour of South Africa, impressed by this innings, South African great bowler Alan Donald said that he felt like clapping after seeing that innings of Tendulkar. In that innings, Sachin formed a partnership with Mohammad Azharuddin that would be written in the pages of history. Similarly, Sachin continued to score runs. At that time, Australia’s great spinner Shane Warne was dominating the era, with his bowling, Warne was making the batsmen go clueless against him. In 1998, two of the best cricketers in the world clashed, Sachin and Warne. The match between India and Australia was held in Sharjah, scoring a century in two consecutive matches, Sachin single-handedly won India. Those innings played in Sharjah are counted among the best innings played in the history of cricket till date. Those innings are also referred to as desert storms because there was a storm in the middle of the match that erupted in the Arabian Desert. Warne, remembering those innings, often says that Sachin comes in his dream and smashes his balls a lot. The following year, Tendulkar also got a lot of runs on the tour of Pakistan. It is said that greats are the ones, those who do not let the courage shatter, even in difficult times and move forward/march ahead. The World Cup was held in England in 1999, Sachin Tendulkar’s father Mr Ramesh Tendulkar died in the middle of the World Cup, Sachin left the tournament in the middle and came to India. Now as it was the World Cup, Sachin immediately returned to his next match, scoring an unbeaten 140 against Kenya, he dedicated this century to his late father. Even in such difficult times, Sachin kept his courage and grit, this inning is one of the few innings in his career, Sachin has scored many centuries, but the circumstances in which this inning was played would make it a memorable one.

After the World Cup during 1996, Sachin was handed the captaincy, with Azharuddin being made the captain thereafter. Sachin’s performance fell under the captaincy, with the Indian team’s performance also deteriorating. Everyone was expecting a lot from Sachin, the burden of expectation of so many people might have taken a toll on Sachin, Sachin failed as a captain. Despite such a bad experience, he was made captain again, this time also the Indian team had to face defeats. After all, in the year 2000, India got a new captain in the form of Sourav Ganguly, a captain who knew how to get the best performance out of his team. India was very successful under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly. After this, Sachin continued his phenomenal batting against Australia, India defeated Australia 2–1 in 2001, Tendulkar played a very crucial role in that. Along with batting, Sachin also hogged the limelight, on many occasions, on very important occasions; he forced the opposing team to capitulate to his leg-spin bowling. In the Test series in the West Indies in 2002, Sachin scored the 29th century of his career, and with this, he equalled the Test centuries of Don Bradman, who is regarded as the world’s greatest batsman of all time. On this achievement, Sir Don himself said that he does not remember his own batting, he said that seeing Sachin batting, he feels as if he would have played like this. Getting praise from such a great personality is a unique achievement in itself. After exceptional performances with the bat, for some time Sachin’s form deteriorated a bit, his scores were not bad, but according to his standards, they would have been called so.

The 2003 World Cup came amid a slight decline in form, this time the World Cup was being held in South Africa, India went with a young team so the enthusiasm and excitement were at a high. Sachin has always shown his mettle in the World Cup, even if he wasn’t able to win India the trophy before that. This time India played splendid cricket, Tendulkar always stood at the forefront facing the opponents, answering every ball with his bat. At the same time, he also gave a befitting reply to those critics who were criticizing him. The most special thing about Tendulkar’s personality was that, unlike today’s hot-tempered young players, Sachin was very calm and composed. No matter how difficult the situation be, Sachin would never panic. Sachin has never made any argument or controversial statement with any player or coach, on or off the field. His modesty was the most special thing about his personality, he always responded to a comment with his performance or bat instead of his mouth. In the 2003 World Cup, India reached the final, a match was also played with Pakistan and played a brilliant inning of 98 runs, India managed to win as a result of this innings. Australia scored a monumental score in the final, their captain played perhaps the best innings of his life, India’s hopes rested on Sachin. This time Tendulkar could not handle the burden of expectations, losing his wicket while pulling a short ball from Mcgrath soon after hitting a four at the beginning of the innings. India had already given up hope after that, Sehwag gave a glimmer of hope after playing a gusty inning but at the end, the outcome was what was feared, after such a wonderful journey, India lost awfully in the final. In 2003 the Indian team went to tour Australia, the circumstances were pretty hostile, it was believed that India would not be able to even survive. On this tour, India got some new young stars, Rahul Dravid scored piled on huge runs here, amidst these the most unique innings among them was played by Sachin.

Sachin batted brilliantly against a very intimidating Australian bowling line up. This inning was special in many ways; it was that Tendulkar was getting dismissed while trying to play the ball outside the off-stump, also because he loved to play the cover drive. But this time his cover drive was becoming the cause of the fall of his wicket, upset by this, Sachin played an incredible inning, an innings in which he did not play a single shot in the covers region. He was bowled several balls at the off-stump line, but Sachin remained adamant on his resolution, leaving all the balls. When India’s innings ended, Sachin’s score was 241, with Australia captain Steve Waugh himself admitting that he had not seen anyone adapt himself to the situation at such an extent before. Sachin played many stupendous innings after this, even after going to Pakistan; he played pivotal innings of 194 in Multan. It was as if he had left behind the poor performances of the year. In those seven to eight years, Tendulkar was at the peak of his form, surprisingly it was at the same time that many bowlers of the world were also on their pinnacle. Whether it was Akram, Akhtar, Warne, McGrath, Muralitharan or Brett Lee, everyone had to surrender against Tendulkar, for this reason, Sachin is also called the greatest batsman of the century. Playing with an ordinary bat and without a helmet, he ruled the roost, in today’s era, the bats are made so heavy that even if the shot does not come from the middle of the bat, it reaches the boundary line.

In the next few years, Tendulkar did not play so much from the Indian side as he was getting injured, finally returning to form and recovering from the injuries, Sachin returned to the team. This time it was the occasion of the 2007 World Cup, the West Indies were hosting it this time, the country had high hopes from the Indian team, after shattering all expectations, the Indian team crashed out in the group stages, which happened after several decades. Bangladesh showed the door to India. Amidst all this, there were also questions on the captaincy, Tendulkar suggested Dhoni be the captain, what happened after that is now history. After a very poor World Cup campaign, the Indian team went on to play against Australia the following year, Tendulkar showed his vintage form, scoring runs across all sides of the field, demolishing Australia. India won the first ODI series on their soil, rampaging Australia. Sachin had made everyone a big fan with his straight drive, when his shot came off the bat and went straight like an arrow, it seemed as if it were a bullet coming out of a gun. India became the winner of the tri-series backed by his century and a score of ninety. After this, at the end of the year, Sachin conquered a seemingly impossible looking goal in Chennai in an extremely eased way. Hardly anyone would have thought that on the turn-taking Chennai pitch, India will be able to chase down the target in the fourth innings, but if Sachin is there then everything is possible. Sachin’s entire career has been something like this, especially in his early days he did not get any partner; he alone managed to hold the fort for India. In most of the matches of his career, he would have been the only batsman from India who had an answer for the opponent; the rest would be dismissed early and return to the pavilion.

In 2009, India played a series with New Zealand, Tendulkar showed an outstanding display of batting, thus continuing his run making form. A year later, in 2010, something happened that no one had imagined. India was playing one day against South Africa, this match on the fields of Gwalior became historic with this historic feat of Sachin. Sachin had scored many big scores as such, on top of these he had an innings of 175 runs which he played against Australia last year itself. It was not realised when Tendulkar crossed that figure while playing at a slow pace, in the end, by taking a single, Sachin astonished the whole world by scoring a double century. After all, who thought that a batsman would score a double century in One Day, in which one only gets to bat just fifty overs, Sachin is Sachin after all and so we could expect him to create this record as well. India won the match, Sachin created history. Meanwhile piling up huge scores and runs, 2011 arrived, along with came the World cup, this time the World Cup was being held in the Indian continent after many years, in a country like India, where people consider cricket as their religion, if the World Cup is hosted at such a place then expectations from the team was ought to be immense. Team India captained by Dhoni looked ready to lay their hands on the trophy this time, there was speculation that it might prove to be Sachin Tendulkar’s last World Cup. For this reason, the pressure on the players was also very high, after all, such a great legend had to be given a magnificent farewell. India performed well throughout the tournament, with Sachin, Sehwag, Yuvraj, Raina and Zaheer all contributing from their end. The whole team was playing cohesively. India was upbeat after beating Australia in the quarterfinals, then Pakistan in the semi-finals, and wishes were skyrocketing. In the final, Sri Lanka clashed, seeing the target of 275 runs, everyone’s heart skipped a beat for a while. Sachin and Sehwag were in the team, there were hopes from them, Malinga sent both of them to the pavilion with two of his deliveries, and the entire stadium went quiet. Finally, thanks to the brilliant innings of Dhoni and Gambhir, India became world champions after 28 years.

In his long career, Sachin played six World Cups, but he won it only in his last World Cup. Sachin was carried on the shoulder by his fellow players and circled the entire Wankhede Stadium, Sachin was carrying the tricolour which he was proudly waving. India’s present-day captain Virat Kohli said a very beautiful thing at that time. He had said that Sachin has played cricket with the burden of hopes of the country and countrymen on his shoulder for so many years, now it is our turn to carry him on our shoulders. Along with the whole country, Sachin’s dream came true on 2 April 2011, India became the world winner. After winning the World Cup, it seemed as if Sachin’s career had reached its climax, he had achieved everything a cricketer could do, with just one record left to his name. That record was of hundred international centuries, Sachin was stranded on 99 centuries for a year, after playing against Bangladesh in 2012, Tendulkar scored the hundredth century of his career, with which he made a record which could hardly be broken in the future. The next year, that is in 2013, Sachin Tendulkar played the last international match of his career at his home ground, he was dismissed for 74 in his last innings. His greatness can be sensed from the fact that when Sachin was dismissed in his last innings, the bowler who dismissed him did not express any ecstasy, this shows that with his retirement, the whole world, the entire cricket fraternity was saddened.

Sachin Tendulkar is a pillar of Indian cricket, he has millions of fans at home and abroad, the passion of those who love him is to the extent that he is also called the God of cricket. Sachin has represented the country on many occasions, made the country proud and won India several matches. Sachin holds many records in his 25-year career, including the record for most runs and centuries in Tests and One Day. Sachin was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest honour for his dedication towards the game and the nation. Although Sachin was only five feet five inches, his hard work and dedication made him reach the pinnacle. Such was Sachin’s technique that even after playing for so many years and playing against so many bowlers, they could not find any weakness against him. Encouraged by hard work along with dedication and devotion to his game, India gave birth to many more great cricketers. Sachin was not just a cricketer, an identity of a changing India, a symbol of a new and progressive India, India’s industrial progress and India’s transcending in cricket was a reflection of each other. Sachin’s story is a new ray of hope for many people, many children started playing cricket after seeing Sachin. In a country like India, where it is said that if you will study, you will become a big shot, if you play, you will remain ordinary, Sachin changed the thinking of billions of Indians by gaining so much fame and respect through sports in such a country. Now Tendulkar is enjoying his personal life after retirement, India is very fortunate that a great personality like Sachin was born here.