Priyo Blog

Little Master Sachin -from Peak to Peak

 

                  Khondkar A Saleque

 

 

Tewenty years ago on this very day 15th November a little teenager of 16 years 7 months went into bat against a fearsome bowling attack of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram ,Waqar Yunis and Selim Jaffer. These bowlers could rattle many established cricketers of their time. But a boyish looking 5 feet 5 inches remained unruffled .World cricket saw the baptism under fire of modern day Bradman Indian sporting Icon Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Twenty years have whistled by. That boy is now 36 .He has reached the Mount Everest of cricketing achievements. Nearly 13000 runs in 159 tests , over 17000 in 430 ODI , 42 test match hundreds 45 ODI hundreds. Only Steve Waugh played more tests and Only Snath Jayasuriya played more ODI. Many of his contemporaries retired from cricket .But Sachin is marching on in full steam. He still dominates any attack right from the word go. The hunger for cricket, hunger for runs, youthful exuberance still remains the same. Only the other day SRT played one of the best ODI innings ever scene against the top team of the world.

On this twentieth anniversary of SRT Cricket Info likes offer twenty red Rose to the little master and wish him to carry at least 5 more years and complete 100s of centuries in international cricket.

 

Before we analyse his attributes let us see what he achieved in Cricket so far.

 

Sachin Tendulkar

 

Mat

Inns

NO

Runs

HS

Ave

BF

SR

100

50

4s

6s

Ct

St

Tests

159

261

27

12773

248*

54.58

 

 

42

53

 

51

102

0

ODIs

436

425

39

17178

186*

44.50

20022

85.79

45

91

1872

181

132

0

T20Is

1

1

0

10

10

10.00

12

83.33

0

0

2

0

1

0

First-class

261

412

43

21662

248*

58.70

 

 

69

99

 

 

170

0

List A

523

510

53

20730

186*

45.36

 

 

56

109

 

 

167

0

Twenty20

25

25

3

750

69

34.09

599

125.20

0

5

95

17

14

0

 

The only other player who can come anyway close to his skyscrapers that Sachin has built is Australian great Ricky Ponting .Let us see his records as well. Riky has additional burden of regrouping Australian team to retain top position in ICC World ranking. True it puts tremendous responsibility on his shoulder .But Sachin also led amuch weaker Indian team for some years where he alone carried the team on his shoulder.

 

Ricky Ponting

 

Batting and fielding averages

 

Mat

Inns

NO

Runs

HS

Ave

BF

SR

100

50

4s

6s

Ct

St

Tests

136

229

26

11345

257

55.88

19108

59.37

38

48

1280

66

159

0

ODIs

330

321

36

12311

164

43.19

15293

80.50

28

73

1093

148

141

0

T20Is

17

16

2

401

98*

28.64

302

132.78

0

2

41

11

8

0

First-class

236

400

53

20192

257

58.19

 

 

72

86

 

 

248

0

List A

399

390

49

14610

164

42.84

 

 

32

88

 

 

173

0

Twenty20

22

21

2

460

98*

24.21

375

122.66

0

2

44

13

10

0

 

Ponting is about 3000 behind in test runs and 5000 behind in ODI. He has scored 4 test centuries in test and 17 centuries less in ODI. Ponting is about two years younger than Sachin. Their batting averages are comparable and look almost identical. But remember Ponting did not have to bat against great Australian bowlers Shane Warne or Glen McGrath which Sachin negotiated so elegantly. Warne the best leg spinner of all times felt Sachin to be the most difficult batsman to bowl aginst.

 

A few days back Ponting witness the brilliant innings of the master craftsman ad aginst his own team. While complimenting Sachin Ponting himself said, that great man played twenty years of top cricket consistently. Ponting thought if he has play twenty years he may have to be carried in wheel chair.

 

When we talk about Sachin several other batsmen came to mind. Among them Sunil Gavaskar Sachin’s own roll model felt none other than Sir Garry Sobers could influence cricket more than Sachin. He does not have the ferocity of Viv Richards or finesse of Brian Lara yet he bats with the beauty and charisma that made Greatest batsman of all time Sir Donald Bradman tell his wife , “ Look at the boy, he bats like me “. Don invited Sachin in his place possibly on his birth day. Last year during a visit to Bradman museum we saw some memorable photographs of little master with great Sir Don.

 

In his very first series at sweet 16, fearsome fast bowler Waqar Yunis broke his nose. Sachin’s ender brother advised him to leave cricket. But little master said that incident made him more determined. Great Pakistani Leg spinner Abul Qadir was at his peak at that time in 1989.Boy Sachin hit him three sixes in one match.. Quadir could spot his talent then and their. Another great Pakistan b batsman Miandad felt Sachin is a blessing to world Cricket. Great Australian Cricketer Allan Border advised Sachin to cut down playing limited over cricket and play more tests to prolong his career .But look at him scoring 175 only other day in ODI which could very well see the first double century if his concentration did not momentarily lapse. His is living legend.Sachin has already attained immortality.

He is wily customer as a bowler also. He has a golden arm. But possibly considering his tennis elbow problem he prefers not to bowl these days. The present generation Indian Cricketers are lucky to share dressing room with Sachin and watch him play masterfully from other end of the crease.

The other great thing about Sachin is that when various controversy of match fixing, drug abuse were levelled aginst several contemporaries he was way above those. He has become victim of many poor umpiring but he never complained.

In India he is more popular than any movie star. He is Indian God and rightfully so. We wonder how some one year after year match after match maintains the same hunger same enthusiasm. A perfect gentleman , unassuming character earned respect from team mates , opponents, umpires , media and off course billions of fans all over the world.

His upright stance, delicate flick off his toes and off the heap, excellent square drives, crisp cover drives, elegant straight drives will remain enigma for ever. The way Sachin is moving it seems that only sky is his limit.