Sir Sachin Tendulkar 4

af, i don think sachin was there in lords yesterday.
yesterday in lords there was a game between npower team(npower is the sponsorer for england team now, its like how we call a railways team) and cardiff team(team from wales), this is just an exhibition match....
the cardiff team is the team which won over us last saturday... (if we hav won we would hav played against npower in lords yesterday)

inspite of this, why i say sachin was not there is cos, my friends has got pics taken from lords today... there were not signs or clues that sachin was there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdvd7...&feature=feedu

SS about the pic. It was taken from someone from ECB.



Thread starter, Did you take the pic?. Did you get a chance to see close by?
Pic taken by someone from ECB. Ive met him before at a Lashings game, at a hotel and inshallah will meet him at some point this summer

ok, i believe it could be some old pic sachin was not in england at that point of time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnX3DyNgVLk&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Sachin Tendulkar 47 vs Australia_3rd Test 2008 at Delhi. Another rare video.

June 17, 2011
Posted by Akhila Ranganna 2 weeks, 6 days ago in Miscellaneous
Tendulkar on top of the world

On May 22 this year, former New Zealand wicketkeeper Adam Parore became the first international cricketer to reach the summit of Mount Everest. But did you know that Sachin Tendulkar had beaten him to the top of the world’s highest peak by two days? Well, his poster certainly did.

Haryana's Narinder Singh, a staunch Tendulkar fan, had vowed to honour his idol should India win the World Cup. India lifted the trophy at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on April 2 and on April 16, Pawan Grewal, who hails from Bhiwani in Haryana, handed Tendulkar's poster to Singh who was at the Everest base camp. Armed with the motivation to see Tendulkar on the summit, Singh battled a leakage in his oxygen cylinder, and made the final push to reach his goal without the cylinder. Having fulfilled his wish, Singh reportedly remained on the summit for an hour without the cylinder. “Sachin is my inspiration and that only kept me moving even when I was without an oxygen cylinder," Narinder told the Hindustan Times. “Hopefully, I will be presenting my photograph, holding Sachin's poster on the summit, to the Master.”

http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/thebuz..._the_world.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ivuhy_SAJ44&feature=feedu

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/e...ow/9167888.cms

Feeling like GM after Karthik calls him Annan madhiri in Ullathai allitha: Ivvalavu naal boori butter padathai kindal adichadhu thappa pochae.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctTN5WZ9_FY&feature=feedu

SACHIN TENDULKAR'S 101 VS SOUTHAFRICA AT JO'BERG 1ST ODI 2001 SERIES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhHRdKZFoJE&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

SACHIN TENDULKAR'S 122 NOT OUT VS WESTINDIES AT HARARE TRISERIES HELD IN ZIMBABWE JULY 2001

How many 122's has he hit in his career?. Jesus!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT_pecLC230&feature=feedu

2001 India v Aus 3rd Test Chennai - India chase 155 to win the series

Tendulkar out to a noball off gillespie as he steps on the side crease before delivering the ball. Watch from 04:30 onwards.

Sachin Tendulkar determined to enjoy pursuit of 100th 100 at Lord's in England v India
Test series

What strikes you first about Sachin Tendulkar is the serenity. Gentle, imperturbable, with a moonlike face unruffled by worry, he radiates a degree of charm to sit perfectly with his elegance at the crease.

It is not in the Long Room at Lord’s, or in a gilded suite in his native Mumbai, that the most cultivated batsman of his age holds court.

Instead, he is struggling to make himself comfortable inside the quotidian confines of Kenton Cricket Club, where the bar serves mainly orange squash as a hard rain sluices against the pavilion walls.

Tendulkar, let loose on any subject from his pursuit of a 100th international hundred to the mounting parallels with Sir Donald Bradman, is endlessly accommodating. But to secure access to one so feted seldom proves easy. Upon arrival, the club’s peeling green gate is padlocked, watched closely by a uniformed security guard.

Residents of Indian descent account for over a fifth of the population in Kenton, where Tendulkar hopes to augment his role in grassroots cricket, and to most his reputation is of mythic proportions.

The beatific visage of the ‘Little Master’, the man who collects endorsement deals and honorary doctorates with almost the same alacrity as he stockpiles runs, is nothing less than a symbol of the subcontinent. The merest sighting could mean he is mobbed.

As such, he must take measures for his own protection. Plus, he is compelled to modulate his language with the utmost care. This might seem like a convivial, no-limits conversation on the extremities of north-west London, yet he grasps that one infelicitous phrase could be seized upon by a billion disciples following his every word.

Nine days from now, Tendulkar is primed to open his assault on a barely conceivable landmark. One hundred hundreds: it is poetic, fanciful, perhaps Bollywood-esque.

To perceive its true magnitude, we need reminding that Ricky Ponting, the next most gluttonous accumulator in the middle, is still 30 centuries behind him on 69.

Mindful of Bradman’s perfectly imperfect Test average of 99.94, Tendulkar can seize an invitation at Lord’s to register a record that will, almost certainly, never be emulated.

That his quest should take place on a ground where he is yet to score above 37 scarcely obtrudes in his thinking. He needs little tutoring as to the significance of the moment that could define India's four-match series against England - the scoreboard here has, already, been mischievously turned over to read ‘99’.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/...n_1943877c.jpg

Final conquest: India's Sachin Tendulkar goes into the Lord's Test against England on 99 international centuries Photo: CHRISTOPHER PLEDGER

“I’m not thinking of records,” he says, ever so quietly. “I’m just thinking of enjoying this tour. The secret to any performance is not in chasing records. I think about, ‘What is the best way to enjoy the game, and how can I enhance that enjoyment factor?’

"If I enhance the enjoyment then, naturally, the standard of play becomes higher. To me, that is more important. If I’m playing well, things can happen. I don’t need to go around chasing them. It’s a process. You construct a solid foundation and build on it.”

The voice is mellifluous, the enunciation beautifully crisp. Tendulkar provides riveting company not because he seeks to drain his statements of any controversy but because he affects to care about their expression.

Do not suppose for a second, either, that he is unbothered by his looming milestone. In March, prior to reaching 85 during a febrile World Cup semi-final against Pakistan in Mohali, he was almost caught twice as the tension bit.

“The only easy chance was where I looked to chip the ball over midwicket, and I mistimed it!” he claims, making light of the lapses.

“The other one was deflected and went to third man.” Not even he could downplay, though, the remorseless pressure he endured during that tournament or the glorious catharsis of India’s ultimate triumph.

Reaching for the superlatives, Tendulkar admits: “I was extremely delighted. It was something I had always dreamt about. You start playing cricket, and one day you walk away as part of a world champion team.

"I took up playing serious cricket because in 1983, we won the World Cup, and that was a big turning point in terms of considering cricket a full-time profession. That moment was a decisive one. I felt, ‘I want to play for India one day’. It was a huge boost. From then I started working hard.”

Tendulkar was a mere 10 in 1983, but a talent of staggering precocity. The son of Ramesh, a celebrated novelist in his local Marathi dialect, he spent most days in his uncle’s garden as he began fashioning an immaculate batting technique.

His school mentor, Ramakant Achrekar, would place a one-rupee coin on the top of the stumps if he could survive a practice session without dismissal. The 13 coins he earned remain integral to his vast trophy collection.

Murmurs of the young Sachin’s prodigious abilities soon rippled across the Mumbai metropolis. At 16, this slender soul was stepping out at Karachi’s National Stadium, primed to confront a fearsome Pakistani seam attack of Imran Khan and Wasim Akram. So to ask Tendulkar about the notion of pressure, about the burden of not letting down countless besotted admirers, is to receive a quizzical look.

“I’m used to it,” shrugs the man whose face has since launched a thousand Pepsi billboards. “It’s the kind of lifestyle that I lead in India. It began around the age of 16, at the time I would start going out and mixing with friends. But I don’t feel suffocated. I feel extremely comfortable back home in whatever I do. That’s how my life has been, so I believe it’s normal.”

Even so, Tendulkar is forced to live for much of the year in his flat in St John’s Wood, to escape the maelstrom of hysteria that attends his every appearance in India.

Never, however, will you hear a word of resentment pass his lips. He explains: “I have been rewarded, and God has been kind to me. I have no complaints. I am very grateful to all the people who have appreciated and supported me over the years, and who have accepted me in the manner that I am.

“When I spend time in England, it’s different. I get to do certain things that I wouldn’t be able to do in India: to go into the park with my children, to do whatever they want to do, whether it be a game of soccer or cricket. I enjoy the best of both. The idea is to balance life in India with life away from India, to get the best of both and to be a happy man.”

If you dare interpret these remarks by Tendulkar - among the game’s elders at 38 - as a sign of imminent retirement, forget it. Even once he clutches his century of centuries, he has no plan to take his leave of the stage he has graced so magnificently for 22 years.

Asked if he has even contemplated the end of his playing career, he replies: “I haven’t. I’m enjoying every moment. It has been fun. In fact, I’m looking at how to enjoy the game more and how to improve the standard of play. It’s about getting better. Nobody knows what is going to happen tomorrow. At least today I know that I want to enjoy cricket, to enjoy the moment.”

Sacrilegious as it might sound to Australians, a debate is running on whether Tendulkar should be acclaimed as the greatest batsman, better even than Bradman for his adaptability whatever the bowling, and for his sheer longevity. All that matters to him is that the Don was alive to watch him when he reached his peak. India’s Test in Adelaide in 1992 yielded a searing memory, as he paid Bradman a visit in the lounge of the family home.

Bradman, often outspoken about unbearable ordeal of living every minute under public scrutiny, confided to wife Jessie that Tendulkar was the batsman who, by an ingrained, insatiable appetite for runs, reminded him most of himself.

“At possibly the best time in my career, when I was doing well at international level, it was a notch higher to have the statement from Sir Don that my batting resembled his, that my style was exactly like his,” Tendulkar says.

“Coming from Sir Don himself, it meant a lot. It was perfect that it happened to me at that stage. I needed to take my game to a different level, and I really felt proud.”

Once the thunder of this series passes, Tendulkar is convinced he has a vivid imprint still to leave.

“For me, it’s not about breaking records or creating new ones. It’s about adding value to my team. Records will be set by me, they might be broken by someone else.

"They’re not going to stay permanently. But the impression that I leave on people will last forever, I feel. The impression that I leave behind - to me that is important. If I can motivate the next young cricketers, that will be a big contribution.”

By his devotion, his achievements and his sheer, ineffable dignity, Tendulkar has bequeathed a motivation fit to last a generation. This much will be evident from the reception that washes over him at Lord’s next Thursday.

Best of all, we console ourselves, he is not going anywhere yet.

Sachin Tendulkar is supporting the NatWest Cricket Club, having visited Kenton Cricket Club in Harrow. Launched in partnership with the ECB, the club aims to highlight a number of ongoing challenges surrounding funding, facilities and participation at grassroots level and seeks to galvanise the support of fans across the country to generate £20 million worth of support for grassroots cricket.

Thevai illadha hype about 100th century in Lords :|

I heard on NDTV news that SRT to be given the "Bharata Ratna" Award ? I guess this will the first time a sportsman get such awards :clap:

Ok, sacrilege alert:
We all know Bradman said Tendulkar bats just like him. Now, how many have seen Bradman bat? In general, reports of Bradman's batting talk about his efficiency and prolificity. Was his batting known for its beauty? I dont seem to read reports that focus on that aspect. Whereas with Sachin, beauty is as much apparent as efficiency.
So, was the old man gold plating himself by claiming Sachin bats exactly like himself?

Is there any definitive report/story/narrative on the beauty of Bradman's batting?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_...ting_technique

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Plum

Ok, sacrilege alert:
We all know Bradman said Tendulkar bats just like him. Now, how many have seen Bradman bat? In general, reports of Bradman's batting talk about his efficiency and prolificity. Was his batting known for its beauty? I dont seem to read reports that focus on that aspect. Whereas with Sachin, beauty is as much apparent as efficiency.
So, was the old man gold plating himself by claiming Sachin bats exactly like himself?

Is there any definitive report/story/narrative on the beauty of Bradman's batting?

---

correctnga
even i have felt...the small clips they have shown over the yrs suggest that Bradman doesn have the elagance Sachin has..no way near...the cover drive..Bradman kind of punches it while Sachin bends and drives it without much effort..remember in a India Kenya game the pull shot of Don and SRT was shown in split screen..Sachin's was more stylish and effortless...

Sachin Tendulkar meets Indian tennis player Somdev Devvarman at Wimbledon, London, June 25, 2011

http://www.espncricinfo.com/db/PICTU...400/134433.jpg

After arriving here on Tuesday afternoon -- some from the West Indies, others from India and Sachin Tendulkar from London – eight of the Indian players hit the ground for an optional practice session in pleasant weather conditions here on Wednesday.

Coach Duncan Fletcher, bowling consultant Eric Simmons and the rest of the supporting staff worked together as players were kept busy for close to three hours at the quaint Somerset County Ground. Tendulkar spent the longest time at the ‘nets’ facing pacemen Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth and some of the local bowlers summoned for their services for the session. The maestro looked compact, was put through little struggle and didn’t look worse for the time spent resting with family and holidaying in London.

Having finished with his batting stint, the right-hander straightaway joined Gautam Gambhir who was being put through some close-catching drills by the physio. He used a tennis racket to impart some spin and swerve on the tennis ball aimed at improving anticipation and agility. Gambhir, meanwhile, opted not to bat and instead faced some throw-downs from Simmons towards the end of the day’s session.

The Indian players had six pacemen, including Zaheer and Sreesanth, having a go at them and they were showered with a fair bit of short-pitched stuff; a concerted effort to prepare for things to come. Yuvraj looked in some discomfort against a few local pacers and the left-hander even tried to hit his way out of trouble. After a few minutes of hit-and-miss game, though, he appeared to have found his comfort zone. Dhoni spent a relatively less time at the nets while Bengal wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha, in the absence of several regular batsmen, got a considerable time to wield the willow.

Ex-captains warn England of Tendulkar threat
Ashis RayAshis Ray, TNN | Jul 13, 2011, 03.03pm IST

LONDON: India's batting maestro, Sachin Tendulkar - probably on his farewell tour of England - will feature on the cover of the next of issue of an English magazine, with erstwhile English captains who have experienced the insatiable appetite of his willow - Graham Gooch, Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan - leading tributes to him days before India's 1st Test at Lord's next week.

Vaughan, who led the home side during India's last trip four years ago and is now a radio broadcaster, said: "Sachin's a different player now from 2007," analysing that "in the last two years he's become more aggressive". He felt, though, England might "test him with a few short balls".

Hussain, presently a television commentator, echoed that Tendulkar "has rediscovered his flamboyance and is playing shots again."

His colleague on the TV panel, Atherton, however, stressed: "One of the most remarkable things is that he (Tendulkar) has hardly changed at all - exactly the same set-up, very few changes to his method. He's trusted in his technique and power all this time. He concluded: "He's stayed true to his game."

Gooch, currently England's batting coach, referred to Tendulkar as a 17-year-old, when he first visited England with India in 1990 and scored his maiden Test hundred at Old Trafford, Manchester. "For one so young he had a poise and composure about his batting. You don't often get that in young players."

The ensuing edition of The Cricketer will also carry an interview with Rahul Dravid.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/s...ow/9210109.cms

Sachin has always done well in England..nooravudhu nooru confirmed :smokesmirk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-MOdkEWcBU&feature=feedu

Sachin Tendulkar 36 vs England 2002

Planning to take off for Lords Test :redjump:

http://p.imgci.com/db/PICTURES/CMS/134900/134996.jpg

Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman – the genius, the builder and the artist

It is hard to think of three batting contemporaries who have had such an impact on a nation's cricket fortunes as this trio of Indian superstars about to face England



Dileep Premachandran
guardian.co.uk, Friday 15 July 2011 12.42 BST

Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid

Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, center, and team-mates VVS Laxman, left and Rahul Dravid chat during a practice session. Photograph: Eranga Jayawardena/AP

Since the three Ws played a pivotal role in West Indies's emergence as a cricket power, it is hard to think of three batting contemporaries who have had such an impact on a nation's cricket fortunes as India's middle order. They have been slotted into boxes that they each dislike – the genius, the builder and the artist – but for 15 years, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have been united by a common purpose.

When Laxman made his debut in November 1996, India were far from being cricket's pre-eminent power. Hard to beat on spin-friendly surfaces at home, they were soft touches away, a fact amply illustrated in the Boxing Day Test of 1996, when South Africa skittled them for 100 and 66 in Durban. India had produced great batsmen before them, most notably Sunil Gavaskar and the two Vijays, Merchant and Hazare. But away from home comforts, their task usually involved digging trenches and saving face.

The numbers are revealing. Half the nation's 110 Test wins have come in the period after Laxman's debut. Before then, India had won 13 of 139 Tests overseas. Since, they have triumphed in 24 of 83. In the last decade, when they came into their own, they have won more (22) than they have lost (19) away.

As they take guard in England for the last time as a group, they remain a fascinating study in contrasts. Tendulkar was the prodigy who took the elevator while the others climbed the stairs, to paraphrase a lovely Vinod Kambli quote about the man he once shared a world-record partnership with. By the time Dravid and Sourav Ganguly made their debuts at Lord's in the summer of 1996, he had played 39 Tests, scoring nine centuries along the way.

Born within two years of each other, Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman belonged to the 1983 generation, the chosen few from among thousands of boys who took to bat and ball in earnest once Kapil Dev's unfancied team pulled off one of the great sporting upsets in the World Cup final at Lord's. India in those days was nothing like what it has become post-economic liberalisation. If you came from middle-class families, like the three did, pursuing a career in sport was frowned upon. You were encouraged to study hard and then take up a job that guaranteed financial security. In the mid-1980s, you had to be a household name such as Sunil Gavaskar or Kapil Dev to make decent money from cricket.

If you were a teenager then, life after school invariably involved some sort of sport. There were no PlayStations, trips to McDonald's or the other little luxuries that children from fairly well-to-do families can take for granted now. Dravid grew up in a quiet residential suburb of Bangalore, where the roads became temporary pitches every evening. Laxman had his first lessons at his grandmother's house, guided by his uncle and older brother. Tendulkar, a John McEnroe wannabe as a small boy, played most of his early cricket on the grounds of the small housing society where his father, a poet, had been given an apartment.

Their career trajectories were very different too. Tendulkar arrived like a meteor, one of those once-in-a-lifetime prodigies who actually lived up to the hype. He made a century on his first-class debut and was considered unlucky not to make the tour of the Caribbean when still just 16. Less than a year later, he did play against Pakistan, showing great maturity in tackling a bowling line-up that could boast of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. He was still only 17 when he made his first Test hundred, a match-saving 119 at Old Trafford in the summer of 1990.

As an 18-year-old in Australia in 1991-92, he had scored a sublime hundred at Sydney and a courageous one on a Perth trampoline where most of his team-mates froze. Peter Roebuck was moved to say later: "Between them, those two innings expressed Tendulkar. The rest has been a struggle as genius wrestled with adulthood." There have been rough patches since, but for the most part, his 22-year-long career has been a remarkably rare example of performance matching sky-high expectation.

Dravid made his first-class debut a few months after Tendulkar's first Test century. Laxman, who seriously contemplated following his parents into the medical field, waited another two years to test the waters. Both made steady rather than spectacular progress and were well accustomed to the cut and thrust of the domestic game by the time the national cap came their way.

Dravid made 95 on debut and a superb 148 at the Wanderers not long after but was not always a composed and assured figure in those early years, when his stolid style and sedate scoring invited a fair bit of criticism. He reinvented himself enough to score a dazzling 153 at Taunton during the 1999 World Cup, but the label of being an old-fashioned type of player never quite went away.

Laxman's plight was worse. With no middle-order spot available, he often had to open the batting. There were times when it came off, as during a glorious 167 against Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Brett Lee at the SCG in January 2000, but there came a point when he decided that he had had enough, that if the selectors wanted him to play, they would have to find a spot in the middle for him.

In his first 20 Tests, Laxman averaged 27. Then came Eden Gardens and that famous 376-run partnership with Dravid, Indian cricket's equivalent of the parting of the Red Sea . Both men built on that success in the years that followed. Between then and 2006, Dravid was consistency personified. In England in 2002 and Australia a year later, he scored more than 600 runs in a Test series. He, Tendulkar and Ganguly were instrumental in the Headingley victory of 2002, and in Steve Waugh's farewell series 18 months later, the trio along with Laxman and Virender Sehwag aggregated more than 2,000 runs.

With John Wright as coach and Ganguly as captain, India started to hold their own in alien conditions. Victory in Pakistan for the first time (in 2004) was the pinnacle of that era, but once Wright gave way to Greg Chappell, the scenario changed.

Ganguly was dropped, Laxman's dodgy knees were held against him and while Tendulkar struggled with a shoulder problem that eventually needed surgery, Dravid's form dipped with the cares of captaincy. On the tour of England in 2007, there were no hundreds, even though Ganguly and Laxman averaged 50. Dravid managed just 126 runs, while Tendulkar departed with two half-centuries. Few imagined that they would be back.

But under Gary Kirsten, each man found inspiration in different ways. Dravid scored a career-saving century against England at Mohali (2008), while Tendulkar put together the most prolific year of his career in 2010. Both have superb records against England, but not one of Laxman's 16 centuries has come against them. The Australia-slayer is most at ease on fast and bouncy pitches, but the horizontal deviation that typifies most English surfaces has frequently been his undoing. That said, he has enjoyed two of the best years of his career, battling crippling back problems to script epic victories against Sri Lanka, Australia and South Africa in the last 12 months.

Their departure, and Father Time's tap on the shoulder could come soon, will not mean the panic button for Indian cricket but it may be a while before the middle order has such a monolithic feel to it. Dravid's solidity and powers of concentration, Laxman's gift for charting a course out of a crisis and Tendulkar's uncanny ability to seek out pastures new have not just inspired Indian cricket's greatest moments. They have acted as a spur to a generation. When Virat Kohli spoke emotionally after the World Cup final of Tendulkar having carried Indian cricket for two decades, he could have been talking of Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly and Anil Kumble as well.

Like the three Ws – Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Everton Weekes, who made their debuts within a month of each other in 1948 – they have achieved all this without the clash of egos that can often tear a team of big personalities apart. There is no mistaking the mutual regard. After a pristine 178 from Laxman at Sydney in 2004, Tendulkar (who made 241) said: "I certainly wasn't going to try what he was doing, because he was in such great touch."

While they have not yet revealed an exit plan, it is fairly certain that cricket lovers in England will not see them together once this summer is over. With more than 35,000 Test runs and 99 centuries between them, they have helped define Indian cricket's most successful era. And all this while proving that the adage about nice guys finishing last is just nonsense.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog...builder-artist

Gaardiaann :clap:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX9jMBIIgP0&feature=feedu

Sachin Tendulkar 61 vs NZL WestPac Stadium Wellington 2009

Sport
Sachin Tendulkar

England v India, first Test, Lord's, starts Thursday 21 July
'Even at 17, we knew Sachin Tendulkar would be a star'

A former team-mate recalls how the India batsman made a huge impression on his first tour of England

Kiran More
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 16 July 2011 22.56 BST
Article history


Sachin Tendulkar could claim his 100th international century when India take on England in the first Test at Lord's. Photograph: Gallo Images/Getty Images

In the first Test of the 1990 series, we lost badly at Lord's after failing with the bat in the second innings. There was a lot of pressure on the 17-year-old Sachin Tendulkar. He may have come into the team only a few months earlier, but people expected so much from him. Even then, there was the feeling he was going to be a star. At Old Trafford, we again didn't bat as well as we could have on a good pitch (going from 358 for five to 432 all out). Sachin made a vital 68 with the tail, but by the time he came out in the second innings (at 109 for four, with a target of 408), it looked like we might lose.

Batting on the fifth day of a Test is never easy – and it's harder still when you have a game to save. The ball was doing a bit, too. What I remember most is how positive he was. He played some magnificent shots through the covers and straight back past the bowler. Even then, he was such a good all-round cricketer. He'd run the singles and twos hard, and always had a sense of where the field was. His body language was exceptional, too. You'd never have thought this was a 17-year-old new to international cricket.

After Azhar and Kapil fell, and Manoj Prabhakar went out, I was supposed to be next man in. So I watched every ball closely. Apart from his positive attitude, it was Sachin's back-foot play that marked him out as special. To make an impact in international cricket, you have to have those shots and the way he moved back to stroke the ball through point and covers was eye-catching.

There was something of Sunil Gavaskar in the way he played, especially how still he was at the crease, and he also admired Viv Richards's ability to take apart an attack. But, even at that age, Sachin had his own style. He never let the bowlers tie him down. It's easy to retreat into a shell when trying to save a game. But, when the runs dry up, you give the bowlers more freedom to attack you.

Sachin would keep putting the loose balls away. England were on the attack because they felt they could win and he made the most of the opportunities. I've seen many of his hundreds since, but that was as good as any of them. I don't think you can underestimate the confidence it gave him, either. Your first hundred is always a milestone, no matter how gifted you are, and he made it in a difficult situation, when the team needed something special from him.

I came into the team at a time when Gavaskar was in the last phase of his career. I never imagined we'd find a replacement so quickly. Of course, we missed Sunil at the top of the order, but Sachin came into the middle order and adjusted so quickly.

I don't think any of us ever doubted he would make it. His dedication to the sport was apparent and he never stopped working hard. I was much senior to him, but, whenever we batted together, I was always the junior partner. It never felt odd because he was so composed, even as a youngster.

Kiran More, a wicketkeeper, played 49 Tests for India from 1986 to 1993

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011...kar-kiran-more

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bfDQjnZj9E

Sachin Tendulkar 102 vs NZ Hyderabad 2003

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C3X1Kwg6G0

Sachin Tendulkar 62 vs NZ 3rd Test 2009

Short balls will test Sachin: Vaughan

Indo-Asian News Service, Updated: July 13, 2011 16:48 IST


Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/cricket/...n-175836&cp&cp

Kind Advice - Read the full article and not just the first post!!!

Chris Tremlett's bounce and James Anderson's swing will be key to nullify Sachin Tendulkar's threat on England in the upcoming Test series against India, reckons former skipper Michael Vaughan.

"I have seen him driving through balls early on and be bowled or lbw on a number of occasions. England could also undermine him with bounce, which is why Tremlett will be key. If the ball is swinging, James Anderson nipping back a ball that pitches on fourth stump and hitting middle or off will be very dangerous," Vaughan said


He said England should make use of iconic Indian batsman's vulnerability in the early part of his innings.


"Like all batsmen, he is at his most vulnerable early in the innings to the fuller delivery nipping back. A ball pitching on off stump and coming back through the gate will cause him problems," Vaughan wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

"England have to remember Tendulkar is only human. He makes mistakes. They must also forget the verbals. Let the ball do the talking instead. It is what he has done with his bat for 20 years."

Discussing the Indian batsman's technique, Vaughan said, "There have been various theories about batting over the last decade or so with buzz words such as trigger movements and forward presses. Tendulkar just stands still. He is dead side on. If you sat down with a pen and paper to draw the perfect batsman, you would sketch out Tendulkar's profile.

"The mid-on has got to be dead straight for Tendulkar. You can't allow him to see the gap straight down the ground. Your midwicket also has to be straight as well so when he looks to the leg side does not see an easy scoring option."

Having a quick and bouncy pitch will aid England in their battle against Tendulkar, Vaughan felt. "To nullify Tendulkar's threat England will want pace in the pitch so their short balls or length deliveries are zipping through to the keeper," he said.


"It is just a case of whether the administrators will let that happen (pace and bounce). They will not want three-day matches. Tendulkar is box office and that equals a lot of money for the Test match grounds. They will want four or five day cricket to maximise their takings," Vaughan said.

"Lord's will be packed with fans hoping to see history made. There is an air of goodwill from everyone towards Tendulkar that other great players have not enjoyed. I have never heard anyone say anything bad about him. Normally when you have a guy who is the greatest sportsman in his field, he is seen as selfish and makes enemies. Not Tendulkar."

What has amazed Vaughan is the fact that despite being 38, Tendulkar is still at the top of his powers. "After India's tour to England in 2007 it felt as if we had seen the last of Sachin Tendulkar in this country. Sachin looked a bit fearful of the short ball, which tends to happen towards the end of a player's career.


"He didn't score a hundred in the series and averaged only 38. To think he is still on the circuit, playing better than ever and is on the verge of a 100th international century is a phenomenal achievement," he said of the champion batsman.

While making a comparison with the last tour, Vaughan said the difference from four years ago is that he will not duck and weave. He will take the short ball on. The best players see the short ball as a scoring opportunity not just something to evade.

According to Vaughan, Tendulkar is at the top of his list simply because of the pressure and weight of expectation he has coped with.

"People ask why he is so good and what sets him apart from the rest? I played in an era of great batsmen but Tendulkar is top of the list simply because of the pressure and weight of expectation he has coped with. He is more famous in India than their prime minister or president."

England might go aggressive at him, test him with a few short balls -- I have seen people do that over the last two years and it hasn't affected him!!!" Vaughan was quoted as saying in the 'Cricketer' magazine.


Vaughan says Tendulkar's recent success can be attributed to a change in his batting style.

"Sachin is a different player now from 2007; the best players in the world change little things about themselves to keep themselves in the game. In the last two years he has become more aggressive, he has gone back to his old way of trying to score when for a period he tried to survive."


Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/cricket/...ghan-175836&cp

Vagan romba pesraru

http://www.espncricinfo.com/db/PICTU...000/135074.jpg

Sachin Tendulkar 49th Test 100- 214 vs Australia 2010
20 minute video with Wide Screen.Not in HD but still good quality better than the version currently in YT.

Enjoy


Link :
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=P3XTGY6N

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwnpfw73xi8&feature=channel_video_title

Sachin Tendulkar's 120 v England, 11th ODI 2010/11 - 720p HD

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ajithfederer

http://www.espncricinfo.com/db/PICTU...000/135074.jpg

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superb still :bow:

Coca Cola to roll out special Tendulkar cans

New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) Beverage giant Coca-Cola will commemorate Sachin Tendulkar's 100th international century - when the milestone is reached - by launching some 6.5 million special Coke cans with pictures of the batting maestro.

This is the first marketing campaign for which Coca-Cola is using its 'Happiness' ambassador Sachin, since the two signed a contract, estimated in the range of Rs.120-150, earlier this year.

Coca-Cola will release a series of 10 cans, with 10 different designs, each chronicling one of Sachin's best centuries. Nine of these centuries have been handpicked by Tendulkar. Each can will have the image from that innings of Tendulkar along with the statistics of the century.

This is also the first time that Tendulkar has listed some of his most important innings that he has every played. Some of the innings are 200 in an ODI against South Africa, 114 versus Australia in Perth in 1992, 143 versus Australia in Sharjah in 1998 to win the Sharjah Cup.

The company also plans to release 800,000 units of the 10th can, which will be released once Tendulkar scores the much awaited 100th international century, possibly during the first India-England Test beginning at Lord's Thursday.

A core team of designers and creative guys from Coke's creative agency are working on the design and look for the 10th can.

'As and when Sachin reaches that historic milestone of 100 hundreds, it will be an ultimate high-point in the history of sports. As a tribute to this legend, who is also Coca-Cola's 'Happiness' ambassador, it is only appropriate that we release nine special edition cans, each depicting an important achievement of his career, and start celebrating in anticipation of his 100th hundred,' said Anupama Ahluwalia, VP, Marketing, Coca-Cola India.

'This will be the first time in the history of our operations in India that we will put a celebrity or our brand ambassador on our cans and we are making this exception for one of India's great sons. The occasion is specially significant for the Coca-Cola family since Sachin is a part of us and this is yet another occasion when Sachin and Coca-Cola are teaming up to spread joy and happiness,' she added.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79No7bGHHpo&feature=feedu

‪Sachin Tendulkar First TV Commercial