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Great pic, :clap:
ya.... :D
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http://www.orkut.com/Main#CommMsgs.a...70575082055202
Open Letter to Sachin Tendulkar: Must Read!
Mainak Dhar is an alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad whose career in the corporate sector has spanned almost a dozen years across Mumbai, Bangkok and now Singapore. In this new and exclusive series, Mainak writes open letters to people in the news, commenting on the state of affairs in today’s Indian society. Today’s column is an open letter to cricket star, Sachin Tendulkar.
Dear Sachin,
Eighteen years ago, a sixteen year-old boy took his guard before a hostile Pakistani bowling attack and entered the annals of Indian cricketing history, and the hearts and minds of Indian cricket fans. Many miles away in Delhi, another 16 year-old boy watched his new hero bat with the courage of a lion, and began recording his scores in a small notebook.
The first boy obviously is you, and over the years, you grew to be one of the all time greats of the sport. The second boy is yours truly, and for close to a dozen years, I would assiduously record each and every score of yours in a notebook, with details of the opponent, and key statistics of the inning. That tattered notebook is now lost, but over the years, I have come to admire you for more than just your cricketing prowess.
Every once in a while, people crawl out of the woodworks, either armchair cricketers or have-been players who never came anywhere close to your talent or success. Displaying that most Indian of traits, the willingness to drag down anyone who shines, they proclaim your demise and ask for you to retire.
You maintain a dignified silence, and then shut these idiots up in the best possible way, by letting your bat do the talking. The most recent example being the tour of Australia, where more than one former cricketer wrote articles saying you had lost your edge. In doing so, they miss the point that you probably hold yourself to standards higher than they could ever set for you, and one day, when you do choose to hang up your pads, it will be on your own terms.
But perhaps what they miss is the even more important fact that you mean so much more than the number of runs or centuries you have scored. In today’s Indian society, the slightest whiff of success is assumed to synonymous with excesses and imbalance. From Bollywood actors to politicians to business leaders and yes, Cricket stars, drug and alcohol abuse, corruption or sex scandals are often seen as inevitable accompaniments to success. In our campuses, the only metric of success is salary, and in our boardrooms, creeping up the corporate ladder is all that counts, at the cost of dysfunctional marriages and personal lives.
In this morass of brats, scandals and shenanigans, you stand head and shoulders apart by sheer dint of your personality. No affairs, no scandals, no drug overdoses — you are a God on the Cricket field, blessed with talent that none of us can aspire to, but off it, you are a decent, humble family man who tries to keep his personal life apart from his professional in a very dignified way — the sort each of us can become if we wanted to. The fact that you have managed to maintain this balance despite your dizzying success makes you even more of a hero than your cricketing success alone.
One day, you will step off the playing field, and your contribution to the record books will stop, but these lessons that you impart by just being the person you are should be heeded by all of us, even those who aren’t cricket fans. 12 Mar Tendulkar
In a few months, I am going to be a father, and my one regret is that my son will never be able to see you play. However, I am an inveterate storyteller, and among the hundreds of stories I cook up for him will be the fairy tale story of a cherubic little boy who grew to be a giant among men, and along the way showed us that greatness comes from not one’s material success or achievements, but from remaining a decent, balanced person despite any success one achieves.
Thanks for all the memories, and for that story.
Warm regards.
Mainak
Dhoni good captain coz of good team- Sachin
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership earned him accolades from his senior teammate Sachin Tendulkar, who said he was obviously a "good
captain" but had a good team at his disposal to bring about the desired result.
Tendulkar, who came here for a vacation with wife Anjali and two children, told reporters that apart from Dhoni's captaincy, it was a great team effort which saw India finish the year on a high.
"Dhoni is obviously a good captain. But a good captain needs a good team. Obviously his captaincy is good but the team's performance, its collective effort, is essential for a captain. A team never wins by the performance of one or two players only. When the entire team performs, we get good results," Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership earned him accolades from his senior teammate Sachin Tendulkar, who said he was obviously a "good captain" but had a good team at his disposal to bring about the desired result.
Tendulkar, who came here for a vacation with wife Anjali and two children, told reporters that apart from Dhoni's captaincy, it was a great team effort which saw India finish the year on a high.
"Dhoni is obviously a good captain. But a good captain needs a good team. Obviously his captaincy is good but the team's performance, its collective effort, is essential for a captain. A team never wins by the performance of one or two players only. When the entire team performs, we get good results," Tendulkar said.
Early in his captaincy, Dhoni already enjoys some stellar success in all three formats of the game.
The star stumper-batsman led India to Twenty20 World Cup triumph, a ODI tri-series victory in Australia and is yet to lose a Test match as a captain. Dhoni has won four out of the five Tests he led India in, the last of which was against England in Mohali earlier this week which ended in a draw.
Tendulkar said both good leadership and some sterling performance by the team made it a memorable year for Indian cricket.
"Throughout the year, our players have performed. It has been a good team effort and good leadership," he said.
Looking ahead, Tendulkar said the team would now strive to maintain the high standard it set this year.
"We had a great series against England when all players performed very well. We will try to maintain the form we have displayed throughout the year. The team has set some targets which we shall try to achieve," he said.
Tendulkar lavished praise on opener Gautam Gambhir and said the left-hander has proved himself as a key member of the side.
"Gambhir has batted very well throughout the year. He has shown the kind of form that gives nightmares to the opposition. He has shown great consistency, he attacked when attack was required, defended when defence was required.
"He has displayed solid technique and capacity for making big runs. His teammates knew his capability, now the whole world knows about it," Tendulkar said.
The 27-year-old Gambhir had a stupendous year that saw him breaking into the top 10 in the ICC Test Rankings for batsman.
The diminutive Delhi batsman scored more than 1000 runs this calendar year, including three hundreds in his last five Tests.
Asked about cancellation of India's Pakistan tour following the Mumbai terror attacks, Tendulkar said on such occasions, cricket should take a backseat.
"It is a decision by the government and we respect that decision. The attack on Mumbai was very unfortunate, so many people lost their lives in it. This tragedy is far bigger than any cricket tour or sports. Those who have lost their loved ones can never be compensated," Tendulkar said.
http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatim...ow/3890543.cms
Cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar, the soft-spoken and kind-hearted man that he is, has gifted a tricycle to a local differently abled child, thereby fulfilling a promise he had made to the child during his previous visit to Mussoorie.
Guddu, a youngster from Kolti village near Mussoorie, is a fan of Tendulkar and had met the master blaster during his previous visit to Mussoorie in March. At that time, Tendulkar had thought of helping his young fan who cannot walk. He had therefore promised to give him a tricycle.
Guddu was thrilled yesterday when Tendulkar presented him with a tricycle and chatted with him for some time. Guddu said, “This is like a dream come true and I am perhaps the luckiest child in the world.”
Meanwhile, a large number of fans thronged the Lal Tibba area to get a glimpse of the champion batsman. The fans were disappointed in the morning today as Tendulkar and his family had gone sightseeing to Tehri and Dhanolti.
Tendulkar did not disappoint his fans yesterday and a number of people were lucky to get his autograph or a picture with him.
Shobhit, a ten-year-old boy from New Delhi, who along with his parents has come to Mussoorie, was overjoyed after meeting Tendulkar. “I am a great fan of Sachin and it was a proud moment to speak to him and get a picture with him.”
Abhinav Mathur, a doctor from Meerut, was completely oblivious of the fact that Tendulkar was in Mussoorie. The young doctor took a long time to recognise Tendulkar as he walked past him. “I saw Sachin and thought that this person resembles Tendulkar. Only when he came near did I realise that it was actually the great man himself and I rushed to get an autograph.”
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20081228/dun.htm#4
Tendulkar scores 41st Ton
http://in.reuters.com/news/pictures/...st%20Ton&sl=10
Great link(s) sourav :clap:
Reproduced the same in orkut community :thumbsup: .
Stats No:30
Sachin's favourite hunting grounds in tests
Priority based on total no. of runs
1)MA Chidambaram Stadium,Chennai(IND)
Matches : 9
Innings : 14
Runs : 876
Not outs : 4
Top score : 165
Batting avg : 87.60
100s/50s : 5/1
Ducks : 2
Overs : 42.0
Maidens : 4
Runs given : 132
Wkts : 3
Best bowling(innings) : 2/35
Best bowling(match) : 3/45
Bowling avg : 44.00
Economy : 3.14
Catches : 9
2)Wankhede Stadium,Mumbai(IND)
Matches : 8
Innings : 14
Runs : 734
Not outs : 0
Top score : 148
Batting avg : 52.42
100s/50s : 1/6
Ducks : 0
Overs : 19.0
Maidens : 4
Runs given : 60
Wkts : 3
Best bowling(innings) : 3/10
Best bowling(match) : 3/14
Bowling avg : 20.00
Economy : 3.15
Catches : 9
3)Vidarbha C.A. Ground,Nagpur(IND)
Matches : 6
Innings : 9
Runs : 679
Not outs : 2
Top score : 201*
Batting avg : 97.00
100s/50s : 3/1
Ducks : 0
Overs : 34.0
Maidens : 7
Runs given : 89
Wkts : 0
Economy : 2.61
Catches : 5
4)Sydney Cricket Ground(AUS)
Matches : 4
Innings : 7
Runs : 664
Not outs : 4
Top score : 241*
Batting avg : 221.33
100s/50s : 3/1
Ducks : 0
Overs : 21.0
Maidens : 0
Runs given : 92
Wkts : 2
Best bowling(innings) : 1/2
Best bowling(match) : 1/2
Bowling avg : 46.00
Economy : 4.38
Catches : 5
5)Feroz Shah Kotla,Delhi(IND)
Matches : 8
Innings : 15
Runs : 643
Not outs : 1
Top score : 122
Batting avg : 45.92
100s/50s : 2/3
Ducks : 1
Overs : 36.0
Maidens : 7
Runs given : 94
Wkts : 1
Best bowling(innings) : 1/51
Best bowling(match) : 1/61
Bowling avg : 94.00
Economy : 2.61
Catches : 2
6)Eden Gardens,Kolkata(IND)
Matches : 9
Innings : 16
Runs : 637
Not outs : 2
Top score : 176
Batting avg : 45.50
100s/50s : 1/5
Ducks : 1
Overs : 40.0
Maidens : 5
Runs given : 142
Wkts : 4
Best bowling(innings) : 3/31
Best bowling(match) : 3/38
Bowling avg : 35.50
Economy : 3.55
Catches : 3
7)Punjab C.A. Stadium,Chandigarh(IND)
Matches : 9
Innings : 14
Runs : 573
Not outs : 2
Top score : 126
Batting avg : 47.75
100s/50s : 1/4
Ducks : 0
Overs : 41.0
Maidens : 8
Runs given : 110
Wkts : 1
Best bowling(innings) : 1/55
Best bowling(match) : 1/55
Bowling avg : 110.00
Economy : 2.68
Catches : 2
8)M.Chinnaswamy Stadium,Bangalore(IND)
Matches : 7
Innings : 12
Runs : 558
Not outs : 1
Top score : 177
Batting avg : 50.72
100s/50s : 1/2
Ducks : 0
Overs : 42.2
Maidens : 4
Runs given : 169
Wkts : 2
Best bowling(innings) : 1/41
Best bowling(match) : 1/41
Bowling avg : 84.50
Economy : 3.99
Catches : 9
9)Sinhalese Sports Club Ground,Colombo(SRI)
Matches : 4
Innings : 8
Runs : 495
Not outs : 2
Top score : 139
Batting avg : 82.50
100s/50s : 3/1
Ducks : 0
Overs : 5
Maidens : 0
Runs given : 16
Wkts : 0
Economy : 3.20
Catches : 1
10)Sardar Patel (Gujarat) Stadium,Ahmedabad(IND)
Matches : 6
Innings : 11
Runs : 473
Not outs : 0
Top score : 217
Batting avg : 43.00
100s/50s : 2/0
Ducks : 0
Overs : 33.0
Maidens : 5
Runs given : 111
Wkts : 1
Best bowling(innings) : 1/27
Best bowling(match) : 1/27
Bowling avg : 111.00
Economy : 3.36
Catches : 3