God comes only in the form of Human! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by ajaybaskar
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God comes only in the form of Human! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by ajaybaskar
Actually it is quite scary to even think of sachin that he may retire his boots from all forms of the game after next year's wc. What will I do if he retires his bat from cricket next year. I want him to play atleast Test cricket for another 2-3 years atleast.
This is exactly what i was discussing with my family and relatives last night when sachin was playing.Quote:
Originally Posted by ajithfederer
He should play at least for few years and should not retire after the world cup! Should Not!!!
Neraiya peroda kavalai adhuthaan. One brother of mine says that he is gonna stop watching cricket once Sachin retires. I thought he was exaggerating but he does not watch T20 matches inspite of being a hardcore cricket fan. He watches IPL though but that too only MI matches.
Sachin commentator aana kooda Indha maadhiri rasigargalai konjam retain pannalaam.
:notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:Quote:
Originally Posted by viraajan
Hockey legend Claudius turns 83, confesses to be Sachin fan
Legendary hockey player Leslie Claudius today turned 83. It was a quiet family affair at his relative’s place in Perth, Australia.
Talking to PTI over phone on this occasion, the former India captain, whose name is etched in history along with Udham Singh for having won the maximum number of Olympic medals (three gold, one silver) in hockey, rued that nobody remembers him anymore in India.
“It's a biggest surprise to have been remembered on my birthday. Nobody remembers about us anymore, so there is hardly any celebration,” Claudius said, pleasantly surprised at the call.
But when the conversation moved to cricket, it was clear he couldn’t escape the Indian Premier League buzz and thoughts on Sachin Tendulkar. Claudius turned out to a huge Sachin fan.
“No doubt, God is great but Sachin Tendulkar supercedes God when he plays. By doing impossible things, like notching 200 not out (in ODI) at his age is just unimaginable,” he said.
Asked to compare Tendulkar with Sir Don Bradman, Claudius said, “Sachin will be the greatest player ever no doubt. He is playing so fluent at this age. He has such an array of strokes. He is a freak. With age, he is getting better.
“The greatest quality in him (Sachin) is that he is so humble, a thorough gentleman. Youngsters should learn this from him. When you do something with dedication and perseverance, even if you do not reach great heights you will end up being satisfied,” Claudius said.
The octogenarian hockey legend rued that after India's 1983 cricket World Cup victory, hockey declined in India. He, however, was all praise of the IPL concept.
“With the rise of cricket after the 1983 World Cup success, hockey is the least favoured sport. But IPL is huge success. It's fast and nice. We get to see a mixture of players from all parts of the world and it's played in the right spirit. The atmosphere is terrific,” he said.
Keywords: Leslie Claudius, hockey captain, Udham Singh, Sachin Tendulkar
http://beta.thehindu.com/sport/hockey/article317594.ece
It's nice to hear other sportspersons(s) (That too elderly) talking about sachin.
Finished? Really?
There are times when Sachin Tendulkar reminds you of the intrepid tourist, methodically ticking off places of interest in the tour guide. Even by his standards, though, events at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium in Gwalior were something special, equivalent to turning a corner and coming across the ruins at Machu Picchu.
It had been more than a decade since he finished with 186 not out in a one-day game against New Zealand, eight runs short of the world record set by Saeed Anwar against India in Chennai back in 1997. After ending up with an unbeaten 163 in New Zealand last year he told Virender Sehwag, the man many tipped to breach the 200 barrier: “It will eventually happen if I am destined to do it.”
A few months later he was dismissed for 175 as India fell agonisingly short in a mammoth run-chase against Australia. After the peak had been scaled in Gwalior he came back to the dressing room and told Sehwag: “I got what was destined.”
Even for someone whose 46 one-day hundreds are scattered across the globe this was an innings to savour. There were a couple of cover-drives in the opening overs that made you gasp, timed and placed to such perfection that the best fielders in the world had no chance. Back-foot punches through point, crisp tucks off the pads and clean swings of the bat down the ground frazzled the South Africans but he was just as impressive scampering between the wickets.
He played scarcely a false stroke, and that against an attack that was anything but popgun. Dale Steyn went for 89 in his 10 overs, and looked decidedly bemused as Tendulkar fetched one from outside off stump and whistled it through midwicket. Wayne Parnell’s quota cost 95, and there was no joy for Roelof van der Merwe either as he found himself thumped straight down to the sightscreen. By then, Tendulkar was starting to tire and the emphasis shifted to singles with MS Dhoni lashing fours and sixes at the other end.
By the time Tendulkar squeezed one through the hands of the man at point to reach 200 from just 147 balls he had struck 25 fours and three sixes, while running 56 singles and 13 twos. Unlike Anwar, who had a runner for the latter part of his innings, and others like Graeme Smith who have been unable to cope with the demands of batting through, Tendulkar shrugged off cramp, testament to an astonishingly robust physique that has endured two decades of wear, tear and surgery.
With Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf Pathan and Dhoni thriving at the other end, India piled up the sort of total that shut South Africa out of the match and series. Just 40 minutes later, the teams were back out on the field. Instead of an ice bath or the masseur’s table, Tendulkar was in the pre-innings huddle with his mates. It was astonishing to watch and said much about a man whose commitment to the game is near-total.
“It feels good that I lasted for 50 overs, a good test of my fitness,” he said after the game. “I’d like to bat another 50 overs at some stage and see that the fitness level doesn’t drop.” Dhoni, who helped him over the line, said: “It’s always good to be on the other side, watching him score 200 runs. When he was tired and couldn’t play the big shots, he was very clever to use the pace of the bowler and it’s very difficult for the bowlers as they don’t know where exactly to bowl.”
From all over the world, the tributes poured in. “Nobody else does deserve to get there,” said Anwar. “It’s only Sachin who deserves to scale that peak.” Anil Kumble, another of Indian cricket’s quiet achievers, said: “I thought the way he celebrated when he reached his 200 epitomised the man’s persona. There was no running laps around the field, no aggressive gestures, nothing over the top.”
“He has always respected the game and is dedicated to it,” said Ramakant Achrekar, who coached him as a boy at the legendary Shivaji Park in Mumbai. “But I think this is not enough for him. He is hungry and I am sure he will keep creating new records. He is a dedicated student of the game and is still keen to learn things.”
On Twitter, Shane Warne was beside himself with excitement. “Come on Sachin my friend get your 200. World record too please! You deserve it … Nervous for my good friend Sachin ... everything crossed for you mate … Glad I’m not bowling to him today ha ha ha.”
There were a few South African bowlers who wished they could say the same thing after Gwalior. The World Cup on home soil is now less than a year away and it seems that the man with the game’s most-stamped passport has eyes set on one final expedition: to emulate the 1983 heroes who fired his imagination as a child.
we all breathe air
Sachin breathes cricket
Sachin not playing WC T20 will help others
He should make up his mind.
Sunil Gavaskar Bow down to Sachin!!!!
Just a little while back Sunil Gavaskar took a bow and went down to touch Sachin`s feet after which a embarassed Sachin hugged Sunny... Sunny later explained he had promised everyone he would touch Sachin`s feet the first time he met him after his record ODI double century. Quite a legendary moment!
what!!! Did this really happen??? :shock: :oops:
Yes it seems. My friend said it yesterday.
wat??? :shock: :shock:Quote:
Originally Posted by ajithfederer
Yes it did happen and I saw it...
Any links/pics? Even Sachin wont like this.Quote:
Originally Posted by ajithfederer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUFsx...eature=channel
From 0.14. not much really.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 19thmay
yesterday's match?Quote:
Originally Posted by Kalyasi
Lord of the Runs
Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom.
Listen to this story about Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, but be prepared to gulp.
Normal men set normal targets for a tournament. An Indian bowler may have fantasised about five wickets on Sharjah's dead track last month, a batsman prays for a 50. But Sachin ...
Did you set a goal for Sharjah?
"I did."
Which was ...?
"I never disclose these things."
Yeah, but now that the tournament's over ...
"I decided to win the tournament for India."
Gulp.
It is absolute impertinence that a man could even think like this. So what does one call it when he makes it happen. Genius seems too mild a word. The American writer Frank Deford once wrote, "What is so amazing is that he has achieved a certain mythology without benefit of our fevered imaginations. Everything he has done is on tape ... none of it has been dreamed or exaggerated." Deford was talking of Michael Jordan, but it could have been Tendulkar.
There is a cost to this genius. In his own restaurant Jordan must sit in his own private dining room; Tendulkar dare not even go out to dine. People in India stand for hours waiting for him; when he plays they switch on their television sets and switch off their lives. It is hard for him. Says Tendulkar now: "People expect too much of me. A hundred every innings. They call and say, 'You scored a 100 in Kanpur, why not in Delhi?' They must accept my failures." But the reason for their extravagant demands is Tendulkar himself.
His entire 1998 has been a flirtation with cricketing exaggeration; he has played with such majesty that good men seem mediocre in comparison. Sighs Saurav Ganguly: "People do not score nine centuries in a career, he did it in one year." In 27 matches, with six of them at better than a run-a-ball. And there's more:
He leads the world's best batsmen with the year's best one-day average of 65.31 and a Test average of 81.17.
In India's victories this year, a staggering 28.55 per cent of the runs have been scored by him.
In the last four tournaments India has won, he has been the man of the match in every final.
And he now has more centuries (21 in one-dayers, 16 in Tests) in total than any man alive.
Sitting in the massage room at Wankhede Stadium as Mumbai plays Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy, Tendulkar is calm. The "silent murderer", as Vinod Kambli calls him. He offers no explanation for his ascent in form, just saying, "I wanted to prove my commitment."
It seems too simple, as if there must rest some darker reason. Aha, perhaps it is his self pride that has been bruised, and he attempts now to make up for his inadequacy as captain. But that sounds too artificial. Perhaps it is just that at 25 he is no longer an excitable apprentice but an assured craftsman. The great tennis player Big Bill Tilden once said, "The great player owes the gallery as much as the actor owes the audience." Tendulkar is already there, achieving and pleasing at the same time, yet like a young buck restless for more. If you sit in the stands you can feel the flame of his fury. No wonder Ajay Jadeja says, "There is a fire burning inside him."
Ask Zimbabwe's Henry Olonga.
An executive is playing basketball with Jordan. He knocks in a basket over Jordan's head and says, "Now I can tell my grandchildren that I kicked Michael Jordan's ass." It's a joke, even Jordan knows it. Still next play Jordan comes in and dunks over him. And says, "Now you can tell your grandchildren that Michael Jordan kicked your ass."
Do not step on the egos of these men, not in jest, not while playing tiddly winks, not ever. For these men, winning is to draw breath, the very oxygen of their existence. Tendulkar, who says "I've always played to win, why should I lose", is obsessive. When he was 16 on his first tour to Pakistan, Sanjay Manjrekar beat him in a set of tennis. When Manjrekar refused to play a second set Tendulkar, like a child whose doll has been stolen, begged, pleaded, to get a chance to salvage his honour.
There is also a brutality to these men. To chase perfection is to make no allowance for mercy. Would Tendulkar, aware that his friend, a bowler, was on the edge of selection to the Indian team, gift his wicket away in a qualifying match? "No, why should I give him false confidence? He may be my close friend but that's off the field. I never compromise on my cricket." It's happened too. During the 1994 Challenger Series, Tendulkar remarked that Mumbai teammate Paras Mhambrey was a "very fine prospect", except when the very fine prospect bowled to him he went for 41 runs in the first four overs.
So when Tendulkar was made to look silly in Sharjah, fending off a ball like a timid tailender, Olonga should have left for Harare immediately. It was not just that Tendulkar was personally embarrassed, Olonga had got in the way of a champion's journey to his goal.
Did it annoy you to get out like that?
"It did, of course. We should have won that game."
Apart from losing did you get personally irritated?
"But if I get out like that we're going to lose the game. When you're looking at winning the game every batsmen must be alert and must concentrate."
Did you want to prove a point?
"Yes. You can get me out once like that, you can take me by surprise, but it's not going to happen everyday."
Indeed, the previous day he had issued a warning. When Jadeja teased him about his dismissal, Tendulkar quietly replied: "Watch the next game." In which Olonga's deliveries were duly despatched towards downtown Dubai and 124 was made in 92 balls. There was an insolence to his batting, a braggadocio. Yet he knew clearly what he was doing.
It is not the footwork, not the muscles but in the mind that victory is planned. When Muhammad Ali lay back against the ropes and let brutal George Foreman pound him during their fight in Zaire in 1974, pandemonium reigned. It so violated conventional boxing wisdom that writer George Plimpton turned to author Norman Mailer at the ringside and screamed, "It's a fix." Ali instinctively knew after one round he could not dance for 15 rounds; but he knew too that Foreman would punch himself out and tire. Ali won but not even his corner had realised his deception.
Similar seductions are manufactured in the head of Sachin Tendulkar, his grey cells gathering together to plan a majestic conspiracy against some unwary bowler. One measure of Tendulkar's genius is his immaculate judgement of length, to know by the trajectory of the ball whether to step forward or back. This is not merely a gift of a man with a hawk's eyes, but of a batsman who must have been a crystal-ball gazer in a previous life.
"It's about reading the bowler's mind," he says.
Anticipation?
"Anticipation, yes. But it also depends on the previous 4-5 deliveries and what you've done and what the bowler feels about it and what he's going to do. And accordingly you react. And because you're ready it looks like you had a lot of time."
And then he hits you in the solar plexus with the ultimate deception.
"It is not just that I expected him to do this. Sometimes I compel the bowler to do this. I play in a particular fashion intentionally so he does something and I am prepared."
Is it possible that he knows Jack Fingleton once wrote of Sir Donald Bradman, "Bowlers bowled to him the way he made them"?
Tendulkar is in an expansive mood, he illustrates his point. Many years ago in a one-dayer, he tells you, Kiwi Gavin Larsen bowled the first few balls of the over pitched up and Tendulkar played them on the front foot straight to the fielder's hands. Larsen's next three balls were pitched short but still Tendulkar played them on the front foot. At this point Jadeja came to him and asked, "You were batting so well. Why are you now playing predetermined shots?" Replied Tendulkar: "I'll speak to you after the over."
So what happened on the last ball?
"Larsen pitched it short again, except this time I was waiting on the back foot. And I hit it for six. I told Jadeja this was what I was trying to do."
He is a modest genius, he says it doesn't work every time.
Champions just know. They understand their greatness, they know when their moment has arrived. In 1983, John McEnroe said, "If I lose the Wimbledon final (to Chris Lewis) I will jump off the Empire State building." (He didn't). Every night as matches came down to one last shot to win Jordan wasn't handed the ball, he demanded it.
Watch this, Jordan's face would say as he exploded down the court.
Watch me, Tendulkar's body language says, as his bat flashes like Excalibur under the lights. As Ashok Mankad says, "He is not arrogant but his art is arrogant."
Five times this year India has won one-day tournaments, four times he has scored centuries in the final. He cannot walk through doors or leap over tall buildings yet but he is a maker of miracles.
One began in the dressing room against Australia in the second innings of the first Test in Chennai this year. What happened?
"They had a 40-run lead and I said this will be the innings of a player's life. Because 75 plus by any player would be a big score in the second innings and would help us win the game."
So how did you get chosen to play that innings?
"Well, Anshuman Gaekwad caught me when everyone went away said, 'I want you to score,' and I said, 'I will get it for you, don't worry'."
Mr Don't Worry scored 155 not out. India won the Test.
Last year when he won Wimbledon, playing absolutely mesmerising tennis, Pete Sampras admitted, "I have no fear." Tendulkar is imperturbable too. In the white heat of battle when the crowd is an orchestra of the insane, players get muddled. Yet to this chaos the champion brings clarity. Says Jadeja: "Your mind's not working and he calmly strolls up to you and says, 'Open your stance'. He has a stronger mind."
So, the tougher the situation the more exciting for you, right?
No, says Tendulkar. It is about not letting the moment arrive at all. "I don't really say I wait for a big situation. I just like to maintain my standard. Why should I wait for the situation to raise my standard of play? Whereas if I continue the same way that situation may not arise at all."
Some things about genius we will never understand.
But this much we do know, Sachin Tendulkar does not take his genius for granted. He cossets it, cuddles it, hones it. "When we were children," recalls his friend and Mumbai player Atul Ranade, "our coach would put a one-rupee coin on the stumps and if the bowlers bowled a batsman he got it, if a batsman lasted a 10-minute session he got it. Sachin would go to all the four nets, bat and collect the money." The commitment continues. The net is his temple.
Clearly, as much as he resembles McEnroe in his instinctive mastery of his sport, Tendulkar has embraced the work ethic the American disdained. Ivan Lendl would be pleased. When the disciplined Czech failed to win the US Open, he had a similar court surface installed in his backyard. He then reached the next six Open finals. It is a theorem that has not eluded Tendulkar.
Stories abound over how he prepared for Shane Warne's arrival, getting leg spinners to bowl to him round the wicket on to a patch of rough. Yet here lie his little secrets. It was not just the physical adjustments of feet and eye and stance he was preparing for, but the cerebral battle that was to unfold. As he explains, "After my double hundred against Australia in Mumbai, I told my brother, 'Warne hasn't bowled a single ball round the wicket. He's waiting for the big game and I know the moment I go in, during a crunch situation when it matters the most he's going to come round the wicket and I have to practise for that.' I had practised, but I said I have to be prepared mentally as well." He was.
The game for him is as much an art as science, as much bold invention as dreary routine. On match days he sits and eats in his room. When he reaches the ground he commences a particular ritual. "I stand behind the wicket and visualise where the bowler will bowl and what shot I will play." When he goes in, he tells himself, keep watching the ball. Then it all -- the ego, the courage, the belief, the work at nets, the eyes, the hands, the strength -- coalesces. And he makes magic.
Indeed, every piece of the jigsaw has its worth. He tells you his dipping averages during captaincy was not the burden of pressure -- "It was a coincidence that my poor form came then" -- but possibly the breakdown of his batting preparation. "I couldn't give too much time to my own batting. I was always thinking about my teammates, what he should be doing, what this guy should be doing. Right now I just think of myself, this is what I have to contribute, this is what everybody expects."
But it pecks away at his soul, this talk of captaincy. How could he have failed? In another sense, he does not think he was so hopeless. He never got the team he wanted and he led on tours to South Africa and the West Indies. Yet others see it differently. Says Manjrekar gently: "Don't expect him to be good at everything," then adds, "He is not naturally gifted as a captain." Mankad echoes common opinion when he says, "He expects so much, which is not wrong but the other players may not have had the ability to live up to it."
Yet snarls a Mumbai player, "Let's face it, he didn't get the support he wanted." Tendulkar is tetchy too. When you mention that a bowler said he was too intense, always coming up to offer advice, expecting things to happen instantaneously when instead they take time, he snapped. "No, we've always taken too much time, that's why I wanted things to happen there and then." It is an unfinished debate. Can he, this celestial lord of the batting universe, extend his creativity to another sphere? He says nothing but his silence tells you he has not forgotten.
For now though his batting dazzles. Someone mentions that instead of the thousand people who usually gather for the one-day matches between Mumbai and Gujarat, 12,000 arrived because Tendulkar was playing. It figures. In a nation short on heroes he is the only icon in residence. Says Manjrekar, "I tell you every time I see him I think God created him for the game of cricket."
Today he has been out cheaply, so now he sits in his chair peering out at the match. His face impassive like a Zen monk, he looks a man in private communion with himself. Thinking maybe of New Zealand, where he travels to in a week, of other reputations he will be asked to pulp. He is so complete a player that you think, my God one day there will be someone better than him.
For now, it doesn't seem possible.
________________________________
An old article, but a must read.
Saraswathi Vaidyanathan is 87, but reels off facts and figures about her favourite cricketer Sachin Tendulkar effortlessly
[html:32fececb91]http://i42.tinypic.com/10ns0mt.jpg
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As 87-year-old Saraswathi Vaidyanathan leans back on the couch, you almost expect her to pick up a pair of needles and start knitting. Instead she reaches for the television remote and surfs channels, only to stop at one telecasting cricket. There's a smile and a prayer on her lips — Sachin Tendulkar is at the crease. A Tendulkar fan and probably the seniormost member of the cricketer's fan club, she says, “I have been watching Sachin play from the time he started. He was 16 then. Twenty years later, he still does everything right.”
From Ranji Trophy to International cricket matches and IPL, Saraswathi watches them all. Though cricket is her passion, she also watches other sports for “time pass.” “I watch tennis but don't understand the game well. I like Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and John McEnroe,” she smiles. It was because of her late husband that she developed an interest in sport. Before television arrived, she was glued to the cricket commentary on radio.
Saraswathi may be frail now but her memory remains as fresh as ever. She effortlessly rattles off Tendulkar's records and match figures and like a fond grandmother refers to him as chota bachcha. As I quiz her about his achievement, she says, “As of now, he has 314 runs in the IPL. Mumbai Indians have played 7 matches and won 6. In ODIs he has notched up 17,594 runs and in Test matches he has scored 13,447 runs…” “Do you remember the '93 Hero Cup match against South Africa?” she asks and adds, “In the last over, they needed 6 runs to win. The situation seemed impossible. Lekin yeh bachcha took the ball from Azharuddin's hand and bowled, resulting in a run-out and conceding only 3 runs. We won,” she claps.
Sceptical of the statistics available on the Internet this octogenarian keeps track of her favourite cricketer's achievements in her own way. Tiny scraps of paper with all the scores painstakingly written in neat handwriting are tucked away along with other prized possessions that include a couple of books on the cricketing genius gifted by her grandson. She secretly pulls out a few bits and shows them to me ensuring I handle them with care. All of a sudden, she chuckles. Saraswathi's face is bright with enthusiasm as she narrates another incident. “After the1998 Sharjah Cup, Shane Warne said he used to get nightmares about Sachin. Sachin ko ‘Man of the Series' ke liye car mila.” Here, Saraswathi's son interrupts, saying, “She is very sure some day Tendulkar will meet her. Once when she was asked if she wanted to meet her grandchildren in Australia, she said, “I don't want to meet anyone, I only want to meet Sachin Tendulkar.” Saraswathi now looks coy, blushes and says, “If I ever meet him, I'll tell him to keep playing with confidence and keep entertaining us.” And with that she goes back to telling me more anecdotes about the Little Genius and his numerous records.
What is this with Thalaivar and old Paatis ??. They seem to more know about thalaivar than we yenggss :lol:.
:lol: Yeah!!
http://i42.tinypic.com/10ns0mt.jpg
LM, Please upload this pic.
Sachin's changing hues
The whip through mid-wicket has been replaced with a glide past square-leg, the monstrous pulls with taps over the slip cordon. Sandeep Dwivedi on how Tendulkar, pushing 37, has adjusted his game to cope with injuries
About a fortnight after he became the first batsman in ODI history to score a double ton, Sachin Tendulkar walked on to the Brabourne stadium turf with a couple of tons of weight added to his usual load of expectations. The Mumbai Indians’ were about to play their opening match of IPL III, but in the stands, they still spoke about Tendulkar’s last ODI knock and how he had methodically taken the South African bowling attack — led by their express pacer Dale Steyn — apart.
With Rajasthan Royals’ 150kph man Shaun Tait marking his run-up, the fans in blue reached out to touch wood, hoping their day at the game coincided with their hero’s special knock. Tait’s first ball to Tendulkar darted at the stumps clocking 149.4 kph. But within a split second, it ricocheted off the bat, took a 90 degree turn, and raced to the square-leg fence. The next ball saw the same sequence of events: Tendulkar had eight runs from two scoring shots and MI flags were being waved all around the ground.
In terms of sheer physical effort put in, the batsman and bowler involved in this much-hyped showdown are miles apart. Tait’s routine of running in hard, bending his back before giving that final thrust with his strong shoulder ends in a grunt. In reply, Tendulkar responds with a small step back and a subtle roll of the wrists, ending in a boundary and heartbreak for Tait.
That cricket has been increasingly unfair to bowlers isn’t a secret, but of late Tendulkar is making this blatantly obvious. By using the pace that bowlers so excruciatingly generate to his advantage, the man who completed 20 years in cricket last year has evolved a fresh, energy-efficient approach to batting that suits his nearly 37-year-old body which has endured countless X-rays and MRI scans.
In one-dayers, in the space of a year, he has scored four marathon knocks (163, 138, 174 and 200) and at the halfway stage of the IPL, he wore the Orange Cap for being the highest run-getter — his first six coming after having faced 142 deliveries in MI’s fifth game. Making the liability of a fragile frame and growing years into an asset, he has not only extended his stay on the field without comprising on his strike rate, but also increased longevity in the shorter versions of the game.
Very early in his career, Tendulkar put his signature on the no-holds-barred pull, the lofted shot aimed at the sight screen, the whipped flick through mid-wicket off length balls, the booming cover drive, and that famous straight punch that almost grazes the stumps at the non-striker’s end.
Nowadays, he either uses old favourites judiciously or tweaks them slightly, concentrating more on placement and less on power — a case in point being his two boundaries off Tait. Unlike before, they weren’t whipped but guided. Similarly, on the off-side, he doesn’t quite launch into thumping drives, but lets the deliveries slide off the face of the bat. Short balls aimed at the throat are nonchalantly directed over the slips and while facing spinners, he rarely goes for the fierce sweep, opting instead for the more refined fine paddle.
“Sachin is the greatest thinker of the game. Now that he is getting older, he is pacing his innings very well, which was evident during his double hundred,” says former Indian captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. “There is a slight improvisation in his shot-making, but more importantly, he conserves his energy by planning his innings meticulously.”
Yuvraj Singh, a self-confessed Tendulkar fan, has also noticed a few changes. “Injuries were a hurdle for him in the last few years but he has managed to overcome them. Paaji has transformed himself from being a big-hitter to a very intelligent batsman,” says the batsman who has shared dressing-room space with him for the last decade.
During his innings of 200 in Gwalior, Tendulkar hardly played a shot that could be categorised as a slog. Much like Tait two weeks later, Steyn was then at the receiving end of Tendulkar’s subtle touch. Steyn had been dispatched for seven fours by Tendulkar that evening, but the one shot that showcased his restrained aggression came after he had passed the three-figure mark. After missing a couple of balls outside off-stump, Tendulkar didn’t charge down the crease in desperation, but instead moved sideways to flick a yorker length ball to the square-leg fence.
In the same innings, he scored heavily on the point boundary too. He didn’t play the big drive or the slash but repeatedly guided deliveries on the off-stump from rookie pacer Wayne Parnell between point and third man.
India’s new bowling coach Eric Simmons talks about Tendulkar’s gameplan. “His batting that day was a fine example of using the pace of the bowlers. If I had been the South African coach that day, I would have told the bowlers to slow things down in order to make Tendulkar use his own power to send the ball to the fence. In a long innings, you need to conserve energy and that’s what he was doing. The South African bowlers just didn’t get it,” he says.
At the start of his dream 2009-10 season, Tendulkar played a knock that might have made him consider changing his approach. At Christchurch on March 9, 2009, he turned back the clock with an innings straight out of the 90s. He charged down the pitch to slog pacers over long-on, he launched into overpitched balls with fierce power, he pulled the short balls wildly and there was a distinct possibility that he would reach 200.
That’s when an abdomen muscle twitched and Tendulkar retired hurt unbeaten on 163 with five overs to go. As Tendulkar walked back to the pavilion in pain, the ‘200 dream’ seemed to be finished.
But within a span of eight months, he got close to that unconquered peak again. Playing against Australia in the fifth ODI of the series at Hyderabad, he was batting on 158 with 10 overs to go. But at the start of the 48th, by which time he had reached 175, Tendulkar realised there was a thin line that separated the subtle from the cheeky. While trying to paddle-scoop pacer Clint McKay to the vacant fine-leg area, Tendulkar top-edged to short square-leg.
This time, the heartbreak didn’t result in Tendulkar changing his approach, and three months later, he was raising his bat at Gwalior after reaching a target that he had narrowly missed a couple of times before.
Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram, who bowled at him when he took guard in a Test match for the first time as a 16-year-old, says that with his experience, Tendulkar can manipulate the ball any way he wants. “Sachin picks the line and length of a delivery earlier than most others, which is his real strength. And he has a number of strokes for every delivery,” he says.
For now, Tendulkar seems to bank on his deft touch to score runs. For bowlers though, it must hurt as much as a wild slog — if not more.
This decade In numbers
* The numbers suggest that Sachin Tendulkar is batting better than he has at any point in this decade.
* Since January 2009, Tendulkar has scored his runs at an incredible average touching 62, and a strike rate of just under 100.
* If the period is changed to the last 12 months, from March 2009 to March 2010, his average shoots up to 72.37 and his strike rate to an incredible 100.78.
* In this 12-month period, he has scored four centuries. The only other year in which he scored four centuries was back in 2001.
(With inputs from Shamik Chakrabarty)
Introducing…
stress-less shots
The tap over the slips
Where he once would have gone for the hook or even the fierce slash over point – a shot now patented by Virender Sehwag – Tendulkar prefers to just guide the ball over the keeper and slips. Playing the delivery well after it has gone past him, Tendulkar has been connecting more often than not.
The glides square of the wicket
Length balls from fast bowlers are guided just behind point or square-leg, depending on the line they’ve been bowled down. This shot he plays when the ball is adjacent to his body, and uses the pace of the bowler.
The paddle sweep
One of the enduring images of Tendulkar’s battles against Shane Warne are his down-on-a-knee slog-sweeps, picking up the leg-spinner from the rough outside leg-stump to dispatch him over mid-wicket. Nowadays, he plays the paddle sweep much more than before and even his full-blooded sweeps are directed to square-leg or fine-leg.
The tweaked pull shot
Tendulkar used to play his pull off the front foot – remember Andy Caddick sent to the stands at the 2003 World Cup? — and had stopped playing it altogether as the strain on his lower back increased. Now, even when he does occasionally play the pull, he makes it a point to go back and across, reducing the swivel and helping the ball along rather than generating all the power.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9wNe...eature=related
Sachin watching Yuvraj Singh play with Leverage Bowling Machine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9wNe...eature=related
Sachin watching Yuvraj Singh play with Leverage Bowling Machine
8-)Quote:
Originally Posted by ajithfederer
When Tendulkar went Bonkers - LM, please upload this pic.
It was a rare sight for those present at the Wankhede Statdium, when Sachin Tendulkar went bonkers, celebrating after guiding Mumbai to the vital first innings lead against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy Semifinal.
Usually, he acknowledges a landmark by looking skywards and waving his bat towards the stands. But on April 14, 2000 Tenudlkar could not control his emotions. After pulling Kumaran to the midwicket fence, Tendulkar appeared to throw a vigorous upper cut in the air.
Tendulkar went out to bat at the 77 for 2 and Mumbai still adrift by a good 408 runs. At lunch on the third day, Tendulkar was nine short of his century. A cover drive off Kumaran(13th four) saw him complete it.
Robin Singh brought on Gokulakrishnan, who looked good when he pitched the ball up. But when he pitched short, Sachin hooked him for two sixes; one over backward square leg and second one over fine leg. His 16th four brought up his 150 (217b, 16*4, 3*6)Mumbai lost Pawar and Agarkar and at close of the 3rd day, Tendulkar was on 213 with Kurvilla on 0 and Mumbai on 470.
Tamil Nadu’s Captain Robin Singh kept eight men on the fence, positioning himself about 30 yards from the bat, as expected Tendulkar refused to take singles. Kuruvilla got run out on 472.
It looked like anybody’s game now(for the 1st inning lead) when Tendulkar stepped out and smashed Mahesh out of the ground and into the university stadium. Saxena survived an over from Mahesh after which Tendulkar pulled Kumaran. It was a moment Tendulkar was waiting for to end his teammates’ agony.
Source: Sportstar- April 29, 2000
http://www.orkut.com/Main#CommMsgs?c...80676538538763
[html:462134fc85]http://i39.tinypic.com/fxysmw.jpg[/html:462134fc85]
Sachin meets Saraswathi
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/articl...?homepage=true
Thanks Vinod. Thanks for bringing it here :D.
Sachin meets Saraswathi
S. Dinakar
“Whenever she has a health issue, all she needs to do is watch Tendulkar bat and all her pain disappears…..”
Chennai: The air suffused with warmth, Sachin Tendulkar greeted a special admirer at a city hotel here on Monday. The legend approached the 87-year-old Saraswathi Vaidyanathan with folded hands and sought her blessings.
Despite an illustrious career of miles and milestones, cricket's most successful batsman has retained a great sense of humility. “I read in the article that you have followed all my innings and know all my records. I need your good wishes,” said the man who cuts across barriers.
The April 1 issue of The Hindu Metro Plus broke the story of how Saraswathi, unmindful of her advancing age, had kept track of Tendulkar's glorious journey. She maintained her own statistics of the maestro, kept awake all night to follow his innings on television and prayed for him.
Her body weak, Saraswathi had difficulty walking. Yet her eyes laughed when she saw Tendulkar in flesh and blood. Not wanting the moment to fly away and turning distinctly emotional, she said, “I am lucky to meet you.” Tendulkar corrected her. “No, I am lucky to meet you,” he said.
Saraswathi recalled Tendulkar's records — to the legend's great delight — and expressed her wish that he complete 100 international centuries. Tendulkar is seven short of the landmark. “I will,” replied a beaming Tendulkar.
She then gifted Tendulkar an idol of Lord Ganesh. Tendulkar touched her feet, again in all humility. Soon, he autographed her prized possession — a bat signed by several accomplished cricketers. The maestro's name had been missing from the list.
Affectionately calling Tendulkar her fourth grandson — Saraswathi has three grandsons and a granddaughter — she asked the legend, “How are Anjali [Tendulkar's wife], Arjun [son] and Sara [daughter] doing?”
Tendulkar answered, “They are all well.”
Saraswathi's second son C.V. Venkitakrishnan said: “Whenever she has a health issue, all she needs to do is to watch Tendulkar bat. All her pain disappears. He is a tonic for her.”
Despite being pressed for time, Tendulkar had happily agreed to meet Saraswathi. It came after a team meeting of the Mumbai Indians at Park Sheraton, ahead of the evening practice session.
Tendulkar was moved on more than one occasion. Saraswathi had the final say. “You are short in stature, but very big in deeds,” she said. Tendulkar smiled, once again.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/t...04/06/&prd=th&
:)Quote:
Originally Posted by ajithfederer
Thalaivar's animated celebrations after Gibbs' dismissal and taking that catch of Gibbs against DC... why ya?
even i noticed...not only sachin..even kumble,dravid..ellorum rombe emotionala eduthukuraange...Quote:
Originally Posted by Kalyasi
I think there was a run out opportunity that was missed earlier.. So SRT let his emotions out i guess..
Kumble laam evan aatathula sethaan... avan eppavume ippadi thaan... Thalaivar why ya?Quote:
Originally Posted by raghavendran
Oh ok ok...Quote:
Originally Posted by ajaybaskar
:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Kalyasi
Oru thadava Pakistan-oda oru ODI la after taking the last(?) wicket, he became pumped up and even swore... endha match endha wicket nu nyabagam illa. It was in India
Touching article about Paatti and Sashin :notworthy:
My friend's grandfather was a staunch Sachin fan. We were watching Indiavs Pakistan test (1999) in Chennai. We got an announcement from the PA system in the stadium that my friends were wanted as their grandfather had passed away. Later, i was told that even in the last few hours before his death, he was keenly following Sachin's score in the match.
He gave a send off, didn't swear. It's in this match.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bala (Karthik)
Video link.
Naqndri as usual LM
Send off pannumbodhu vaai asaiva gavaninga, edho "current off" madhiri sonnaaru :razz:Quote:
Originally Posted by littlemaster1982