Sir Sachin Tendulkar 4

[ajithfederer]

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.

[ajithfederer]

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’.



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.

[littlemaster1982]

Thevai illadha hype about 100th century in Lords

[PARAMASHIVAN]

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

[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?

[sathya_1979]

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

[raghavendran]

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...

[ajithfederer]

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

[ajithfederer]

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.

[ajithfederer]

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