Is it the end of tendulkar
By Manish26
Is it the end of Tendulkar now? So what if it is? This question, which during the last few days, has been asked in a million ways and which is the subject of much debate, is, as far as I am concerned, an insult to a great sportsman and a great human being.
I, as will all of you, remember that series in Pakistan, when a curly hair sixteen year old made his debut for Indian cricket. It was considered to be a baptism by fire for any cricketer for that matter to debut against Pakistan, in Pakistan. Two incidents from that series stand out for me and are etched into the memories of millions of people. The first was during a washed out one dayer, which was converted into a reduced over friendly match. The TV telecast was not available at the time. I was listening to the commentary on Pakistan radio. The match was going out of India?s hands. It was then that Tendulkar took the field and started taking the bowling apart along with Srikanth who was just a spectator. Tendulkar had hit Mustaq Ahmed all around the park. Then the Pakistan skipper made a bowling change and brought on the dangerous Abdul Qadir. The Pakistani radio commentator was in glee and remarked in Urdu, ?Now we will see the difference between the teacher and the pupil. Tendulkar will learn the difference between the inexperienced mushtaq and how difficult it is to hit such shots against the master Abdul Qadir.? He went on praising Qadir for some time. Qadir came on to bowl. Tendulkar hit him for a six and went on to maul him. The commentator went quiet. Although India went on to loose the match, we got a glimpse of what to expect in the future. All of us knew that India had discovered something special.
The other incident was in a test match in the same series. Tendulkar was batting along with Sanjay Manjrekar. Waqar Younis was bowling a hostile spell. One of his deliveries caught Tendulkar on the nose and he started bleeding. The Pakistani crowd was elated and howling at the top of their voices. The team physio came to the field and treated him. Tendulkar was asked to leave the field, but he refused and put on his helmet, donned his gloves, and took strike again. Waqar had a wry smile on his face. As he came in to bowl, the crowd got vociferous as they smelled blood. Tendulkar hit the next couple of bowls to the fence with the most elegant shots. The crowd went silent and a reluctant applause started. They had seen a legend being born.
For a team which was used to mildly surrendering against hostile opposition, Tendulkar was a revelation. He used controlled aggression to take apart the most hostile attacks in world cricket. As Ajay Jadeja pointed out in a recent TV interview, Tendulkar, in his prime, played against the most potent bowling attacks of all times and scored majority of his runs, totally dominating them. Waqar-Wasim, Mcdermott-Mcgrath, Walsh-Ambrose?these attacks were ripping through the best batting lineups in the world like hot knives through butter. But all of them were vary when Tendulkar took strike against them. They knew that they could get to India only if they got past Tedulkar. All these bowlers were using all the tactics in the book and out of the book to get him out. But he overcame all of them and continued his dominance. He changed the concept of one day cricket during that series in New Zealand, when he came on to open for India and smashed the ball over the infield during the first 15 overs, making 80 odd runs. That was to become the trend for all the teams in the later years. His contribution with the ball and as a fielder also is immense. All will remember that last over of the Hero Cup against South Africa. Nowadays, we have quite a few cricketers who can be relied on in a match. But during his prime, Tendulkar was the only one who could be counted upon and he used to deliver with uncanny consistency. We had coined a term here that after Tendulkar got out, the Indian Team ?Parade? would start.
I will not give any statistics for the great man as it is well known to all Indians. What mystifies me is that the man, who stood for Indian cricket for such a long time, does not have India to standby him at this hour of need. His arms have undergone surgery numerous times due to the stress he put on them and the high standards that he set for himself and others. All for the country. Each time, they questioned him. Each time he replied in a fantastic manner. But each machine has its life. And he is after all human. His achievements and his contributions to Indian cricket can not be measured. He is the foundation of modern ?Team India?.
Tendulkar?s conduct on and off the pitch has been always impeccable. He is admired by crowds and players the world over. It is not at all proper that he is receiving all this flak for a few bad innings. We, the Indian people should support him at this time of need. I agree that contribution and consistency is very much essential for a place in the Indian team. But, even if Tendulkar does not return to his best, or even if he is not selected, after this latest surgery (I hope he does return to his best), we should not forget his contribution to Indian cricket for such a long time. Nothing can last for ever. He has given us a reason to smile when there was drought in the country and when the economy was not good, and when there was political uncertainty, and we had a bad day at the office.
Is it ?Endulkar? now? So what if it is. It will never be the ?End of Tendulkar?. It will be just the end of an ?Era?, and a Golden one for that matter. Let us give the great man a break and show our gratitude and thanks to him instead of throwing egg at his face. Let us not be ?Ehsan faraamoshis? as Sidhu says, and instead respect the great deeds of a great man in the true Indian Tradition.
By Manish26
Is it the end of Tendulkar now? So what if it is? This question, which during the last few days, has been asked in a million ways and which is the subject of much debate, is, as far as I am concerned, an insult to a great sportsman and a great human being.
I, as will all of you, remember that series in Pakistan, when a curly hair sixteen year old made his debut for Indian cricket. It was considered to be a baptism by fire for any cricketer for that matter to debut against Pakistan, in Pakistan. Two incidents from that series stand out for me and are etched into the memories of millions of people. The first was during a washed out one dayer, which was converted into a reduced over friendly match. The TV telecast was not available at the time. I was listening to the commentary on Pakistan radio. The match was going out of India?s hands. It was then that Tendulkar took the field and started taking the bowling apart along with Srikanth who was just a spectator. Tendulkar had hit Mustaq Ahmed all around the park. Then the Pakistan skipper made a bowling change and brought on the dangerous Abdul Qadir. The Pakistani radio commentator was in glee and remarked in Urdu, ?Now we will see the difference between the teacher and the pupil. Tendulkar will learn the difference between the inexperienced mushtaq and how difficult it is to hit such shots against the master Abdul Qadir.? He went on praising Qadir for some time. Qadir came on to bowl. Tendulkar hit him for a six and went on to maul him. The commentator went quiet. Although India went on to loose the match, we got a glimpse of what to expect in the future. All of us knew that India had discovered something special.
The other incident was in a test match in the same series. Tendulkar was batting along with Sanjay Manjrekar. Waqar Younis was bowling a hostile spell. One of his deliveries caught Tendulkar on the nose and he started bleeding. The Pakistani crowd was elated and howling at the top of their voices. The team physio came to the field and treated him. Tendulkar was asked to leave the field, but he refused and put on his helmet, donned his gloves, and took strike again. Waqar had a wry smile on his face. As he came in to bowl, the crowd got vociferous as they smelled blood. Tendulkar hit the next couple of bowls to the fence with the most elegant shots. The crowd went silent and a reluctant applause started. They had seen a legend being born.
For a team which was used to mildly surrendering against hostile opposition, Tendulkar was a revelation. He used controlled aggression to take apart the most hostile attacks in world cricket. As Ajay Jadeja pointed out in a recent TV interview, Tendulkar, in his prime, played against the most potent bowling attacks of all times and scored majority of his runs, totally dominating them. Waqar-Wasim, Mcdermott-Mcgrath, Walsh-Ambrose?these attacks were ripping through the best batting lineups in the world like hot knives through butter. But all of them were vary when Tendulkar took strike against them. They knew that they could get to India only if they got past Tedulkar. All these bowlers were using all the tactics in the book and out of the book to get him out. But he overcame all of them and continued his dominance. He changed the concept of one day cricket during that series in New Zealand, when he came on to open for India and smashed the ball over the infield during the first 15 overs, making 80 odd runs. That was to become the trend for all the teams in the later years. His contribution with the ball and as a fielder also is immense. All will remember that last over of the Hero Cup against South Africa. Nowadays, we have quite a few cricketers who can be relied on in a match. But during his prime, Tendulkar was the only one who could be counted upon and he used to deliver with uncanny consistency. We had coined a term here that after Tendulkar got out, the Indian Team ?Parade? would start.
I will not give any statistics for the great man as it is well known to all Indians. What mystifies me is that the man, who stood for Indian cricket for such a long time, does not have India to standby him at this hour of need. His arms have undergone surgery numerous times due to the stress he put on them and the high standards that he set for himself and others. All for the country. Each time, they questioned him. Each time he replied in a fantastic manner. But each machine has its life. And he is after all human. His achievements and his contributions to Indian cricket can not be measured. He is the foundation of modern ?Team India?.
Tendulkar?s conduct on and off the pitch has been always impeccable. He is admired by crowds and players the world over. It is not at all proper that he is receiving all this flak for a few bad innings. We, the Indian people should support him at this time of need. I agree that contribution and consistency is very much essential for a place in the Indian team. But, even if Tendulkar does not return to his best, or even if he is not selected, after this latest surgery (I hope he does return to his best), we should not forget his contribution to Indian cricket for such a long time. Nothing can last for ever. He has given us a reason to smile when there was drought in the country and when the economy was not good, and when there was political uncertainty, and we had a bad day at the office.
Is it ?Endulkar? now? So what if it is. It will never be the ?End of Tendulkar?. It will be just the end of an ?Era?, and a Golden one for that matter. Let us give the great man a break and show our gratitude and thanks to him instead of throwing egg at his face. Let us not be ?Ehsan faraamoshis? as Sidhu says, and instead respect the great deeds of a great man in the true Indian Tradition.
