We ain't talking human no more. Review on Sachin Tendulkar

Name

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

Title

The Little Master Blaster.

Talent

Immense. A modern day Bradman.

Rating

Wisden rates him as the second best Test batsman after Sir Don Bradman.

Wisden rates him as the second best ODI batsman after Sir Vivian Richards.

Success

The richest cricketer ever. Sachin's wealth is estimated at Rs. 200 Cr according to Success 2003.

Statistics

Test Runs 9265, Average 57.19, Centuries 32 & more.

ODI Runs 12921, Average 44.86, Centuries 36 & more.

The Beginning

Sachin Tendulkar is a product of school cricket who showed potential very early in his career. Since his childhood, Sachin was fascinated by cricket. In 1985, his cricketing talent was spotted and he was admitted to Shardashram Vidyamandir, best known for dominating school level cricket. The team's coach was Ramakant Achrekar. In Feb 1988, Sachin amassed a world record partnership of 664 runs for the third wicket with Vinod Kambli in a Lord Harris Shield Cricket tournament. This unbroken stand is a record for any grade of cricket anywhere in the world.

First Class Level

In 1988-89, Sachin became the youngest player to represent Bombay in the Ranji trophy. He scored an unbeaten 100 against Gujarat. He scored 159 for West Zone against East Zone on his Duleep trophy debut and unbeaten 103 for Rest of India against Delhi in his Irani trophy debut, thus becoming the only player to score a century on debut in all three domestic first class competitions.

In 1991-92, Sachin became the first overseas player to represent Yorkshire

Test Cricket

Sachin Tendulkar became the youngest player to represent India in Test matches. He made his Test debut against Pakistan at Karachi in 1989. Facing Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Imran Khan was a tough ask but our little champion was up to it. A ball from Younis reared up and smacked the youngster on the helmet. The doctors adviced him to go off. But Tendulkar refused to leave and the next Younis delivery went past the cover boundary for four. He scored only 15 on his debut, but the manner in which he took guard after receiving a killer blow signalled his arrival. Sachin became the youngest batsman to score a Test half century when he made 59 against Pakistan at Faisalabad in his second Test.

Sachin scored his maiden Test century when he knocked an unbeaten 119 against England in 1990-91 at Old Trafford at the age of 17. Needing 408 runs in the fourth innings with six men in the pavillion, Sachin showed his class. Not old enough to get a driving license, Sachin drove the English attack to frustration. A defensive innings would have been applauded, but Sachin attacked and took the team to safety.

Later, as an 18-year-old, he scored a dazzling century at Perth against Merv Hughes, Craig McDermott, and Bruce Reid. He became the youngest player in the world to crack 1,000 runs in the annals of test cricket, during the tour of South Africa in 1992-93. He also became the first and the only player in the world to score as many as five hundreds in tests before turning 20.

At Cape Town in 1996, he scored one of his most memorable knocks, scoring 169 in the company of Mohammad Azharuddin who made 115 runs off just 110 deliveries. Replying to South Africa's 529, Sachin and Azhar shook hands with Nelson Mandela during the lunch break on Day three. What followed was war! Sachin and Azhar provided the most brilliant example of counter attack in the annals of modern Test match cricket. 222 runs were scored for the sixth wicket, 176 of which were scored in 120 minutes between lunch and tea. Sachin's knock eased India past the follow on mark.

Australia toured India in 1998 to conquer their biggest hurdle, India in India. The series was billed as the clash of the titans Sachin Tendulkar vs Shane Warne. In Chennai, Sachin launched an assault on Shane Warne that elevated the battle to greater heights when he notched up a match-winning 155 in quick time. After the tour, Warne said, ''I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player.'' Warne was surely justified, his figures read 30-7-122-1.

Again at Chennai in 1999, Sachin played yet another memorable innings. Arch-rivals India and Pakistan were playing a Test on Indian soil after 12 years. India had taken a narrow 16-run lead in the first innings and were set a target of 271 in the fourth innings. As if facing Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar wasn't taxing enough, Sachin battled back spasms to score an agony-filled 136 which almost took India to a thrilling win. The sight of Tendulkar with his head down in despair, walking back slowly after his dismissal haunts cricket lovers to this day. He was very upset after India lost by a mere margin of 16 runs.

Match Fixing Controversy

This was a minor aberration in Sachin Tendulkar's career. During the tour of South Africa in 2001, match referee Mike Denness announced that Sachin has been found guilty of tampering with the ball and bringing the game into disrepute. Sachin was caught by the camera while running his thumbnail around the seam. Going strictly by the law, Sachin may be said to have erred in not removing the dirt in the presence of umpires as required by the rules of the game. Law 42.3 of cricket states that a fielder could remove mud from the ball under the supervision of the umpire. The law further states: ''It is unfair for anyone to rub the ball on the ground for any reason, interfere with any of the seams or the surface of the ball, use any implement, or take any other action whatsoever which is likely to alter the condition of the ball.''

Sourav Ganguly had said that Sachin Tendulkar had a blemishless record and for somebody who has played as long as the Mumbai maestro has, it was 'unthinkable' he could have been tampering with the ball. Today, that storm has passed and everybody agrees with Ganguly in totality.

Looking Ahead

Sachin Tendulkar is just 30 years old. By the time he retires from international cricket, he would well be the owner of 15,000 test runs and 20,000 ODI runs, with 50 centuries in either forms of the game.