After having amassed over 800 runs in the past three one day series, Tendulkar is returning the compliments with earnest, to his critics, and he is not done yet.
An international sport icon for nearly two decades. World record holder in various facet of sport. A record that is enviable for anyone who is playing the sport. You would think him of being now having been left with nothing to prove. But then only if he is not Sachin Tendulkar Since this player marches on to the ground, taking the hopes of more than a billion supporters on his shoulders. Time and again the Bombay bomber has delivered the good and as many times, he has been asked questions. Never the one who would speak his mind, the world record holder for the most number of centuries in both forms of the sport, shoots from his bat.
Tendulkar is not only a top class player, but one who knows how to change his game according to various variables like, conditions, bowlers, and above all according to the workload his ageing body would be able to take. For it has been nearly two decades since he made his debut at a tender age of 16 in Pakistan. You would think that after having amassed more than 27,000 runs in his international career with 78 centuries and well over a century of half centuries, the master blaster have nothing to prove. But a couple of single digit scores and the critics starts going after him like he is a novice.
Most of the discredit for the debacle at the world cup in the West Indies earlier this year was put on the senior players and above all on Sachin himself. The fact that Sachin, a veteran of over 400 one day internationals could not open his account against the Lankan, in a do or die encounter meant that critics had a feast on him. Many predicted the end to his career, while others wanted him to retire from ODI.
But the top run getter in one day internationals stayed calm and went into the tour of England this summer, as if his performances over the past 17 years did not matter and he had to start from scratch. As if it was the soul responsibility of his that leads to a catastrophe in the Caribbean. But there is one aspect of his game, which has made him what he is today. His desire to reach greater heights and the love of the sport. On his fourth tour to the British Isle Tendulkar proved again why he is one of the greatest batsman of all time. Showing traits that got him the tag of a master blaster, Sachin scripted some masterpieces of his own any to be denied of a century not once but four times. He fashioned India’s first series win over South Africa outside home along with Yuvraj and then went on to help his side win the first test series in England since 1986. As if this was not enough to silence his critics, Tendulkar went on to make nearly 400 runs in the subsequent one day series against the hosts. But that was just the start of a breathtaking reply to his head seekers, as he went on to carve the best attack in the world and then showed that all is well with his body by producing consecutive knocks against Pakistan, which are reminiscent to the way he has played all these years. Tendulkar ended 2007 with 1,425 runs from 33 ODIs, including 911 runs in the last three series against England, Australia and Pakistan. Only Mathew Hayden with 1555 runs from 29 matches is ahead of him.
If the bowlers world over were breathing a sigh of relief after an average 2005 that the Indian one day opener had, then they would be having sleepless nights after watching him bat over this year. The major point is that people do not measure his performance with other batsmen worldwide, but he is being compared to no one else but himself. And that is to me, the biggest handicap a player of his caliber can have. It’s Tendulkar of today against the Tendulkar of 1998 when he fashioned centuries at will. But to his credit, most of the times it is he, who has won and the critics have to eat there words.
Today, Sachin is a God in India and an icon worldwide. But he is perhaps the most simple of personality to converse or be with, and that is what sets him apart from the rest of the world. After having been out in the 90s six times this year, Sachin showed that he is only human. Today, whatever Tendulkar touches, turns into a stat. Having been dismissed in the 90s 23 times in international career (16 in ODI, 7 in Tests), many pundits of the game want the saying to be changed to Tendulkar 90s, but that just showed the freckle nature of this sport in which no one is perfect.
Sitting on the brink of 16000 international one day runs and on the back of the record of Allan Border in tests, Tendulkar will continue to enthrall all and hopefully keep on proving his critics wrong with his bat.