I was 10 years old. And he looked just like me. He epitomized my dream. He was living it. I stayed awake all night when he with a veteran fought all day for India. And I was elated when he did it - saved the match. Little did I know, that it would be the first and last time he would do it. For the next 18 years.
I was fifteen. The time when I first started to understand the beauty of batting. The courage involved in playing an open-chested pull, in stepping out to a fast bowler and
playing it straight over, the skill in casually lazing into a cover drive, in knowing the significance of pacing an innings, in appreciating brutal murder - on the field. And he did all of this. Just started. And by the time I was 20, he was India's most prolific scorer.
Yet, I waited.
For him, to lead India into its first away win in tests since 1986. It never came. I still waited. For him, to score the greatest innings an Indian can ever play abroad. Or at home. It never came. I waited. For him to play a part by scoring runs in the fourth innings chasing achievable targets. It never came. I waited.
For that time, when all doubts would be put to rest - when I would be proud enough yet not blind enough to proclaim in all gloriousness that this man - my hero, is the greatest ever to take the field - knowing fully well that someone called Vivian or Sunil would pose some disconcerting questions. That I would never have to shield myself behind 25,000 runs and 75 centuries and 52 MOMs to justify that. It would be one name. That would be it. In MCG, Barbados, Rawalpindi, Kandy - I would be looked upon as a man from that nation.
I was twenty-five. The flashes are gone, the elbow hurts, so does the spine and also the toe. And did I mention the fingers? Yet, the runs came. I was indifferent. And I am tired. Of waiting. The drives, pulls, cuts have given way to nudges, flicks and pushes. The most talented Indian ever to grace the game still is a handful. Possibly more than that. It is hallmark of that genius that in spite of all this, he scores run-a-ball. A century in 76 balls. And is cocky enough to say that he knows best how to bat. Which he does !
So, why am I tired ?
Greatness comes with achieving something outlandish. Something, beyond ordinary mortals. Things, which you and I would not be able to think of. Let alone dream. Sunil and Dev did it. While one chased 406 the other bowled with a torn ligament and won. In Australia. Both won the world cup - an unlikely proposition at those times. Out of the blue. That is greatness. Barry and Vivian will never scored tons of runs. Yet, they in their cricketing span did things which shaped the cricketing destinies of their nations. They made their mark, they defined greatness. Has he ?
How many series have we won abroad in which he has played a significant part ?
How many test matches have we won chasing where he has made his mark ?
How many one-dayers have we won - which appeared to be impossible to win and which he had made possible ?
So, if he has not broken new ground, not given Indian cricket a new life, a new direction, would it be fair to put him in the same pedestal with those who did ?
I have grown up watching him and the few of the others - 'jokers', who had limited talent, very limited - those who did not get bowled through the gates but fended off short-balls, or did not get out to rookie left-armers but fished outside off-stump and even got maligned as "match-fixers", those who never scored in the bulk but stayed as a wall and pulled India through. These jokers, played out of their skin - much more than expected, much more than they are capable of.
They were my life. They still are. They always will be.
But whom should I give more credit to ? To these 'jokers' who have outperformed themselves or to that genius who has a crateful of runs and marvellous flamboyance which has not translated to anything more but pure visual delight ? The choice is for you to make. IF you want to, that is ! A better suggestion would however, be to rest in the cocoon of the preconceived notions and justify them with statistics or to say that people from different eras could not be compared ! (Let us then immediately stop comparing Nehru and Indira with Vajpayee and Manmohan)
And, I am still waiting. And I am sure you are not !
13 comments:
I am also waiting.. when will he hit six sixes in an over... The earlier generation waited for Gavaskar.. when will he break Gary Sobers record of 365 runs.... Inspite of gr8 cricketing talent, Viv could never make a fastest century in one days.. Dev couldn't become a hadlee (he took it in 86 tests)... Azhar-Ganguly could not win a test series abroad.. Lara could not get West Indies to a World Cup final...
But we don't put such and many other limitations when describing the gr8ness of others.. such limitations are called for only for one person... dig out that which he has not done... as if all others have done everything !
There is no doubt in my mind that sachin has changed the scene of Indian Cricket.. Now that we have sehwags and Dhonis playing with aggression can be attributed, as they themselves have acknowledged on varioius occasions, to Tendulkar.. Gavaskar & Dev brought respectibility to Indian Cricket.. But Sachin was responsible for terrorising oppositions..
I, instead of now waiting for anything, try to enjoy most of everything... I just look it differently
1. Viv has the fastest in Tests and scoring the fastest is irrelevant. It does not win you the match !
2. Dev is NOT Hadlee !
3. We have already established Azhar-Ganguly as jokers who do not have half the talent as He has. So why compare Him with lesser mortals?
4. Before Lara came WI had already won 2 World Cups. Thats nothing NEW to them. There are very few instances where a team has won with 60 runs remaining and 2 wkts in hand - and thats a yardstick for something special ?
It is testimony to our great myopic vision that we have forgotten one batsman who played far more attacking cricket than Him - a guy from the South who first gave Him the opportunity to play test cricket ! But, he did not have the backing of 180 crores behind him !
We, in democratic India, always believe in looking at things differently - like the way India's prime political 'family' had done for the first 40 years post independence with a gift of 2-3 GDP growth rate. And hence, we would continue to do that.
In my opinion, India has produced three great cricketers Sunil, Dev and Him. Yet, the first two would always be in a slightly more elevated league than Him.
No... I have not forgotten the South-Indian attacking batsman..
Tendulkar has a strike rate of 86 after 378 matches and he (who played "who played far more attacking cricket than Him" )had a strike rate of 71 after 146 matches... I think u r getting into the trap of "pre-concieved notions".. :)
I only tried to say that all players "not do" many things.. With all his brilliance in batting, Gavaskar was able to score one century in his 12 year long one day career...In case of tendulkar, I am noticing more and more, that such cases are highlighted.. instead of what he has done.. of which books can be wriiten (and inshaAllah will be written)... !!
Comrade Kumar:
Again appeasement !!
Gavaskar was never a one-day player.
And the point about the guy with 71 strike rate was elucidated to prove that He did not start the concept of attacking cricket in the first 15 overs.
His achievements are not in question. Its all in those pages of statistics. His contribution to cricket as a sport would be the impeccable standards of personal discipline and commitment that he has held up and the fact that during 1995 to 1998 he was the only one - the one backbone who could give it back to the opposition when no one even had a semblance of an idea as to what was happening around.
dude... i have waited all my life to see Pete Sampras win at Roland Garros... for Vishy Anand to lock eyeballs with Kasparov and come back smiling... for Sania Mirza to be on the front page for her wins rather than her hemlines...
as I am sure English fans wait for a Beckham curling kick to win them their world cup... u can keep quoting instances... in all sports, across all countries...
I don understand the point of ur post... if u r sayin tht Sachin has not played and saved matches in a crisis, all I can say is that when Sachin was at his prime, the crisis usually came 'after' he got out...
and u can't compare a Rahul with a Sachin... one is a naturally attacking player who is still learning to play 'safe' and failing miserably at that... while the other was a naturally defensive player who had it in him to learn to play fast since he was otherwise out of the team... no one likes a boxing match which is done with a first round KO... everyone likes the guy who wins in the fifteenth round, after getting hammered for 14 previous rounds and bounces back... but that does not in any way diminish the former's stature
Lets clarify one thing here. the true test of a batsman's mettle is the not the one-day game, but a test match. Because the shorter version was made with the intention of bringing back crowds to the original version and hence has inbuilt measures to better suit a batsman....
hereinafter all points made about batting greatness would be about the test arena...
Sachin Tendulkar is not the greatest batsman of all time.. period.
Sachin Tendulkar's genius while extraordinary and commendable, is not one that is beyond argument...its not the kinds of say a Don Bradman...which would put an end to arguments.
In my limited experience, in the modern era, the one batsman whose name i have heard spoken with the most awe and terror is that Sir Viv Richards..sadly i have had only limited opportunity of having seen him...but when a bowler of the caliber of Wasim bhai himself shudders at the very thought of having to look him in the eye after bowling a bouncer, it gives u the measure of the man. For me thus, the greates Test Batsman of the modern era would be Viv Richards...the greatest Indian Batsman of all time would be Shri Sunil Gavaskar. the only reason i would rate sunny higher than sachin is he has the elusive double achievement of "volumes of runs" and " signature series wins" abroad as well as in India.
This brings us to a unique dichotomy, how do we judge batting greatness, is it in terms of runs scored or victories attained ( far more subjective).
So what is Sachin Tendulkar, here i disagree with u hirok, sachin is the guy who makes me proud to be an Indian cricket fan...the man who single handedly led the nation to believe..that we were good enough. He is in many ways reminiscent of this country and its attempt at achieving greatness.
He arrived on the scene around the turn of the 1990's, a time when this country was at the brink, morale finished and confidence shattered...in many ways that young boy was the symbol of a new india..resilient, sure and confident. Assertive but not arrogant. There were matches and series where we looked competitive and achieved dignity only because of this man. You know hirok that no one less than Javed miandad says that a test match is not one by batsman...the batsman has to set the match up..either by totting up a huge first innings lead..or by avoiding follow on or by saving a match in a rearguard defence in the second innings..ultimately twenty wickets have to be taken, which is where we lacked sorely and that is where Tendulkar redeems himself..while a great player ..he is not a god.One has to be realistic in expectations and know when to stop expecting...
What is Sachins Genius:
Formidable batsman of his generation. A genius who inspite of the adulation and worship retained his head and thus gave us the opportunity for such visual pleasure over 18 years.And yes he did change the paradigm of Indian batsman...when a young dhoni/yuvraj/gambhir/sehwag...play a belligerent innings of sheer attitude and pluck...i would like to believe that they are not breaking new ground..but are the proud followers of another once young man...who showed indian players and indian people that its up to each individual to take the fight and not abandon a cause when there is still a final glimmer of hope....
Finally, to me sachins contribution to indian cricket is not summed up by the platitudes he recieves daily from greats like sunny or even sir don...but from a cheap little bookie,"who at the peak of the match fixing scandal said we never started betting till the lil master got out" and u say he wasnt the deciding factor :)
RIP!!
tUSHAR
Srk:
Ever heard of a guy called Mike Tyson?
In almost all, except one Test match that India has won abroad Rahul has played an innings of significance and almost all of them have been centuries. If that does not qualify him to be compared to anyone else then I have nothing to say. A four hit at 160kmph gives you the same runs as that with 30kmph. If a guy can win me a test match by batting at a strike rate of 50 vis-a-vis a guy who score at teh strike rate of 86 bats like god and yet has not done anything of note in those victories, I have no doubt whom i would value more.
Tushar:
I am sure that you would agree that the resilient, confident India was epitomised far more by a bare-bodied action by a certain (gentle)man at Lords !
I agree that he has inspired the batsmen of the next generation by his breathtaking batting. But isn't that natural ? Every generation will have its heroes to emulate. For Sachin it was Sunny, for Sunny it was someone else.
Yep, that 20 wkts funda is correct. But thats where the 4th innings chase comes into the picture. When I am chasing 120 and 234, then I do expect him to either score significantly or remain not out. Like Steve did once against England when they were chasing 179 !
Don't have much to add to this "debate" ... most of what I think is known to the people who would care!
Just a couple of observations:
1. You don't get the chance to "shield" yourself with "52 MOMs" if you're not someone special!
2. Throwing statistics is a tricky affair - you can't overlook someone's "25,000 runs and 75 centuries" as if those don't count, and simultaneously start quoting fourth innings averages, like they're the ultimate yardstick of calibre.
And finally, I agree with Gauravda: celebrate him for what he has achieved, don't look for the little loopholes every successful cricketer can be shown to possess.
I absolutely agree that He is special. No doubt ! Too damn talented, too much of a genius...but...the "but" remains...
I also accept that every successful cricketer would have loopholes, but not all of them are as 'celebrated' as he is. They are all glorified 'with' their loopholes which is not the case here.
But, man, when he bats, he does bat!
I have heard of Mike Tyson, but I remember him only for his ear-biting incident...
i am sorry to be dumb, but i din get the connexion here...
You said "No one wants a boxing round with a one-round KO"
Mike in almost majority of his fights won in KO by the 4th round...
Anyways, this debate is a never-ending one...! Lets chuck it !
chuck the discussion... after u raise a point in ur blog... no way...
ask ppl wht is the most memorable boxing fight... and chances are that Ali tiring out Foreman after a long fight would come to mind...
Tyson wins a lot of matches quickly, and most remember the man, not those matches...
Sachin plays a lot of innings, and people remember the man, not the innings...
Rahul plays a match-winning one... a great comeback from a crisis... and people remember the innings too :)
Very well articulated. Will leave it at that... :-)
Post a Comment