Thank you Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar's prolonged retirement from all forms of cricket has finally come full circle. On October 10th, 2013 Tendulkar informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that he shall hang up his boots after playing in his 200th test in November at the Wankhede against the West Indies. Tendulkar had already announced his retirement from one-day cricket and T20 earlier. 

It made poignant reading in today's newspapers; out of the verbiage the little master's words stood out, telling us of the Sachin Tendulkar of the present,"It's hard for me to imagine a life without playing cricket...it's all I have ever done since I was 11."      

With the announcement many childhood memories have slid to nostalgia mode. Much has changed since Tendulkar's 1989 test debut against Pakistan. Test match cricket was king then, in 2013 the format is threatened with the commercial, marketing blitz and assured financial ticket that T20 and IPL have become for cricketers and cricket control boards.

Sachin in our lives   

In all our years of childhood, adolescence and youth, Sachin Tendulkar stood out as a folk hero and a very tangible one for that. The advent of quality television broadcasting, improved camera angles and commentary also provided an enhanced view to the proceedings. Here was a sporting hero whose exploits we could experience at the time that it was happening. 

Older generations will thus understand our disconnection when they say that Sunil Gavaskar was a better batsman. We just weren't around when Gavaskar was straight driving and playing without the helmet, facing fearsome bowling attacks. Sachin Tendulkar was inevitably in many of our life moments, a surge in each masterly shot he played, the affirmation that things were possible.

More than Tendulkar's genius it was the intensity and confidence that stood out. Between expectation and fulfillment of all our dreams, Tendulkar was the sole bridge for many years. Even as his curly haired youth brought a fort like mid-thirties the batsman gave it all he had. 

Freeze Frame 

There shall be more, but to conclude this article, I shall give you a word image of what I think is the best photograph that has ever been taken of Sachin Tendulkar. I hope to share the photograph, if I come across it again. The photo appeared in India Today around the time when Sachin's career was its zenith, he had already played those cult, reputation-affirming one-day Sharjah 1998 knocks against Australia. The photo is devoid of any action, it merely shows in its concise frame, Tendulkar's in his test whites seated on a plastic chair, with the helmet, pads and gear on, ready to battle. The appearance is one of stillness, but the eyes are a giveaway, they are almost fiery, pointed, and warrior like. Complete with the arms wrapped around himself, it is a rare moment of culmination - of youth, adventure and domination. So long Sachin and thank you very much for the mastery and the memories.   

night before holi, colony cricket

Sachin Tendulkar & the eroding game of Cricket...

Cricket is an unequal contest. It has always, before the start of any match, in any format, favoured batting to a large degree. More so now, with flat placid pitches been made, boundaries shortened, and the fielding restrictions applied in one-day games (a format losing in popularity, many say) and the Twenty 20 format.

Much of Cricket's beauty lies in its leisurely pace and the individual capabilities of the players. For as much is Cricket a team game, so is it individual in its three departments - batting, bowling and fielding. A Sehwag blitz can steal a match away from the opposition, some atrocious, cheeky work from Dilshan can upset calculations. But the same can't be said about bowlers anymore. Batsmen thump the ball, bowlers send unreachable bouncers, the ball so often reaches the boundary so easily and so often gets hit out of the ground. But where are the bowlers that teams were wary of, fielders that effect those crucial run outs, take those catches? Where are the epic oscillating contests where at a moment 15 men (the fielding team,  the two batsmen and the field umpires) are deep in battle, each holding on to their fortress? The celebration? Such contests, such moments, have become rare.

Test Cricket, of all Cricket formats, has the potential to be an extended enthralling contest. It is when two teams are engaged in an intangible tug-of-war that it is enlivened. Now I am not yet talking about the audience. What are we, the indirect paymasters, filling the stadium seats, drooling before the TV, catching the updates on the Internet and the cell phone? Even our interest is no longer relentless, several other things now distract the modern viewer. Distract, not hold.

Amidst the changing face of the game, that is still played by a dozen teams if not more, and half-a-dozen quality teams out of them, stands Sachin Tendulkar, one of the game's last artists perhaps. Talented raw clay during that debut against Pakistan in 1989, and 21 years later still constructing, sculpting his art, Sachin is still going, with some deep passion (what exactly - we do not know) that drives him. Unbeatable on 201 on the fourth day of the second test match against the Sri Lankans at the time of writing, one blog post is not sufficient to convey his impact. Let us say, Sachin has made his own path in the wilderness, and is yet to diverge from it. There is no one active player who matches him today for sheer talent and beauty of his shots. Who plays the straight drive like that or the cover drive bisecting the ground fielders, always the sense of perfection coming through? We are waiting for them - the Wasim Akrams, Courtney Walshs, the Arivinda De Silvas, Shane Warnes of the modern cricketing world, meanwhile Sachin Tendulkar can play out his extended swan song. 

SURRENDER TO TV: INDIA _ PAKISTAN DELHI TEST MATCH : SHIFTING SCALES DUE TO BLUNDEROUS CRICKET

THE TURNING POINT: Ganguly gets Misbah caught in the deep on the third day of the test match ( November 25) that led to restricting Pakistan to 248 in the second innings; India were set 203 to win on a pitch that had no demons in it for a determined batsman

The first test match ended today morning with India acquiring the remaining 32 runs for the loss of Saurav Ganguly; won by five wickets.
I finally succumbed to TV as the second day and the third day showcased enthralling cricket. But a match that must have gone down the wire, was marred by lacklustre fielding and bowling by both sides. More noticeably, Pakistan had no fire in their bowling except for Shoiab Akhtar.
On the third day, Pak batsmen just gave their wickets away, trying to slog sixes like one-day cricket..
Where are the bowlers like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis who set up such exciting contests...?


Tendulkar and Akhtar share a water bottle after India won the first test on a cold November morning (November 26)


Akhtar engaged in a humorous duel with Tendulkar


Indian captain Anil Kumble poses with his man of the match award for his captainship and bowling


Indian team members applaud as Sachin hits the winning runs on Monday morning (November 26), India required only 30 odd runs before the start of the fourth day's play, with six wickets in hand

PHOTO COURTESY: CRICINFO and AL-JAZEERA