Sachin

Vimal Kumar

Description

Part of India s World Cup winning squad and the team that took India to its No. 1 Test ranking, Sachin Tendulkar has blazed his way through the cricketing world for more than two decades, tearing through matches and records alike. The highest run-getter in both Tests and ODIs in the history of the game, he has also reached what is a truly fabulous milestone one hundred international centuries. Sachin: Cricketer of the Century takes the reader on a journey from stellar innings to stellar innings, surveying the batting genius,s brilliant career through the eyes of a pantheon of people who are legends in their own right from Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Nasser Hussain and Courtney Walsh to Waqar Younis, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. This is the ultimate tribute to the greatest batsman the modern era has seen.

Sujets

• Críquet
• Cricket

Informations

• Publié par: Penguin Books Ltd
• Date de parution: 15 mars 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9788184756982
• Langue: English

Extrait

Vimal Kumar

SACHIN
Cricketer of the Century
Contents
About the Author
Dedication
Introduction
Foreword by Sir Vivian Richards
A Special Word by Courtney Walsh
Preface
TESTS
1. The Genius Arrives
2. One-Man Army
3. Warne vs Sachin
4. Losing the Game, Winning Hearts
5. A Double Ton
6. Hello Mates!
7. Boom Boom in Bloemfontein
8. Contrasting Shades of Class
9. Controversy, Struggle and Record
10. The Australian Affair
11. Defying Critics and Age
12. The African Safari
13. So What If It Wasn t a Ton
ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS
1. First of Its Kind
2. Captain Courageous
3. An Incredible 1998
4. Pain and Power
5. Changing Order
6. The Master s Major for a Minnow
7. When the Mighty Struggled
8. Renaissance of the Redoubtable
9. A Glorious World Cup
10. The Hundredth 100
11. So What If It Wasn t 100
Footnote
8. Renaissance of the Redoubtable
The Last Word by Amitabh Bachchan
Acknowledgements
Follow Penguin
Copyright Page
PENGUIN BOOKS
SACHIN
Vimal Kumar studied journalism at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, and started his professional career with the International Management Group s Trans World International (IMG-TWI). He has since worked for TV Today Network (Aaj Tak and Headlines Today) and Network18 (IBN7 and CNN-IBN) in their Hindi and English channels as a sports journalist. Besides his regular work on television as deputy sports editor for IBN7, he has also contributed to publications like Sports Illustrated , Outlook , Mid-Day , the Tribune , Child , Cricket Samrat , Cricket Today and websites like IBNlive.com , Cricketnext.com and IBNkhabar.com .
Vimal has covered two cricket World Cups, in 2007 and 2011, and has reported on cricket in most of the Test-playing nations. He also presents guest lectures in IIMC and Manav Rachna University. His Twitter handle is @Vimalwa.
To Baba Basukinath (Lord Shiva) Babuji and Ma (my parents) and late Peter Roebuck (my Guru) for their blessings and guidance at all times
Foreword
Sachin Is the King of Batsmanship
Sachin is just phenomenal. He is one individual I have admired for years. Though Bradman is much revered in the modern cricketing world, I have never seen him bat. I have, however, seen Sachin batting, which is for me the best thing in batsmanship-he is simply magnificent. When people ask about me, and Sachin says that he wants aggression like mine (along with Sunny s solidness), it is very pleasing-I am over the moon. It is the greatest compliment for me that such a figure, one so humble, says that he wants to bat like me! I would return the compliment and say Sachin is a class act.
I would have loved to have had Sachin s solidness. He is the perfect example of a top-class cricketer-no one has said a bad word about him. You see many guys who haven t achieved anything and who strut as if they have achieved everything. But Sachin is very down to earth. You would like your kid to emulate him in preparation, scoring and staying power. That Sachin has been there for so long shows that he is solid.
In many ways, Sachin reminds me of Sunny Gavaskar. Whenever they play a defensive shot, it is a defensive shot. Some young players want to be defensive and yet want to score. They forget that attack and defence must be separated-something Sachin does perfectly.
If Wisden Almanack does that survey [five cricketers of the century, last done in 2000] again now, Sachin could be at the top. His figures suggest that. People who sit on the panel are influenced by what kind of impact a player has made, what kind of effect he has on [his team] winning. In that regard, Sachin is number one. I would happily take the number six in that list of cricketers of the century.
Sachin s overall personality and his off-the-field conduct are two fine, outstanding characteristics that set him apart. Shane Warne was a personality on and off the field and a little more eccentric than Sachin. With Sachin, you want to emulate him one hundred per cent. In terms of mannerism and conduct, he gets maximum marks in all respects. Sachin has led his personality in the right direction and it has helped him accomplish the things he has. It has played its part.
A genius like Sachin has also struggled through some tough times. It s all about how you work harder and how you make a comeback. Sachin has come back better than anyone else. He has had some problems with injuries, but has always had a solid head. What is also remarkable is Sachin s motivation against the so-called lesser opposition. I never had the opportunity to play against those teams but Sachin has; and he has always taken them on with the same intensity and motivation with which he faces other teams. It shows how much of a professional he is and how solid his mental prowess is.
Ultimate professionalism is scoring runs against all the teams that are part of ICC s [International Cricket Council s] cricket programme. When you do that with total dedication, it s great for the game. There is a song that says if you are solid in body and mind and you have the talent, you will get things done. Sachin did it against the lowest and he did it against the best. That s why he is an all-rounder for me.
I remember the very first time I saw him play was against Ian Bishop in county cricket [on India s tour of England in 1990]. Sachin came on the front foot and punched Bishop s delivery straight over the sight screen. To me Bishop was one of the most feared fast bowlers. For a newcomer to show that kind of disdain to a guy who, when fit, was as good as any of the famous fast bowlers was impressive! I immediately realized this guy is really special.
I remember our last serious chat was in the Caribbean in 2007. Sachin was feeling a little down. I used a particular word or sentence, and told him, When you retire, you retire for a very long time. I also told him that if you still love and respect the game, Why don t you keep playing? Retirement lasts longer.
One hundred international 100s is a new benchmark of greatness, and it is difficult for me to pick one as the best out of the hundred 100s. Sachin s ability to concentrate while being very aggressive is reflected in most of his innings. He has made Indian cricket much better than it ever was.
I am very glad that Sachin is now part of a World Cup-winning team. Put the crown over his head, man, he is the king of batsmanship.
Sir Vivian Richards
A Special Word
Sachin has been a good servant of the game, a genius and a tremendous player. His achievements are something others can only dream of, but he can do it because he was always a cut above the rest. His technique and patience are special. To me he was perfect, which made him very challenging, because I knew I had to be at my very best whenever I was up against the Little Master.
I first heard about him in the late 1980s when he was in contention to tour the West Indies before his debut series in Pakistan. It is hard to predict what would have happened if he had come to the West Indies at that time-at that time, coming to the West Indies was the biggest test for anyone. He might have emerged with flying colours; he might have passed the test. It would have been a good test for him.
I personally wouldn t call him the greatest per se but, yes, Sachin is definitely one of the greatest. With his never-say-die attitude, he is one of the most magnificent players I have played with and against. It s hard to assess him against other players though, when you have played in two eras. It depends on the people you have played against. The likes of Viv Richards, Brian Lara and Steve Waugh come to mind readily. Viv was more dominating. And Sachin is probably more orthodox. But this I do know-you don t want to bowl to either of them! When I look at him and Brian Lara, I can only see similarities-two geniuses who wanted to score big all the time. The only difference was one batted left and one right!
As an Indian batsman of short height, his dominating style, unlike that of another Indian, the great Sunil Gavaskar, was striking. Sachin always seems in full control, even though sometimes he isn t when conditions are not at their best. When people in Jamaica ask me about the most impressive aspect of his game, I point to his dedication to the game-the best I have seen.
(Former West Indies captain Courtney Walsh was the first bowler in the history of the game to cross the barrier of 500 Test wickets. Along with Curtly Ambrose, Walsh is regarded as the last of the great Caribbean fast bowlers.)
Preface
11 December 1988: The day is still fresh in my mind. I had been in journalism barely a few months. Working at the Times of India , I chose to bunk work that afternoon to watch what many cricket lovers believed was history in the making. Sachin Tendulkar was playing his first first-class game against Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy at the Wankhede Stadium. There had been schoolboy prodigies who had faded away in the past. This boy, with rosy cheeks and curly locks, the pundits told us, was different. For once they were right.
Tendulkar came in to bat that December afternoon sometime after lunch. A little after tea he had scored a century on debut. My editor was kind enough to allow me to write a front-page story the next morning. A new sun has risen in Indian cricket and its glow will dazzle the world in the years to come, was how the article began. The glow has now become a universe of sunshine.
Tendulkar was 15 years and 232 days old when he scored that century. The Berlin Wall had still not fallen, the Soviet Union was still intact, Saddam ruled Iraq, Gaddafi ran Libya, Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister and India was still in the era of the licence-permit raj. Twenty-three years later, the world has changed, but what has not changed is Tendulkar s insatiable appetite for run-scoring. That first century now seems like just one line in a magnum opus which continues to u