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By Karthik Narayan, published on Dec 11, 2005

If Prometheus was the one who brought down fire to earth, Sachin Tendulkar brought it to the cricket field. If anyone has brought about a revolution and a revelation to reveal what is there inside the gut – it has got to be this curly haired pimple-faced little teenager in the early 1990s.

His injuries sounded sabbatical, his ventures with his sabre were rattling for the opposition. In short, he brought the entire globe to their feet. To roar and see him soar into the skies and become immortal.

Sunny days

Immortals are officially ringed in by their great deeds in the world. Sachin’s arrival was no less immortal than any of his peers. Sachin is different from the Master before him; he is more of the modern era batsman, to mould classical styles with aggression and get it to look so simple.

The first Little Master was the legendary Sunil Gavaskar. The Mumbaikar who stole the dreams from under the noses of big tall mean fast bowlers of the Caribbean and beyond the cricketing boundaries. His era of cricket was totally different from what we see now. He was the first batsman in the world to breach the 10,000 run mark.

Sunil Gavaskar did the basic things – head down, feet in position, wait for the bad ball, get the runs behind the name and surpassed an icon, Sir Donald Bradman to become the TOP century maker in test cricket. He lived in an era where the bowlers ruled the world, with the Carribbeans leading the way.

Sunil Gavaskar was the one who heralded the fight of the four-inch blade against the 3.5-inch diameter ball that was hurled at him. Sachin is the Torch-Bearer continuing that era of batsman dominating the game. Sunny Days ended in the late 80s, but the Sun rose again. Where there is a sunset, there shall be a sunrise. Sachin Tendulkar is that SunRise! This time around, it scorched brighter than ever..
 

From Immerse to Immaculate

The odyssey of a gawky-teenager-who-just-wanted-to-don-the-India-cap to a legend on the cricket field is something that shall be talked about by every soul following this sport. Way back in 1987-88, this “kid” was spotted creaming the bowlers with ease along with his schoolmate to create records at school level. Then centuries on debut in Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy made sure he was going all the way!

The India cap came to him like a crown to a Prince. Then it was all Sachin and only Sachin. He took centrestage and made it all his own. Having come up against the might of Wasim and Waqar first up, he never flinched. Never once did he look back after scoring a century at Old Trafford, England.

Never before has a batsman showed such arrogance and contempt for the bowlers since Vivian Richards. This batsman was right there to fill in the void left by the classic Master Blaster himself. And he fitted the shoes to a T.

Toast to the Immortal

Watching Sachin bat is like watching a river flow, you will see the rampage that it takes towards its journey and the respect it gains from those who approach it. Each of his 35 tons is special; maybe those close to the Mumbai Maestro may be worth a peek into. Naturally, one of Sachin’s best centuries is the one at Perth on a bouncing fast wicket in 1992 against the likes of Merv Hughes, Craig McDermott and Co. yes, that was the first rendezvous with the legend, Shane Warne!

Thou shall never forget their engrossing lethal battle where the towering sixes and the mighty thuds from the dance down the tracks broke the back and confidence of the leg spinner Warne in their tussle in 1998 in the sub-continent. The whole world was watching, and the Great batsman was ready right there to take on the world’s best bowlers!

And then, there is the century against Pakistan in Chennai, on a breaking wicket against the mighty Wasim Akram and the guiles of Saqlain Mushtaq. And many more.

Each of Tendulkar’s tons shall be pure ecstasy for the connoisseurs of the game – it shall have top class strokes, laced with the passion to excel. The desire never to let the bowler a chance. To be in total command all the time.

Bowler’s curses, fielders converted as spectators, Umpires with shoulder aches from signaling boundaries are common in all Sachin innings. So are trademark cuts, the cheeky paddle sweeps and the exquisite cover drives.

Sachin’s career has never seen any downs – perhaps the captaincy was something that he wasn’t really good at. And perhaps yes, the injury scares in the last year have been a little downside. But as they say, perhaps is a word that was borrowed into the English language.

Lyrics of this Ode shall stay tested for a while, only until Sachin comes up with another masterly knock and surpasses another record. Yet another milestone for the academicians. If Sachin’s milestones were given as academic certificates, certainly this is one man who shall be the Highest Qualified! And seeing what has been going over the last 16 years, from here its going to be infinite more peaks.

Little man he is, but his deeds are mighty and big! There is little that he has not done – he has touched upon every cornerstone in the streets from Mumbai to Cape Town, from Perth to Pretoria, his footsteps have breached all borders in this globe.

I wish this great player to continue the show, to flower with the power and bring upon followers to see him tower and landmower the bowlers to a crisp and to raise the bar to a height which fewest can breach!


 

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