A few days back, I had a heated argument with a friend over the fact whether Sachin has really been a match-winner for India. My friend, who has been following the game for over 15 years now and has a decent knowledge of the game, kept emphasizing there have been very few matches when Sachin has himself taken the team over the line. I am sure that he, along with many others, would feel they have got one more evidence to prove this fact. But, let me ask them one thing: Can we really blame Sachin for this loss today? Who is the one that got the team in the position to even think of chasing 350?? Was it too much to ask of the last four players to score 19 runs at run-a-ball on a perfect batting track?
It must have been a sense of deja-vu for all those who would have watched the 1999 test against Pakistan in Chennai. Similar to that game, Sachin once again stood tall among the ruins and once again it was heart-breaking at the end, to say the least. But, let’s just forget about the defeat for some time and focus on the great innings that we have just witnessed.
This innings today can easily be called as one of the all-time best knocks in the limited overs fixtures. Sachin showed why he is hailed as the greatest batsman of his era, if not all-time. It was in many ways similar to innumerable innings that he played in 1990s when he was the only one scoring runs for the team. Sachin, though slow to start, was at his prime today. It was as if one was watching the highlights package of last 20 years of Sachin’s career. Each and every shot that he played made you drop your jaw. He used his feet beautifully against the spinners and there were lovely straight sixes that we haven’t seen in long time. And then there was a fantastic six of the pull which reminded us of that glorious six against Caddick in 2003 WC!! It was a treat to watch his trademark flicks and cover drives, which nobody else in the world can play as well as he does when in full flow.
In this era of slam bang cricket, he played an innings which was throwback to the 90s. There was not a single ugly looking shot and I hardly remember when he tried to slog or manufacture the shots. He used all his experience and relied totally on his skills to find the gaps to precision. It was truly amazing to see how he never let the required run rate go out of his control without taking slightest of the risks. He judged almost everything to perfection. Alas, had the guys on the other end would have been a bit more supportive, it could have been a different story altogether!!
It was really disheartening to see Sachin so heart broken towards the end in post-match presentation. I had a feeling that he may break down in tears, which clearly showed that how much the victory means to him. He still says “I care about playing for India” or “it has always been my dream to play for India”… what an amazing guy he is!! Even after giving more than half of his life to the game, he is so much passionate about representing the country and there has never been lack of motivation from his side. I think the youngsters in the team like Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel etc. can easily learn a lesson or two from this great man about the right attitude towards the game or how important is it to remain passionate about representing your country.
The game of Cricket has always been bigger than individuals. There have been many great players who came, contributed to the game and left. But, I don’t know why Sachin sometimes makes me feel that he is different to those other greats. It is hard to envisage cricket without Sachin. I know it will be wrong to say that he is bigger than the game, but I am ascertained of one thing that cricket will definitely become poorer once he’s gone!!
I couldn’t have agreed more to the part of the post, which tells how great Tendulkar is. Neither is anybody taking away any greatness away from his classy innings of 175. But then, it is also a sign of greatness to finish such matches by yourself. Be it in Chennai or Hyderabad, he got out of cheesy shots, which were not required at all at that point of time. We all will miss him once he retires, but then, with respect to this match, I was left wanting a little more.