Sachin Tendulkar - The day you retire, what will I do !

I know I shouldn’t be zeroing on a particular man, when the whole team played well to win the Commonwealth Bank series. But I admit I am unashamedly biased towards Sachin Tendulkar. There is no dearth of articles, analyses, panegyrics on Sachin, as every other Indian is the most ardent follower of his. So, I won’t paraphrase the obvious here. But I would just like to show my gratitude to the man who has shaped my wide-eyed dreams as no one else.

A child doesn’t know anything other than the distilled purism of this world. For me, cricket happened to be that joy which pervaded me before my dreams came and carried me into the hallowed world of cricket. I still remember the World Cup in 1992 when I woke up in the wee hours and ran to other homes to watch the matches. Rubbing my eyes, I used to seamlessly land up on the field through the television set and soak in all I could. There played a man - a short-stature genius – who had defied his age to brush his shoulders against the best. India had a very poor World Cup then. But my fascination with cricket and him was sown.

Cricket moved on, and so did my adoration. Running from the school as soon as it ended to know the scores, dashing to other homes to watch through the window whenever there was a power cut, visualizing how the next match will shape up in India’s win – these were some of the daily happenings of this awed child. Cricket percolated inside me in such a way that a distinct only-to-be-felt joy started relating to that.

My viewing career peaked and so did Sachin. He moved on to become the most premier batsman in the Indian setup. The defining moment came in 1996 World Cup when he carried the aspirations of the whole country with him. Each shot of his then drew oomphs of awe from us. My most vivid remembrance of his magnificence remains his innings of 90 against Australia in Mumbai in the league matches. The whole aura was electrifying; people perched on their seats with all their hopes of life resting on the gladiator fighting in the midst. India lost that match, but the whole set-up symbolized India of nineties that no other match, according to me, has done. I came to know later that that innings remains the favourite of many of the connoisseurs. That amazing was it!

Since then cricket and Sachin have moved forward synonymously tied to each other. And I have followed them like a religious saint. The winning touch came to Indian team after the ascendancy of Ganguly as the captain. Good professional players came who were/are more dedicated and yearning than the previous ones. As a result, the team started winning more often in this decade, and now under Dhoni’s captaincy, it looks well set to go all the distance. Sachin remains the overseeing Providence of the whole caravan.

Soon he will retire. It has to happen sooner than later. He will bequeath his cricket-bred country to the posterity. Probably India will win more. Also probably a better player will come. But never again will India watch cricket with those childlike misty eyes carrying hordes of dream, whenever a certain player walks on the turf with those small godly steps.

The terra incognita of cricket- IPL

Cricket world never remained the same again after the IPL came into being. And it came into being even before a single ball was bowled in the competition. The craze and drama associated with it have been stupefying to say the least, and it shows no signs of abating, at least for the time being.

When IPL was announced by the BCCI officials on a very another day, it appeared to me as a blunt rejoinder to the ICL. Even the name, and hence the acronym chosen was remarkably similar to that of the rebel organization. But since then, it has been snowballing into something leviathan, bringing into its fold cinema, market, advertisement and most importantly, people too. It actually got on me only when the franchises were sold out for exalted amounts of money to even more illustrious personalities of business and Bollywood.

Since then I have been viewing IPL in a completely different light. Ironically and sadly, the view has got very less to do with cricket, for here the game has been thrown onto the backburner. It has got more to do with the showcase of India as a potential entrepot for money. Even though cricket is only seriously played by a dozen counties, it remains one of the dozen or so team games which have got such fan following. It is no match to soccer, or American football or baseball, but stll it remains credible enough with both money and coverage. And now with IPL coming on to the scene, it is going to make India the cynosure of the game even more. India will stand out as the country holding the biggest spectacle ever of the game. On this count only, Indian pomp and popularity should reach even the cricket-less countries. This will help other areas of Indian economy and society too. Name, fame and might draw everyone. It is too early to pass the verdict that it will generate the ripple effect, but it definitely provides a grand opportunity of global scale for other areas to be connected with and cash on it.

Reverting to its impact on the game, I think it will make the game poorer in quality, but wider in its reach. Slam-bang cricket is never going to test the skill levels as are required in Test Matches or even in the one-dayers. That remains the conjecture of most of the cricket pundits, but nobody including yours truly would mind been proven wrong in the long run. T20 cricket, in its wake, brings a lot of unprecedented excitement with it. Its short match-span provides just the time a common man can afford to recreate himself after a hard day's work, amidst an aura of frenzy spiced up by glamour of dancing girls or likewise.

For me, it also presents a long-dreamed lining up of quality players of different nationalities in a team against a similar group on the other side. It was tried in the ICC World XI versus Australia Test and one-day matches, but it virtually turned into a no-show with Australia dominating as ever before. IPL provides another opportunity with more purpose and time given to the players. Also people are talking about nationalistic feelings coming up for Indian players when they will be pitted against those from the rival countries. It will definitely be the case, and that's why it makes it even more interesting. Right now the whole story-to-be-unfolded borders on the unknown, and that is exactly the X-factor that might drive it into becoming a big big thing.

The Melbourne Win : CB Series, 4th Match

It was sweet, wasn't it? A win against the Aussies, espescially in Australia, is always worth remembering. It took me by no surprise that the win was achieved in Melbourne after a long gap of 21 years. After all, India doesn't win, or better said, haven't won many matches abroad. But I was really surprised to know that the win-loss ratio of Aus against India at Melbourne stands at 6-5 only- very acceptable to the Indians- after this match. And I used to consider MCG to be amongst the worst venues as per the results for the Indians. During my viewing career, Indians have recieved a sound thrasing here in the Test and ODI matches, not to mention the recent drubbing in the T20 International. But they had excellent record here in the eighties. Hope today's match breaks the hoodoo of nineties.

Coming back to the match, I have rarely seen India's new ball bowlers operating at more than 140 kms/hr on a consistent basis. More importantly, they were consistent and always looked lethal. Most of India's misery in the past has been due to the lack of quality bowling. Though batting remains spectators' delight, it is the bowling which wins the game more often than not. The champion sides, viz. West Indies of yore, current Australian team, beacame a nearly unbeatable force due to their bowling alone. It also explains why India, despite having a great batting unit over the years, have been very ordinary with the wins. So, it was almost surreal and greatly satisfying to see the Indian bowlers being all over the Aussies today. Also, it was not a one-off good show. The Indian bowling has been doing really well in the last few years, bringing in more victories as a result.


I didn't have a very high opinion of Ishant Sharma. I had thought him to be another precocious talent thrown into the international arena after a few domestic matches only. Also the initial look of his play didn't inspire much confidence. But buoy...hasn't he learnt? He looks good to be counted amongst the best in future, provided he too doesn't fall the way many others before him fell into. Let his praise be an inspiring one, not an adulating one.



India's batting was once again centered on Sachin Tendulkar's show. It's surprising how often India has risen and fallen with Tendulkar. I am unshamedly biased towards Tendulkar, but two of his shots, the first lightning straight drive in particular, off Brett Lee will remain etched in my memory for long. It went away faster than it came. It came, by the way, at more than 150 kms/hr. Another batsman, Rohit Sharma, too deserves some space. I don't know why but he, so often, resembles Tendulkar in many ways. May be because of his easy stance or the copybook cover-drives. Also he is 20 years old only. Comaprisons with bigger names can be daunting, so he must be provided ample time and opportunities to fill their shoes.

To sum it up, today was Sharmas' day, one shining with the bat and another with the ball. I wonder how often if the balance between bat and ball is achieved, the result takes care of itself. So, I believe India should go with an extra bowler at the expense of a batsman in the subsequent matches, and more importantly, with the same winning attitude, for more than anything else, it is their desire which will guide their performance on any given day.