Sachin Tendulkar: A Phenomenon

Defining Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is like attempting to collate all the supreme qualities available in any human being. The prestige this man has been able to accumulate for himself is a testimony of his caliber. His batting stance, array of shots and determination is a delight to watch for any cricket crazy person. The name of Sachin Tendulkar is said to create terror in the minds of the best of bowlers. Apart from being a world class batsman, he is capable of spinning the ball with deft, saving crucial runs and, above all, pulling the team out of danger single handedly. In a career spanning over 20 years, he holds some of the prestigious records in world cricket. He has been constantly re-defining benchmarks in the arena of cricket.

His recent achievement of scoring 200 runs for the first time in the limited over version of the game just goes to prove the fact that his appetite for runs is never ending. In the match just before that historic one, he had saved a boundary stretching and diving full length in a situation when South Africa needed 7 runs off the last 2 balls. The batsmen managed to score 3 and finally India won the match by 1 run. Whether any youngster would have dived desperately as Sachin did or not is a matter of argument, but anyone watching it would vouch for the commitment displayed by the 36-year old.

Affected by a back injury, he had to control his trademark pull and hook shots. He had to adopt some precautions and make some adjustments to his style of batting. But that, in any way, did not affect his temperament. And he only got better always keeping himself focused on delivering his best on the field. Though he had a flop stint as the captain of the team, till date he is regarded as one of the best batsman that the game has ever seen. During his slump phase (2002-2006) many had written him off questioning his strokes and techniques.

He made a strong comeback silencing his critics by putting up a consistent performance in all forms of the game. He has played some of the greatest knocks during this ‘reincarnation’ episode that is still on, and he seems determined to excel and strive for constant improvement.

Sachin Tendulkar is not about runs, records or statistics. He is a signature of success, motivation, patriotism and dedication. His attitude is something that is to be replicated by everyone. Sachin’s contribution to India or world cricket cannot be compensated by awards or prizes. The respect gained by him over the years is much more than the 50-plus Man of the Match awards that he has received. He is an extraordinary person with a down-to-earth attitude.

Ranking Sachin’s best innings is a pretty unfair and tough ask. According to me, his top five performances would be:

- Back-to-back innings of 143 and 134 scored against Australia in Sharjah (1998). The former ‘sandstorm’ knock helped India secure a place in the Finals and the latter sealed the series for India
- The recent 200 not out versus South Africa at Gwalior that ensured a series win for India
- The valiant knock of 175 against Australia in Hyderabad (Nov. 2009). Though India lost the match by 3 runs, it was one of the spirited knocks from the little master in recent times
- 136 against Pakistan in the Chennai test (1999). Pakistan won the match by 12 runs. But Sachin was the lone warrior from the Indian camp and dragged the team close to victory
- 241 not out against Australia in the Sydney test (2004) that helped India amass a mammoth 705

There are numerous quotes on Sachin Tendulkar which prove that he is in fact a class apart. Some of them are:

· “I have seen GOD, he bats at no.4 for India in Tests”- Matthew Hayden
· “I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player”- Shane Warne
· “Don't bowl him bad balls, he hits the good ones for fours"- Michael Kasprowicz
· “I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two...his compactness, technique, stroke production...it all seemed to gel!”- Sir Don Bradman
· “There are 2 kinds of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others”- Andy Flower
· “If I've to bowl to Sachin, I'll bowl with my helmet on. He hits the ball so hard”- Dennis Lillee
· “Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal”- Brain Lara
· “India’s fortune will depend upon how many runs the little champion scores. There is no doubt Tendulkar is the real thing”- Sunil Gavaskar
· “Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their television sets and switch off their lives”- BBC Sports

“At least with me, the match starts much, much earlier than the actual match” is what he feels for himself. Sachin’s passion for cricket has been an interesting saga so far and we hope to see more of his supreme side in the years to come. Only time will tell how many more feathers he can add to his prized cap.

A Take On Bollywood

A notorious don turns messiah for all preaching good habits such as 'Jaadu Ki Jhappi' and 'Gandhigiri'.
A determined hockey coach successfully infuses motivation and leads the women's national team to victory at an international level.
A dyslexic child is able to transform himself into a champion of sorts with the help of his mentor.
A guy wins one and all practicing his omnipotent "Aal izz well" mantra.
A person with Asperger's disorder meets the US President and finally proves the point that his 'name is Khan' and he 'is not a terrorist'.

Bollywood is definitely on a roll emanating lots of positive vibes forcing the common public to think, analyze and come out of the theatres with a takeaway that has a long lasting impact. Thanks to the new breed of script writers and directors, and the radical change in the mindsets of the conventional league. Not to forget the actors and the entire crew that teams up and toils hard to ensure the complete success. Bollywood is clearly on the road to maturity getting itself out of the age-old shell of rich girl-poor boy love stories, the unison of brothers, revenge tales and the honest cop-and-villain encounters.

The competition within the industry is clearly evident with mammoth openings, record collections and huge profit margins. The pre-release promotions, movie merchandise on sale and tie-ups of production houses with renowned brands are significant indications of the intense war for survival. Off late, the controversies are heating up the scenario to a certain level and sparking off free publicity for movies.

And, as always, competition leads to better and improved performance. The result is in this case too is pretty promising- we, as audience, are certainly enjoying the welcome change, the theatres are getting overcrowded and above all, cinema as a medium is successfully putting across messages.

Last week, a girl committed suicide for forcefully taking up engineering instead of commerce as her field of study. Before hanging herself, she had mentioned “I Quit” in the wall of her room, which resembles the suicide in one of the recently released blockbusters. Who is to be blamed for this? Part of it can be attributed to the movie. Although the movie had an overall positive impact, people are bound to pick up the negative side too finding himself/ herself in the same situation (much like the character that committed suicide in the movie).

The impact of Bollywood in our lives is so deep-rooted. This, however, does not deter the story tellers to come up with innovative scripts and experiment constantly. It is tough these days to leave the plot of a movie once you are out of the theatre. It lingers in so many minds for days, may be for years. At the end of the day, a movie is a tale told over celluloid that comes with a clear statutory warning. In no way, we are supposed to fill both of our hands with the message that is being conveyed but always take it with a pinch of salt. However and whatever, both the giver and receiver of message need to be conscientious at the same time.

Hereby wishing the new-look Bollywood all the very best ahead so that it can come up with much more path breaking performances and satisfied end users (read ‘audience’).