Sach-in-vincible

           ‘Cricket is the religion and Sachin is god’ read one of the posters when the man from Mumbai was batting in one of the matches. Such is the career graph of this little boy who came from a middle class family from Mumbai with a decent upbringing that he catapulted into the ranks of legends of world cricket. With a history of 20 playing years, this man surely is unstoppable. Playing from the age of 16 years when boys of that age dream of girls and studies, this ‘boy’ had a different stance altogether. Eat cricket, sleep cricket, live cricket was the motto and he left no stone unturned to give cricket as much he took from it. He is one of the most loved cricketer in the country. Think cricket, think Sachin!

             It is simply astonishing and very hard to figure out how can someone by so consistent for 20 years. Of course, he had his bad days, bad patches, but he bounced back hard, whenever he hit bottom. And the best part is, he lets his bat do the talking. No matter what the critics say about him, he never reacted harshly, he maintained his calm, and responded with the willow in his hand. The moments when he raises his bat when he achieves a half century or a century or a double century, it is his answer to the critics, as if saying….Take this!!!

              He stands on number one on all record books. This is not a task of an ordinary talent, this surely is a gift god bestows on few. I remember one interesting one liner regarding him…God wanted to play cricket, so Sachin was born. I think this might be true. One more thing that makes him extra special is that inspite of being the highest run getter in almost all forms of the game, he has achieved those with style, with proper technique. The drives, the pulls, the glance are all packed in with a panache. He is like a living dictionary for all the lovers of the game.

               Ravi Shastri mentioned him in a correct way while introducing him…here is one greedy man. Humorous as it may sound, but it sums it all. The greed! The greed to play cricket and to play it better, for the country, for himself. i have heard there is one more factor that keeps him going so much for this greed, he says his coach Mr Ramakant Achrekar has never said to him ‘well played’ for any of the stupendous innings till date. Sachin wants to hear his guru say that, but the guru knows that his disciple can deliver, much better, even much better. This keeps Sachin going harder and harder, guess he wants to achieve that some day, while Mr Achrekar might feel that after saying that Sachin might relax.

                 The greatness of this man is that everybody identifies with him and everybody feels that they are playing when he is out on the field. Arey Sachin out ho gaya kya, is the common question when India is playing cricket. Every Indian finds a sense of fulfillment when he scores a century, guides India to victory or bowls everybody simply with his humility. I don’t remember any other cricketer ever achieved this feat. One interesting and humorous posters I read was , ‘ Sachin is making people atheist, to believe in god or him’. Comparisons with god, what else can a person achieve in his lifetime?

                There have been innumerable praise and media buzz with the feats that this prodigy has achieved, but a personalized tribute always holds a special place in the heart. My blog will be incomplete and will be wanting for more if I do not write about the person who defined the way cricket is being followed in the entire nation –one man called Mr Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. One of the very few people whom I admire with utmost respect- should have a mention in my blog. This is not an attempt to publicize my homage to him, but as a channel to express the bubbling desire to write about him. And no better day that his birthday, today as he turns 37, I dedicate this post and a lot of prayers to the great man whom I call  Sach-in-vincible.