November 16, 2013. A day that will go down in the history of cricket. A day that will always be there in the hearts of millions of people across the world. It was the day when an era of Indian cricket came to an end. The day on which a journey which had begun 24 long years ago came to an end.
Sachin Tendulkar retires from international cricket. We do not know what will happen to cricket in India. But surely it will never be the same again. The passion for cricket in India will surely lose a lot of its splendor.
It all began on November 15, 1989 at the Karachi International Stadium when a young guy of sixteen years with a diminutive stature made his debut against Pakistan. It was not the best of the performances from the young man on his debut but he made it clear to the world that he was a guy who had come to rule the world of cricket. He had announced his arrival in the world of cricket in style against the likes of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis. He was the guy who was there to stay. The whole world saw his passion for the game when he refused to leave the ground even after getting hit on the face by a fiery bouncer. The belief that the new hero of Indian cricket has arrived was strengthened when he scored his first test century the very next year at Manchester. His match-saving 119*made sure that India did not lose that match.
Well it was just the prelude. The best was yet to come and that was not too far away. It came in 1992 when Sachin slammed the third century of his career against a mighty Australian bowling attack at the WACA in Perth. Sachin took care of some world-class fast bowling in one of the fastest and bounciest tracks in the world to score 114. India lost the match but it brought into daylight that Sachin Tendulkar was a class apart.
Time went on as Sachin was slowly becoming the backbone of the Indian batting line-up. In 1998 came another great innings that has gone down in the history of cricket. It was the semi-final of the Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah and the opponent was the mighty Aussies. He scored a brilliant 143 and ensured that India was going into the finals.
In 1999 Sachin Tendulkar had a big loss when the World Cup was on. He was in England playing for India when he got the news that his father was no more. He came back to India, performed the last rites of his father and flew back to England. The next day Sachin scored a hundred against Kenya. It was a real emotional one for Sachin as he dedicated the century to his father. The century might not go down as one of Tendulkar’s best in cricketing because the opponent was not that of high class. But this one from Sachin was something special as he overcame immense mental stress of losing his dearest person in the world to secure the hundred. It brought into evidence the true character of Sachin Tendulkar.
We got a taste of Tendulkar’s determination in 2004 when we witnessed a brilliant 241* at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The Australians were on the receiving side again. The great thing about the innings was that Sachin did not play a single cover-drive till India was in a safe position in the match and himself well past the 150-run mark. When asked about the reason behind such resolution of not playing a cover-drive he said that he was getting out playing that shot on numerous occasions in the series and that time he did not want to get out quickly. The whole nation took a bow to Sachin for another time.
Sachin continued playing with similar grace and authority throughout his career. However there was a certain dip in his form during the mid-2000s when he suffered from a career-threatening injury. He was suffering from tennis-elbow, a rare kind of injury that is inflicted in the players and suddenly there was buzz around the world that his career might get over. But Sachin was determined. He made a comeback as he gained fitness with regular training and had a great time in the middle as he was slowly inching towards the end of his career.
Then came the biggest moment of his career when India lifted the World Cup in 2011 on the home soil under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Sachin describes this world cup victory as the greatest achievement of his career. He said that it was a childhood dream for him to win the World Cup. He was very close to living that dream in 2003 but only to be denied in the final. He was the top scorer in that World Cup but could not win the trophy. This time it was not to be. Finally on April 2, 2011 Sachin became a part of a world cup-winning team. Scoring the 50th test against the mighty South Africans and that too in their own backyard was a big moment in his career. Another big moment in his career came when he scored his 100th international hundred at Mirpur against Bangladesh. It was an achievement which one could not even dream of. But he had made that a reality. He has taught us to believe that nothing is impossible in this world.
Sachin Tendulkar has achieved a lot as a cricketer. He holds the record for most number of runs in all formats of the game. He has got 100 international hundreds (49 in ODIs, 51 in tests). He holds the record of playing most number of matches in both tests and one-dayers. He has been adjudged the Man-of-the-Match and Man-of-the-Series for most number of times. In 2002, Sachin Tendulkar was given the second rank in the list of all time greatest batsmen in tests and ODIs behind Sir Donald Bradman and Vivian Richards in the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, respectively. In 2010, Sachin won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy which is given to the best cricketer of the year. He was also the part of the Mumbai Indians team that won the IPL and Champions League T20 in 2013. In his last appearance as an Indian player in tests he became the first player in the planet to play 200 test matches.
Besides all these achievements in cricket Sachin has been honoured with the Padma Vibhusan award, India’s second highest civilian award and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. He became the member of the Rajya Sabha of India in 2012. In the same year the Indian Air Force awarded him the honorary rank of Group Captain as he became the first sportsperson in India to achieve such a feat. Few days later the Australian government honoured as the Member of the Order of Australia. However the greatest of the awards for Sachin Tendulkar came in when the Government of India announced him as the Bharat Ratna. He is the only person from the field of sports to have achieved such a feat and also the youngest one.
He has become a national hero in the eyes of every Indian for what he has given to the nation throughout his career. And that’s why when he announced his retirement just before test series against West Indies the whole country was mourning. Fans thronged to the grounds in Kolkata and Mumbai to catch the last glimpse of their hero. And when he delivered his last speech at the Wankhede stadium the tears began to roll down the eyes of each and every person who was watching that. It showed how much Sachin Tendulkar meant to every Indian.
The whole country should be highly grateful to two persons for their sacrifice and contribution in creating such a legend. First, it is Ajit Tendulkar, Sachin brother who has made immense sacrifices in making this true legend and Ramakanth Achrekar, Sachin’s ‘Cricket Guru’, who taught him the basics of the game. The country should also be thankful to Denis Lillee for had there not been a Lillee there would not have been a batsman called Sachin Tendulkar. It was Lillee who for the first time marked out that Sachin was a better batsman rather than a bowler when Sachin went to the MRF Cricket Academy.
Sachin Tendulkar will be remembered for ever not only for his cricketing achievements but for his personality as well. Off the field he is a true gentleman and a great person. He is surely a great role model for every Indian.
Sachin Tendulkar is a name that India worships. A name that the game of cricket will salute forever. A name that will remain in the hearts of millions of people. But Sachin Tendulkar is not just a name. Sachin Tendulkar is a cult. He is the gift of God to cricket. A gift of God to the nation. A gift of God to mankind.
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