Cricket Tournaments

Three games, three heroes

It was a disappointing end to the one-day series for India. They had a great chance to score a whitewash against the South Africans for the first time, but they preferred to rest their key players and tested out the bench strength, which resulted in a rather one-sided victory for the Proteas. Yet, the matter of the fact was that India won the series rather handsomely and there were some memorable performances even in such a short series. Presenting a rewind of top three performances of the series.

Game 1, Jaipur

Jadeja’s all-round act (22 and 2/29)

In a high-scoring game, where most of the batters were at ease, it was Ravindra Jadeja’s tight left-arm spin that made the difference. The Indian pacers, Ashish Nehra and S. Sreesanth went for plenty, and though they did pick up three wickets among themselves, they also ensured that South Africa stayed in the hunt. On the contrary, Jadeja not only kept the runs down, but also picked up two wickets, crucial ones at that, to derail the Proteas’ chase of 299. He cut short one-day specialist Herschelle Gibbs’ promising knock and later cleaned up AB de Villiers, who was also looking dangerous.

His cameo with the bat towards the fag end of the innings also came in handy, considering that India ended up winning by a solitary run, thanks to a late surge by the African tail. Jadeja is certainly turning out to be a good utility player for India.

Game 2, Gwalior

Sachin makes history (200 not out)

This was Sachin Tendulkar’s show all the way. Virender Sehwag fell early after India won the toss and batted. But, that did not deter the Indian master. He went on the rampage from the word go and the carnage did not stop till the very end. Come pace or spin, Sachin had an answer to every trick of the South African bowlers. He cut, pull, drove and lofted the bowlers with disdain on a ground that seemed too small for the Indian giant.

Dale Steyn, who destroyed India in the opening Test, was despatched for 89 from his quota of overs. Worse, Wayne Parnell went for 95. The others weren’t spared either. Charl Langeveldt went for a somewhat respectable 70 while Kallis and Duminy combined to leak over the 80. The Sachin magic was very much at display in Gwalior.

There were other handsome contributions in the game as well. Dinesh Karthik registered his highest ODI score of 79 while Dhoni slammed a hurricane like 68 not out. A B de Villiers too impressed with his sublime ton, but the match with undoubtedly be remembered for the indelible Sachin Tendulkar touch.

Game 3, Ahmedabad

de Villiers winning ton (102 not out)

The series was gone. However, the South Africans still had a lot to play for. After all they had never been blanked by India in a one-day series. And that record will stand, albeit with a little help from India themselves. They decided not to field a full-strength and de Villiers decided to take full toll of the inexperienced Indian attack. His 59 ball 102 included 11 hits to the fence and 3 over it. It was as if he was avenging the humiliation meted out to them at Gwalior, with great support from skipper Kallis.
The Indian bowling figures read similar to those of the Proteas in the previous game. Here was Sreesanth’s chance to lead the attack, but he failed miserably, conceding 83 in nine overs. As such, much couldn’t be expected from rookies Sudeep Tyagi and Abhimanyu Mithun. All were slammed. The de Villiers magic was in full bloom and the Indians had no answer to it.

There are cricket stadiums and then there is Eden Gardens. Yes, a match at the Lord’s of India brings along with it humongous expectations every time, that of a historic Indian win. Mohammad Azharuddin always scored runs here — even when he batted with his eyes closed, his protégé of sorts VVS Laxman has scored four hundreds and over a 1,000 runs in nine Test, and Harbhajan Singh would die to play cricket over here game after game.

Undoubtedly, this ground at Kolkata holds special memories for India. Can we ever forget that miraculous turnaround in 2001 against Australia? It was only fitting then at India retained their numero uno status with yet another superlative performance against the chief contender for the throne, South Africa.

So what is it about the Eden that makes cricket viewing such an amazing experience? The main reason, without an eye blink, has to be the wonderful crowd (1996 being an exception of sorts) that turns up in huge numbers to witness a Test on all five days of a game. Rarely, even in India, will we see a full house for the traditional version of the game.

It happens only in Eden! Sad then that the venue doesn’t get a chance to host enough Tests, while lesser venues keep getting opportunities time and again despite producing dull draws. A lot of it must be due to the political battle between Bengal’s cricketing association and the BCCI in recent times. True, the crowd too isn’t the most sporting when India loses, but then that isn’t reason enough not to give the ground its due, at least not yet.

After all, the Eden Gardens has given us so many wonderful, unforgettable memories. It was here that VVS Laxman became Very Very Special and Harbhajan Singh turned into the Turbanator. Some of the shots Laxman played during that knock of 281 will be etched in our memories till time immemorial.

And for not one moment during that innings did he ever come even close to getting out. Once again, it was the Eden magic at work. The unbelievably high decibel of noise the crowd makes gives the opposition the illusion that they are playing against 60-70 thousand people instead of 11. Laxman has played many good knocks elsewhere, but it’s at Eden that he has always looked at home.

Same is the case with Harbhajan. This was the same ground at which he had resurrected his international career with a match-turning bowling performance against the Aussies. Before this game, he was miserably struggling to find his rhythm. But look what the return to his favourite venue did for the heavily under-fire off-spinner.

Not only did his performance lift to incredible heights, but the team’s fortunes turned around astoundingly as well, despite a Nagpur-like start for the South Africans with the bat. One is not sure if Harbhajan will repeat such heroics at other venues, but be rest assured that the next time he steps on to the Eden turf, he will deliver something out of the ordinary.

Yes, that’s the magic of Eden Gardens!

In a two-match series, when you are 1-nil down, it is next to improbable to make a comeback. But, the present Indian team, under MS Dhoni has made it a habit of constantly delivering the goods when the chips are completely down.

And the second Test against South Africa at Eden Gardens was no exception. India had been humiliated at home in the first Test, a rarity in itself, and two of their main batters weren’t fit for the Kolkata challenge. There was extreme pressure on Harbhajan Singh, in particular, to perform following the team’s miserable bowling effort at Nagpur.

Add to it, there was hardly a few days’ gap between the two Tests and there was plenty of pitch talk, pertaining to the grass on the wicket. Yet, when the moment arrived, Team India stood up to be counted.

The South Africans, who were ruthless in the opening Test, floundered with their batting after winning the toss, and it was just the window of opportunity India needed to comeback into the game.

Zaheer Khan, who unfortunately could not bowl much in the second essay, was brilliant in the first innings and set up the game nicely for India. He has had the knack of grabbing the big fishes, and did exactly that at the Eden Gardens.

For the other experienced bowler Harbhajan, it was almost like a do-or-die game. He hadn’t performed well in the recent past and was severely criticized in the media, some of it was fair and some rather derogatory.

But, the offie took things in this stride and answered the critics in the only way a cricketer can. He must thank his stars that he was playing at Eden Gardens, without doubt his favourite ground. Once he got a wicket, he was a different bowler altogether.

The manner in which he foxed Ashwell Prince and JP Duminy on the final morning reminded one of the carnage the Aussies were subjected to by the Turbanator at the same ground 9 years ago. Of course, he has lost a lot of the zip he possessed in those days, but if he can come up with more such performances, there is no reason why he still can’t remain India’s number one spinner.

Harbhajan’s lack of success has been attributed to the absence of Anil Kumble, who retired two seasons. While that’s a pretty fair assessment, the good news for him is that Amit Mishra proved he can be quite a potent weapon.

I am in no way comparing Mishra to the legendary leg spinner, but the delivery with which he took out Jacques Kallis was hint enough to suggest that he could be the next special thing in Indian cricket. That’s still a long way away though. For starters, he needs to maintain consistency over a reasonable period of time, and provide the requisite support to Harbhajan.

And while it wasn’t surprising that India put up an exceptional batting performance, they still need to be credited for it. After Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar played their part, India still could have been in trouble.

But, VVS Laxman demonstrated why he was so sorely missed at Nagpur. It was his and Dhoni’s ton that buried the Proteas. And though Hashim Alma and the tail kept India at bay till the closing moments, the magic of Eden had the final say.

There are plenty of lessons for India to learn from the debacle at Nagpur, none bigger than the fact that they shouldn’t pick unfit players in the side no matter how big a player is. As we all saw, there was talk that VVS Laxman could be drafted in at the last moment if fit.

However, it wasn’t to be and, as sheer bad luck would have it, stand by Rohit Sharma also twisted his ankle, moments before the game. It didn’t cost India the Test, but must have surely dented their psyche severely, as they had no option but to pick Wriddhiman Saha as the seventh batsman. India’s plans completely went for a toss and their performance in the Test reflected it.

Except for the initial half an hour, when Zaheer Khan struck two deadly blows, the Indian bowling look completely insipid. Nothing should be taken away from Hashim Amla, who batted brilliantly as well as Jacques Kallis, who proved that there is still enough fire in his belly to fight tough battles. However, there are no two ways about it that India could and should have definitely done better.

The bowling has been a worry for quite a while now for India and the signs are hardly encouraging. Zaheer Khan is the only quality bowler around, and he too is approaching the dangerous mid-30s. Ishant Sharma may have done well against Bangladesh, but against a quality opponent like South Africa, he was back to his insipid worst. The change in action hasn’t made an inch of difference. Ishant has to do some real soul-searching.

There was a time in Indian cricket was spinners used to run through the best of opponents at home. But, since the retirement of Anil Kumble things have definitely changed, and how. Everyone now seems tired of pointing out that Harbhajan Singh is not the same bowler he was in 2001. He has lost the zip and nip that made him such a force to reckon with.

One can of course give him the benefit of doubt saying, he bowled on the first two days of the Test when the pitch was at its best. However, the fact of the matter remains that such performances have become far too common for comfort from India’s point of view. Unfortunately, he is still the best spinner we have on offer. Speaking of Amit Mishra, he had an impressive debut against Australia, but has done precious little since. The leggie needs to prove sooner rather than later that it wasn’t a one-off.

Despite the disastrous batting performance, one would do well not to read too much into it. Gautam Gambhir’s failure was long overdue. Virender Sehwag could not carry on to make a big hundred and Sachin Tendulkar’s ton wasn’t enough. Also, one cannot replace legends like Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman overnight. The duo has led the Indian fight back on innumerable occasions and was sorely missed. Even so the youngsters need to be given some time to settle down into the scheme of things.

Amidst all the calamitous happenings, there were a few positives. Debutants S Badrinath and Saha did show some spunk, which augurs well for the future. Murali Vijay looked good, but yet again fell in his nervous 30s. At the end of the day, India may have lost embarrassingly, but it wasn’t a bad result considering the long-term targets of the team, as they unwittingly got a peek into the future.

Can India retain their numero uno status in test cricket? If so, for how long?

India got to number one by beating Sri Lanka. To be at the top of the Test level for long it is vital that all facets of the game are covered be it fielding, bowling or batting. Today, I will be doing a SWOT Analysis of the Indian cricket team which will tell us whether India are a long term number one or whether Australia and South Africa are coming back to take the top post away.

As Ian chapell famously said with India its not India who has taken the top post from Australia. Australia have come down to the level of India after having lost their great players—India haven’t pulled themselves too high.

S-Strengths—
Batting—India’s batting remains a huge plus for them. They seem to un-ending talent when it comes to the batting department. An example to this is how great players like Rahul Dravid and Sourav ganguly have been replaced with such ease at the ODI level. I don’t think any team could have coped with the loss of such great batsmen that easily. After laxman and Tendulkar India seem to have talent in young virat kohli, subramaniam badrinath, rohit Sharma and plenty others.

The batting department seems to be covered. Bowling- India’s only bowling strength seems to be Zaheer khan. He is the only bowler who seems to have done well in the past 18 months. Harbhajan who has been the other permanent feature in the line-up has under-performed which is a major concern for the Indian team.

W-Weaknesses
Bowling-
Harbhajan singh—Bhajji continues to be a worry for India. His performance after anil kumble’s retirement has gone down immensely. He hasn’t assumed the role of the main strike bowler as of yet and is a grave cause of concern for the 6 wise men (Selectors).
India’s lack in bowling depth—VVS Laxman recently mentioned in one of the papers that India doesn’t seem to have that kind of bench strength when it comes to the spin bowling department. Bench strength doesn’t mean the number of players it means the number of quality players. Hence India in spite of having lots of pace bowlers—barely one or two quality ones are to be seen.

Fielding-
India’s fielding is a worry. They have to pounce on to their catches and there is no athletic fielder in the Indian test ranks especially after Yuvraj seems to have given his belly some working. Perhaps that will be sorted once the seniors make way for the youngsters.

O-Opportunities
Bowling-
Since India have one of the longest bowling line up in the world clearly they can convert some of them into good ones. With BCCI (Board of control for cricket in India) being the richest cricket board in the world they can develop a lot of camps not just at state levels but also at the junior level which will help develop bowlers for the future and will stand in good stead for India in the future.

T- Threats
With cash rich leagues like the IPL and champions league coming in young talent could sway towards the money part of the game in order to support their families. Hence, it is vital for the Indian board i.e. the BCCI to take the required actions and prevent this from happening.

Another possible threat could be India could just over rely on their batting strength which would not develop their bowlers. We saw how Irfan Pathan started concentrating on his batting more than his bowling. The same seems to be happening to harbhajan Singh too.

If India indeed want to stay at the top level, especially with Australia slowly but surely coming back to full strength they would have their task cut out. The main challenge for India will come when they will tour South Africa, England and Australia especially without the likes of VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and the master himself Sachin Tendulkar.

Whether or not the young guns would be able to produce the goods under such un-friendly batting conditions is yet to be seen. But, as of now India need to work on their bowling skills. They need Ishant Sharma to get his rhythm back so that he gets his pace back. Once his pace his back to the mid 140’s the nip back in to the batsmen would be more effective. India cannot be too content with Harbhajan Singh. They need to use Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha a lot more in all forms of the game. Only once the pressure is there on harbhajan will he need to perform.

All good teams have wonderful fielding units; although India have a wonderful set of catchers; they need to make sure they need to improve their work in the outfield. However, the most important thing and the fact of the matter still remains that to stay at number one you need to win test matches all around the world and you won’t win test matches without taking 20 wickets too often, in other words you need quality bowlers to win you test matches.

It’s a clash of the two big titans—the two giants—the top two ranked teams in the world. South Africa and India clash at Nagpur in what is being termed the ‘world championship of cricket’. As we move into the series let’s have a look at which players to look out for and who’re the odds favouring.

South Africa

AB De Villiers: AB de Villiers did set the world on fire the last time he was here. He played beautifully all round the wicket and was one of the few batsmen on their debut tour to India to perform so well. He announced himself into world cricket with a very timely and aggressive century.

He’s been in pretty good knick in lead up to the series. He’s been getting pretty decent start but how would he love to convert one of ‘em into a century. He is a mainstay in the South African middle order along with Jacques Kallis and the proteas will be heavily reliant on the duo to provide some stability in the middle order. De Villiers is a brilliant fielder and must be kept an eye on—the man pulls out catches from absolute thin air.

Jacques Kallis: He has now turned 34 and with his medium pace is one of the best all rounder’s the game has ever seen. Kallis will be keen after a certain lay off and would love to grind (that’s the sort of character he is, isn’t he?) his way out of India with some runs and wickets under his belt. Now that he has returned to full fitness his bowling will come in handy for South Africa. With his slightly round arm action he should be a handful especially with the old ball where he would be able to reverse swing the ball in these conditions.

Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn: Steyn had a wonderful tour the last time he was here. Both Morkel and Steyn are more than capable of bowling a 150 kmph per hour and a swinging ball at that pace especially with a relatively inexperienced middle order (barring Sachin) against them. The Indian batsmen certainly do have their work cut out.

Morkel earlier mentioned that he would be looking to bowl a quite a few short ones considering the Indian batsmen problems with the bumpers. Steyn said “I’ve said many times before, a 150 or 145 km Yorker is absolutely no different whether you bowl it here in Nagpur, Chennai, Johannesburg, Perth. It’s the skill behind the delivery that is what counts at the end of the day”. The Indians would have to be wary of the duo see of the new ball and take it from there.

India

Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir: The duo are just over 200 runs short of becoming India’s most successful opening combination (in tests) statistically. Often in the recent past its been the opening pair of Sehwag and Gambhir that has given the middle order batsmen the platform to step upon. Their contribution is invaluable and they seem to complement each other pretty well with Sehwag being the aggressor. It wouldn’t be too surprising if they duo do have a good series (been the trend in the recent past) India should be in good stead to take the series from there.

Sachin Tendulkar: The more said about him the less it is. Sachin with his record has already made us expect from him. He being the senior man in the middle order with Dravid and laxman doubtful. He needs to shoulder the innings. The old man should do well and if he does so India goes with him.

Zaheer khan: He’s the only pace bowler who seems guaranteed of a place. His new ball bowling and more importantly his reverse swing will surely be one to deal with. If India has to win they need to come up with a very good bowling performance and if that has to happen Zaheer khan has to be at his best.

It’s India VS South Africa. Its world number 1 VS world number 2. It the clash of the champions—the world championship of cricket— promises to be an enthralling series.

The power play was introduced in mid 2005 when the 15 over field restrictions was done away with. The power play at its inception basically implied that in the first power play—(10 Overs) over-1 to 10 would have only two fielders outside the 30 yard circle. In the second and third power plays which the captain of the fielding side had the right to choose on when to take it. Each of 5 Overs. In the 2nd and the third power plays the captains were allowed a total of three fielders outside the 30 yard circle.

Recently, this rule has seen a change and that being the 3rd power play or also known as the batting power play is now in the hands of the batting side. The batsmen in the middle have a right to choose those set of 5 Overs anytime they wish to in the innings barring the first set of 10 Overs.

Although the batting power play was made so that it gives an edge to the batsman (not the first thing in favour of ‘em and be rest assured not the last). However, since its inception it’s only been working against the batsmen. Often in the punt to hit ‘em out of the ground; batsmen seem to lose their wickets which sets the tone for the remaining Overs. New batsmen come in and take their time to settle in and a look at the score board——whoosh! The power play is gone!

It is misunderstood that the power play should be taken when the team’s best batsmen are out in the middle. No, it should be taken when two batsmen are going well especially if one of ‘em is a big hitter. So that’s what should be done ideally speaking. However, that doesn’t tend to happen.

Most team keep the batting power play right until the end when they have ‘not much to lose’ i.e. even if the batting power play goes not as per plan it wouldn’t have a major effect on the eventual score. In other words it basically means under reliance on the power play or what critics would call ‘under utilization of the power play’.

What seems to baffle me is that if the batsmen are going to hell for leather in the last ten Overs whatever be the case then why waste the batting power play in that situation. It is all together a different matter if a team is 7 down by the 35th over and decides to keep the batting power play aside. However, that too could be a cause of concern as if less number of wickets have fallen that obviously means that a better batsman is at the crease and hence he will be able to make better use of the batting power play.

Hence, I would say that in most cases especially if wickets are in hand it is best that the batting power play is taken between the 35th and 40th over as there is a mandatory ball change in the 35th over in the innings. This will be a newer harder and more visible ball which would help the ball come on to the bat and could also be sighted with ease.

For a man who has it all….Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar, a definition could be found by his name on google perhaps. The only reason why it’s been missing all these years is perhaps because the greatness of this man cannot be defined. He is called the legend, he is called the master blaster, he is called the little master, he is called the GOD! And these tags have been associated with him right throughout his career.

Tendulkar was a prodigy right from his school days. He helped his school, Sharadashram Vidyamandir win many titles both as captain and player. Many greats, especially Dennis Lillee had predicted that Tendulkar would play for India, at the time when he was as young as 14. In two years, he made his debut for India against Pakistan.

The greatness of the boy was seen when he batted continuously in a Test despite being hit on the jaw by a snorter from Waqar Younis. Pakistan’s intimidating bowling attack at the time didn’t affect him one bit as he took up the challenge and transformed from a boy to a man. His average of 35 in his first series was modest but many saw Tendulkar as one man to watch out for in the future. Even in the one-dayers, he impressed by hitting Abdul Qadir for 28 runs in an over in one of the matches.
His diminutive height didn’t get the better of him as his stature as India’s top batsman in test cricket in three years of his career was confirmed. All his innings were worthy and the best one could ever see, from the match-saving 117 not out at Manchester to 114 at Perth on one of the world’s fastest wickets against a strong Australian attack.

However, his one-day form wasn’t impressive as he scored his first century against Australia in Colombo in 1994 in what was his 79th ODI. In the same year, Tendulkar changed India’s fortunes in the one-day game as he hit a quick-fire 84 against New Zealand in Auckland as a make-shift opener. Ever since then, Sachin Tendulkar has been the first-choice opening batsman for many Indian captains and has escalated in this format of the game.

Due to his stature in world cricket rising by the day, Tendulkar signed a contract with the world’s largest sports management group World Sports Management (WSM) in 1995, making him the world’s richest cricketer in the process. In 1996, the World Cup was a landmark in his career. He not only ended as the tournament’s highest run-getter, but also helped India reach the semi-finals by playing some responsible innings. He was rewarded in the same year, as he became Indian captain for the first time in his career after Mohd. Azharuddin was removed from the team. Perhaps, the only blot in his career till date is that he wasn’t able to lead India to many victories as a skipper. Yet, his clean image was apt to make him a global icon who represents India and by far the most respected cricketer in the world.

When it comes to duels against top players in world cricket, Tendulkar has always won. Whether it was against Brian Lara in 1995 or Shane Warne in 1998. At a time when both the players were in their prime. Tendulkar’s mind-set and preparation is also remarkable against teams which have some of the world’s best players. For example, days before the Australia series in 1998, Tendulkar practiced in Chennai with Dennis Lillee and former Indian leg-spinner L Sivaramakrishnan.

He asked Sivaramakrishnan to bowl him balls on a spot outside the leg-stump through which Shane Warne got a lot of turn. He practiced hard and reduced Australia’s morale by hammering a double-century for Mumbai in a warm-up match. This had an impact on the entire Test series as India went on to win 2-1, with Tendulkar winning the duel against Warne comfortably and was the top run scorer amongst both the teams. Hailing his heroics, Mark Taylor, the Australian captain said “We didn’t lose to a team called India. We lost to a man called Sachin Tendulkar.” Clearly, the man’s aura was at its peak.

Burying the ghosts of 1997 as Indian captain even as he was adjudged the Wisden Cricketer of the Year, 1998 was the year when Tendulkar proved he had the Midas touch. Following the win against Australia in tests at home, India was to face the same opponents in a tri-series in Sharjah which also involved New Zealand. The series was remembered for Tendulkar’s brilliant knocks against Australia. His 143 in the knock-out round may have not won India the match, but it definitely helped India qualify for the final on the basis of net run rate. And could it get any better.

The final was on his 25th birthday. And his birthday gift was an Indian victory thanks to his wonderful knock of 134. At the end of the match, Warne himself came up to Tendulkar, taking his autograph, showing immense respect he had for him. The icing on the cake was that Sir Don Bradman, unarguably the best batsman ever seen in world cricket, also confided to his wife that Tendulkar batted similarly as he did. The ultimate tribute to a legend coming from a legend! Followed by which Tendulkar’s confidence rose as he helped India win the tri-series involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe yet again in the desert state of Sharjah. The first ICC Champions Trophy was lit up by Tendulkar’s match-winning all-round performance against Australia, yet again! As India reached the semifinals of the tournament. Indian cricket was on a role just as Tendulkar!

However, 1999 was a testing year for him as the home series against Pakistan was a grueling one. In the first test at Chennai, Tendulkar batted brilliantly as India needed 252 to win in the second innings on a tough wicket. He scored another hundred but at one point of the innings, he felt cramps. He batted in pain but it was in vain as he was declared out of the bowling of Saqlain Mushtaq, by far Pakistan’s Shane Warne and India went on to lose by a narrow 15 runs. Was excessive cricket finally catching up with the master? Well, not yet.

Tendulkar didn’t play in some matches prior to the World Cup as he was rested. But he was declared fit for the big event in England. It was then that catastrophe struck. His father Ramesh Tendulkar died of a heart attack and he had to leave the team mid-tournament to attend his funeral. However, the true champion he is, Tendulkar returned and missed just two matches. This event showed Tendulkar’s calmness and fight-back qualities as he struck a memorable 140 not out against Kenya and gave India a chance to enter the Super Sixes. Without Tendulkar, India lost to a minor team like Zimbabwe. So, there is no India when there is no Tendulkar. Such was his impact on the team.

The second half of 1999 was when Tendulkar returned as Indian captain following an injury to Azharuddin. He helped India win against New Zealand at home. The series was unforgettable for him not just as captain but also as player as he smashed his first double-hundred in test cricket. Surprising, for a player of his class. In addition, Tendulkar hit his highest one-day score of 186 not out in Hyderabad. However, the pressure of captaincy returned to haunt Tendulkar as India failed in Australia whitewashed 3-0 and he didn’t have a good run with the bat, despite a fighting century at Melbourne.

No amends were made in the tri-series to follow as India nearly lost all of their matches, setting up an Australia-Pakistan final. This was perhaps his worst tour in his career as right after the series; he resigned from captaincy in the one-day game. It was a good decision in the eyes of many as Tendulkar once again never thought of himself and secondly it was the right opportunity for a new and possibly young captain to lead India. Tendulkar was forced to lead in the Tests and India were whitewashed 2-0 by Hansie Cronje’s South Africa, therefore being the first captain since Kapil Dev to lose a home series.

However, the one-dayers against South Africa were essential in revitalizing Tendulkar as there were glimpses of him returning to his best, without captaincy playing in his mind.

But just as things were going right for him and India, the match-fixing controversy arose. Tendulkar was also questioned as a part of the investigation done by the CBI, but no fingers pointed at him. His squeaky clean image never made one feel that Tendulkar would betray his country. He also played a major role in saving Indian cricket at the time, when he assured that most players in the team were innocent.

The man truly represents India! Even off the field, he stands up for his team-mates when it is needed the most. As the controversy died down, Indian cricket took a U-turn. Tendulkar clearly was in the right frame of mind as he plundered runs against Zimbabwe and in the second ICC Champions Trophy in Kenya where India reached the finals under Sourav Ganguly. Ganguly’s captaincy was giving Tendulkar the freedom to bat.

Then came the greatest series of them all! India beat Australia at home in 2001 with Sachin playing at his best in the decider at Chennai, his favorite ground! The mammoth innings of 155 assured India a 2 wicket victory. However, sometimes his bowling too can come in handy. The Kolkata Test might have been known for Laxman’s and Dravid’s exploits but it was Tendulkar’s three scalps of Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne which made India win. Tendulkar’s contributions also helped India win Tests in Zimbabwe for the first time away from home since 1986. He is truly India’s match-winner! It was good that India started winning away from home.

However, Tendulkar’s image within India was bought out in the South Africa and England series in the end of the year. In South Africa, Tendulkar was banned by the match referee Mike Dennis for ball-tampering. This led to huge riots in India and this issue was even raised in the Indian Parliament! Tendulkar had full support of the BCCI, which resulting in the ICC revoking the ban. Whereas, in the home series against England, Tendulkar proved why he is the ‘God’ of world cricket.

Nasser Hussain, the England captain set negative fields to curb Sachin’s run-making. Yet, Tendulkar remained calm and patient and scored heavily to make sure India win 1-0 and not lose a home series for the second time in two years. Hussain himself admitted ‘We couldn’t get Tendulkar out by conventional fields.’ It is a fitting tribute to his batting, even as good as Bradman’s.

His discipline undoubtedly is unmatched with any other player. This discipline made him play well in the West Indies and England as India lost in the West Indies after winning a Test. In England, he was in sparkling form. In the series, he scored his 29th Test hundred, thereby equaling the man who praised him the most, Sir Don Bradman. He clearly was the bulwark of Indian batting alongside Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, forming the ‘Fab four’. And expectedly, he went past Bradman in the home series against the Windies by scoring 176 not out at Kolkata as he saved India from the jaws of defeat. 2002 was a relatively good year for him in the one-day game as he struck hundreds in England which helped India win the Natwest tri-series as well as India shared the ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, even if he was demoted to No.4.

2003 started off badly but by far was one of the best years of his career. He got injured in New Zealand and flopped in the matches he played. In the World Cup in South Africa, India lost in the warm-up match to a local team. They won against Holland but not so convincingly and were thrashed by Australia in the first round. This obviously led to riots as in India, cricket is a religion. But Tendulkar spoke up for the nation and in one of his most moving speeches apologized to the nation on behalf of the team and promised that they will give their best till the last ball is bowled.

When Tendulkar speaks, everyone listens. And he and the team lived up to their promise. Tendulkar bettered his 1996 World Cup performance of 523 runs by scoring 647 runs in 2003 and playing thrilling knocks against Namibia, Zimbabwe, England, Sri Lanka and more importantly the famous 98 against Pakistan in Centurion. The three sixes that he hit of Shoaib Akhtar’s first over nearly sealed India’s victory. The manner in which he scored showed that his hunger for runs never diminished even if he turned 30 after playing for almost 15 years. He was clearly India’s senior statesman.

Indian cricket reached new heights in 2003 as they leveled the series in Australia with Tendulkar scoring 241 at Sydney after a lean run to assure India a drawn series. In 2004, India beat Pakistan for the firsttime ever in Pakistan in both Tests and ODIS. In the ODIS, Tendulkar scored with the bat but his fielding played a crucial role in winning the ODIS. The catch he took of Inzamam-ul-Haq’s bullet-like hit at long-on was a delight.

In Tests as well, his 194 at Multan increased India’s morale of winning the Test series. However, fitness taught up with Tendulkar, like in 2001 as he suffered from tennis elbow which prohibited him from taking part in the ICC Champions Trophy as well as warm-up matches in England and Holland. India performed badly losing to Pakistan and England. Then the worst happened. A loss to Australia, the world champions in the Test series at home. Tendulkar missed the first two tests due to the injury but he made his mark at Mumbai, his hometown by scoring a modest 55 on a turning and treacherous track as he helped India win atleast one Test, as the series ended 2-1 in Australia’s favour. India certainly can’t do without Tendulkar.

Tendulkar being fit enough scored his highest Test score of 248 against Bangladesh in Dhaka, in the process, equaling Sunil Gavaskar’s record of 34 Test hundreds.

That record too was broken but only next year in the home series against Sri Lanka when he scored a memorable but tough 105 in Delhi. That was Tendulkar’s sole highlight performance of 2005. It wasn’t a great year for him as he missed the summer of 2005 as well due to the elbow injury occurring again. Though he made a decent comeback against Sri Lanka in the ODIS in October at home. He had a modest run against South Africa and Pakistan. And worse, he was booed by his home crowd in Mumbai in a test match against England in March 2006 after he scored only 1 run of 21 balls. Was the great man’s career coming to an end? Has the great man’s aura diminished? Has 17 years of cricket finally taken a toll on his body?, were some of the many questions discussed in the world of cricket.

The fears were coming true as Tendulkar’s run in 2006 too wasn’t decent except one ODI century against West Indies in Malaysia on his yet another comeback. And the ICC Champions Trophy at home or the series against South Africa away didn’t help his cause greatly. India’s chances for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean were optimistic as many hoped that Tendulkar would be India’s savior like he was in 1996 and 2003. However, the highest run-getter in World Cup history scored only 60 runs in three games of the tournament as India crashed out infamously in the first round, losing to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Ian Chappell, Tendulkar’s biggest critic called for his retirement like many others.

But Tendulkar would never give up when it comes to playing for India. He loves his game and enjoys pressure. He took the challenge and made the rest of 2007 memorable by being one of the top run-getters of the calendar year. And India won the test series in Bangladesh and England as well as winning a Test in Australia. This Australian tour was marred by controversies but Tendulkar’s word assured that Harbhajan Singh, who was accused of making racist comments towards Andrew Symonds was innocent.

In the final of the one-dayers, Tendulkar hit two blazing knocks of 112 and 91 reminding many of the 1998 Sharjah finals. Sachin after a wonderful series in Australia unfortunately couldn’t replicate his performance in the asia cup. When Australia came back to India in 2008 he glided the ball to third man of debutant peter siddle and broke Brian Lara’s record in test cricket at Mohali. Tendulkar helped India regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and his superb run against the world champions of his era continued. England too came to India and his quick-fire innings helped India take a clean sweep in the ODIS as well as win the Test Series 1-0.

Tendulkar’s love for Chennai continues when he hit a match-winning century in the second innings chasing 387. He dedicated this knock especially to the Indian commoner who is always threatened by terrorism, especially after the Mumbai attacks on 26/11.
India hasn’t been successful in New Zealand, but with Tendulkar’s hundred at Christchurch helped India win the ODIS 3-1. However, India created history by winning 1-0 in 3 Tests as Tendulkar scored a match-winning hundred. He had then gone past 40 Test hundreds and seemed to go ahead of his closest rival, Ricky Ponting by far. 2009 was an inactive year for Tendulkar as he rested for a number of games. But the recent 175 against Australia in Hyderabad clearly showed the vintage Tendulkar! He crossed 17000 runs in the ODIS. The records continue to belong to Tendulkar. Who can fill the man’s big boots?

Tendulkar is India. What is India’s future without him and who can ever fill in his big boots?
Tendulkar has achieved everything in his life and has broken almost every record made for the batsman. If something is left that he would want to achieve then that would be the world cup (2011) for India. The man has brought India glory—just the one thing missing in his cabinet—and that’s the world cup. Similar to ponting (fitting for him to win an ashes in England in 2013 and then retire); it would only be fitting if Sachin Tendulkar lifts the world cup in Indian colours front of his home crowd at the wankhede stadium in Mumbai.

And the rest as they say is unsaid. The great man lives on…