Sachin Tendulkar - "The God Of Cricket"-forever

"SACHIN"- THE GOD OF CRICKET

If one were to ask what is Indian Cricket Team’s most prized possession, the answer would be unanimous – Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. But he is not just Indian team’s most prized possession. He’s also Cricket's most prized possession.

And now, with the completion of his 100th international ton, he has gifted the world of cricket, and cricket lovers, a moment to cherish for an entire lifetime. It will be impossible to see any other cricketer achieve such a feat ever. This is exactly what separates Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar from other 'cricketers'.

The man has been playing astounding cricket for the last two decades and is still nothing short of a blitzkrieg! He refuses to age or get less aggressive with time. Still a bowler’s worst nightmare (bowlers like Shane Warne and Glen McGrath stand in testimony to this); Sachin is also known for his sportsmanship and gentlemanliness.

He has emerged as a source of inspiration to crores of Indians exhorting them to rise above mediocrity and can single-handedly elevate the mood of the nation.

Can Sachin Tendulkar Walk on Water?

Not difficult to make his fans believe that Sachin can walk on water who might also probably believe that he has X-Ray vision and can stop trains. The man has been elevated to a Godly status in India and his worshippers can be found almost everywhere.

Born in Mumbai to Ramesh Tendulkar, a novelist and Rajni Tendulkar, who worked in the insurance sector Tendulkar was soon identified as a cricket prodigy. It didn’t take him much time to embark on his cricketing journey and he became a mentee of Ramakant Achrekar in his early years. There’s an interesting incident from his kid-years: When he was young, Tendulkar would practice for hours on end in the nets. If he became exhausted, Achrekar would put a one-Rupee-coin on the top of the stumps, and the bowler who dismissed Tendulkar would get the coin. If Tendulkar passed the whole session without getting dismissed, the coach would give him the coin. Young Sachin got thirteen Re 1 coins from his coach and he considers them his most prized possession.

Tendulkar started to make his presence felt as he touched teenage. He was being talked about in the Mumbai cricketing circles. Many started predicting that the boy would be the next big thing in cricket. There’s a legend which goes around that Sachin would make bowlers shed tears while he played for his school, as he would refuse to get out.

The world came to know about Sachin in 1989 when a 16-year old ‘genius-in-making’ put on his batting gloves for his first international test match.

Despite a humble start in his first two series (against Pakistan and New Zealand respectively) he hit first test ton against England in 1990 (119 not out) and then there was no looking back. The little genius now has a plethora of records in his kitty; some are the ones which other players can only dream of achieving.

Sachin, Lord Rama of the world of Cricket.

As Lord Rama is to his devotees, Sachin is so to his fans. He’s taken to be an embodiment of righteousness in cricket. Known for his high personal integrity and honesty, every time he ‘walks’, it becomes ‘A Walk to Remember’.

Even though it took him 70 ODIs to get his first century in the limited-overs edition of the game, Sachin is just a hundred short from making a ‘century of the centuries’ in the International cricket (tests and ODIs combined). Sachin’s most memorable ODI inning (which is also the most memorable inning in the history of ODI cricket) came against South Africa.

The master scored an unbeaten 200 on 147 off 147 balls and Indian went on to maul the Proteas by 153 runs. Sachin’s greatness touched new heights and so did his humility.

One can safely assume that Sachin is the greatest batsmen to have ever walked on this planet.

Over the course of time it has been Tendulkar's rare combination of mastery and bravado that has enchanted aficionados and crowds alike. One of the most striking aspects of the master is his hunger for more. He has achieved numerous milestones in his journey but every time he makes a record he starts focusing on reaching the next level.

The master batsman has had his share of rough form. Several injuries have dotted his career line. Critics committed the misdemeanour of wiritng him off. But he remained undeterred. Like a true gentleman he let his action speak louder than his words. The way he regains his form has gagged the critics on several occasions. One can only marvel how he continues to march on against all odds.

Critics and media have tried hard to find skeletons in his cupboard only to fail miserably. Tendulkar is a man of impeccable integrity and would always be one. Few can match his off-the-field stature, let alone his on-the-field stature. A mere request from him on Twitter could generate Rs 1 crore for the ‘Crusade Against Cancer’ foundation he is associated with. For his fans (the number runs into millions and they don’t give a damn about the critics and the media), he’s a demi-god, a colossal figure capable of pulling of miracles.

Sachin is known to live a cagey life due to the cult following he has attained. He is known to put on disguises to move about on streets, drive his cars in the dead of the night for the fear of a crowd following him like mad and take his family to Iceland for holidaying. As Peter Roebuck observes, “The runs, the majesty, the thrills, do not capture his achievement. Reflect upon his circumstances and then marvel at his feat. He is a person whose entire adult life has been lived in the eye of a storm."

There’s something singularly special in the master blaster. Beneath the helmet, under the disorderly curly hair, inside the skull, there’s something beyond our interpretation. There’s something which enables him to rise and shine above others and reach those territories of the sport that, forget us, even those fortunate enough to play on the same pitch as him cannot even fathom. The man is the embodiment of endurance and true grit.

We fail to fully decipher his recipe for success. We can’t figure out how a 37-year old cricketer stays at the top of the game for 20 years and continues to be a bowler's worst nightmare. All we know that he is a man who pulls off a jaw-dropping feat every now and then.

Sachin Tendulkar 200*(147 balls) - World's First to reach Double Ton in ODI -Watch the clip

RECORDS:

1. Highest run getter in Test matches (15,470 as on 24 August 2012).
2. Highest run getter in ODIs (18,426 as on 24 August 2012).
3. Most number of centuries in Test matches - 51.
4. # Most number of centuries in ODIs - 49.
5. Most number of man of the match awards (62) in the ODIs.
6. Most number of man of the series awards (17) in ODIs.
7. Best average for man of the matches in ODIs.
8. First cricketer to reach 10000 runs in the ODIs.
9. First cricketer to reach 15000 runs in the ODIs.
10. He is the highest run scorer in World Cups (2,278 at an average of 56.95 as on 2 April 2011)
11. Most number of the man of the match awards in World cups.
12. Most number of runs in the 1996 World cup - 523 runs at an average of 87.16.
13. Most number of runs in the 2003 World cup - 673 runs in 2003 Cricket World Cup, highest by any player in a single Cricket World Cup.
14. He was the Player of the World Cup Tournament in the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
15. Most number of Fifties in ODI's - 96.
16. Appeared in most number of tests - 188.
17. Appeared in most number of ODIs - 463.
18. First player to score 200 runs in an ODI.
19. He is the only player to be in top 10 ICC Batsmen ranking for 10 years in Tests.
20. He is one of the six batsmen to surpass 11,000 runs in Test cricket, and the first Indian to do so.
21. He was the first cricketer to receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India's highest sporting honor only to be followed by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
22. In 2002, Wisden rated him as the second greatest Test batsman after Sir Donald Bradman.
23. In 2003, Wisden rated Tendulkar as the No. 1 and Richards at No. 2 in all time Greatest ODI players.
24. He was involved in unbroken 664-run partnership in a Harris Shield game in 1988 with friend and team mate Vinod Kambli.
25. Tendulkar is the only player to score a century in all three of his Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy debuts.
26. In 1992, at the age of 19, Tendulkar became the first overseas born player to represent Yorkshire.
27. Tendulkar has been granted the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and Padma Shri by Indian government. He is the only Indian cricketer to get all of them.
28. Tendulkar has scored over 1000 runs in a calendar year in ODIs 7 times.
29. Tendulkar has scored 1894 runs in calendar year in ODIs most by any batsman.
30. He has the least percentage of the man of the matches awards won when team loses a match in ODIs. Out of his 62 man of the match awards only 5 times India has lost.
31. Tendulkar most number man of match awards (10) against Australia.
32. In August 2003, Sachin Tendulkar was voted as the "Greatest Sportsman" of the country in the sport personalities category in the Best of India poll conducted by Zee News.
33. In November 2006, Time magazine named Tendulkar as one of the Asian Heroes.
34. The current India Poised campaign run by The Times of India has nominated him as the Face of New India next to the likes of Amartya Sen and Mahatma Gandhi among others.
35. Tendulkar was the first batsman to score over 50 centuries in international cricket.
36. Tendulkar was the first batsman to score over 75 centuries in international cricket.
37. Has the most overall runs in cricket, (ODIs+Tests+Twenty20s), as of August 2012 he had accumulated almost 33,906 runs overall.
38. Sachin Tendulkar with Sourav Ganguly hold the world record for the maximum number of runs scored by the opening partnership. They have put together 6,271 runs in 128 matches
39. The 22 century partnerships for opening pair with Sourav Ganguly is a world record.
40. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid hold the world record for the highest partnership in ODI matches when they scored 331 runs against New Zealand in 1999
41. Sachin Tendulkar has been involved in six 200 run partnerships in ODI matches - a record that he shares with Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid
42. Most ODI Centuries in a calendar year: 9 centuries in 1998.
43. Only player to have over 100 innings of 50+ runs (49 Centuries and 96 Fifties)(as of 07th March, 2012)
44. The only player ever to cross the 14,000 and 15,000 run marks IN ODI.
45. Second highest individual score among Indian batsmen (200* against South Africa at Gwalior in 2011).
46. The score of 200* is the second highest score recorded in ODI matches
47. Tendulkar has scored over 1000 ODI runs against all major Cricketing nations.
48. Sachin was the fastest to reach 10,000 runs taking 259 innings and has the highest batting average among batsmen with over 10,000 ODI runs
49. Most number of Stadium Appearances: 90 different Grounds
50. Consecutive ODI Appearances: 185
51. On his debut, Sachin Tendulkar was the second youngest debutant in the world
52. When Tendulkar scored his maiden century in 1990, he was the second youngest to score a century
53. Tendulkar's record of five test centuries before he turned 20 is a current world record
54. Tendulkar holds the current record (217 against NZ in 1999/00 Season) for the highest score in Test cricket by an Indian when captaining the side
55. Tendulkar has scored centuries against all test playing nations.[7] He was the third batman to achieve the distinction after Steve Waugh and Gary Kirsten.
56. Tendulkar has 4 seasons in test cricket with 1000 or more runs - 2002 (1392 runs), 1999 (1088 runs), 2001 (1003 runs) and 1997 (1000 runs).[6] Gavaskar is the only other Indian with four seasons of 1000+ runs
57. He is second most number of seasons with over 1000 runs in world.
58. On 3 January 2007 Sachin Tendulkar (5751) edged past Brian Lara's (5736) world record of runs scored in Tests away from home.
59. Tendulkar and Brian Lara are the fastest to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket history. Both of them achieved this in 195 innings.
60. Second Indian after Sunil Gavaskar to make over 10,000 runs in Test matches.
61. Became the first Indian to surpass the 11,000 Test run mark and the third overall.
62. First to score 30,000 international runs.
63. Tendulkar's 33,906 runs in international cricket include 18,426 runs in ODIs, 15,470 Tests runs and 10 runs in the lone Twenty20 that India has played.
64. On December 10, 2005, Tendulkar made his 35th century in Tests at Delhi against Sri Lanka . He surpassed Sunil Gavaskar's record of 34 centuries to become the man with the most number of hundreds in Test cricket.
65. Tendulkar is the only player who has 150 wickets and more than 15,000 runs in ODIs.
66. Tendulkar is the first batsman in history to score 100 centuries in international cricket.

Combined (ODI & Test) records

• First batsman in history to score 100 centuries in international cricket. He now has 100 Centuries (51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs), which is the record for the highest number of centuries in international cricket.
• First batsman in history to complete 33,000 runs in (ODIs+Tests). He has now scored 33906 runs [ODI(18426)+Test(15470)+T20(10)].
• Most overall runs in international cricket, (ODIs+Tests+Twenty20s), with 33,000 + runs overall ( in Tests, in ODIs).
• Record of getting out the maximum number of times in the 90s in international matches. He has been dismissed 27 times (17 in ODIs and 10 in Tests) on scores of 90-99. The 18 nineties (dismissed 17 times and not out once) in ODIs are an ODI record too.

Retired From ODI on December 23 2012