Mark Nicholas: Tendulkar, David to a thousand Goliaths |
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Neither prose nor poetry, neither words nor silence,neither applause nor criticism,neither God nor mortal,neither pen nor sword...can ever do justice to even show a candle to the achievements of the one and only Sachin in the global context - not just as a cricketer,but as a team mate, a father,a husband, a son of the soil,an icon of the post independence India ,a symbol of all that is good in life - of hope amidst despair, of humility amidst arrogance, of dedication amidst disloyalty, of commitment amidst apathy, of hard work amidst lethargy..,the list is a mile long. Both the articles of Mark Nicholas and Ed Smith on SRT choke the throat and moist the eyes - they have mirrored what India and Indians world over are experiencing as Sachin takes guard on a cricket pitch for one last time - never in past nor ever in future will a single individual such as him ever bind together a nation of billion people. A million salutes,little Master - life as we know will never be same again.
Wonderful is an understatement Mark.. Take a bow. Your prose is as eloquent as the free flowing straight drive of the Little Master whom you have written about. One more aspect that needs mention is the innings he played in the World cup match in 1999 against Kenya. For a person who has traveled, for attending the funeral of his father, from England to India and back (in less than a week) and scoring a 100 on his return against Kenya is a great testimonial to the many great qualities that made him what he is today. His dedication, determination and more importantly his SENSE OF PURPOSE is truly extraordinary. There is a lot to learn from him. Skills are sometimes natural and sometimes gained by practice but if I were to give my kids advice on the aspects they need to inculcate I would advice them to look at all the qualities barring the cricket skills of Sachin. Even then one would surely end up as a wonderful person...
In your list of "unarguably great batsmen", why doesn't Rahul Dravid feature? IMO, his game was pure grit and determination.
Indeed Mark,Cricket will be 'SACH' a less game without the God.. Part of cricket retires with him.. I still remember my first bat presented to me by my father havin the words 'TENDULKAR' inscribed on the back of my bat..Still remember geting out on the first ball and throwing it in dismay..That day was unforgetful as i could only watch being abused n teased by my friends for throwing(Still fresh in my minds).It was around the year 1996.At that time Sachin was considered one of the greats.He had captured the minds,tastes ans styles of the entire nation.Yet,after his retirement which we are still finding it difficult to come to terms to,will not play again ever.Anyways cricket or any sport is not below any one else. People come and go but his name will be echoed whenever we think of the staright drives,the ferocious upper cuts n but ofcourse the scenic leg lance.(My personal favourite).Thanks Sachin Tendulkar for the memories n the moments you hav bestowed upon us.We love you. #GOD.
Thanks - Mark - for a very neat article - Its as good as straight drive from Tendulkar's bat or a bowler's backfoot drive as some of the commentators describe HR Gopala Krishna - Cricket Statistician - Bangalore - India
Hi Mark,nice article about a player who because of his distinct qualities,his game,the burden that he carried through all these years on those rather small shoulders,has been converted into God.To me,he was the God,who has come a long way from my school days when I used to be a kid ,to now when I myself has become a father.I saw the highs,the lows but never stopped following him.I never will.His farewell speech told us all one thing that God too his human.He too have a family,emotions and above all a greater responsibility to serve the nation through his game.The cricket without him would never be the same.It may see other players breaking his records,the book of statistics may be rewritten.But it'll never ever recreate the magic created at the time when the God used to bat & run between the 22 yards.Thank you and well done Sachin.
What a great article. A great humanly article for a great human being.
Good article Mark. Matched by excellent comments by Nilesh which basically sums up the unexpressable thoughts of Indian cricket lovers. Such outpouring of emotions are seldom seen in the last 4-5 decades. I am still unable to define what Sachin Tendulkar means to me. He along with the Indian cricket team have been my constant companions in life; from my boyhood to teens, adult age to being a father myself now. Like many I have watched him bat whether its daytime, night time, exam time, work time or any time..
You missed Sachin bowling medium pace to get the last wicket to tie an ODI :)
Great article Mark, I do follow all your articles on cricinfo, very thought provoking and straight forward. Though I am great fan of King Viv & Azhar, later days it was Ganguly/Dravid/Laxman/Greame Smith and Kallis, but Tendulkar is kind of everyone's favorite because of the consistency. People talk about match winning knocks at critical times, but why do people forget about who took us till the end? Tendulkar is a legend born once in a life time. Gavaskar rightly pointed out that you should not compare batsmen of different era's. But undoubtedly Tendulkar is one of the greatest batsmen to play this game. Salute to the little master.
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