Truly said Cricket is the religion and Sachin is god. They way Sachin batted yesterday against Kolkata Knightriders, I guess all the speculations about he is past his prime have subsided. Media, Fans, Bloggers and everyone else even having slightest of interest in the game have been showering praises on him.
That majestic pull against Ishant for six, reminding of something similar against Andy Caddick in WC 2003 and the towering six of Mendis which went outside the stadium, making the mystery spinner forget all this tweaks and turns were pure vintage tendulkar, class apart.
Had read an article a few months back by Peter Rebouck on cricinfo, about how cricket will never be the same when he quits the game. Cricket is religion in India just because Tendulkar comes out to bat. There have been Dravids and Gangulys in Indian cricket but no one has been able to match the aura of the god. He is the man who unites this deeply divided country. When he is batting, no1 cares who is around, we are all Indians. At common places you can easily observe the difference in attendance when he is batting and he is out.
If you are a cricket fan I bet your ultimate desire is India winning the world cup with Tendulkar playing a majestic inning. When he retires there will be Dhonis, Sehwags and Yuvrajs but I doubt I have seen someone in this younger generation who can fill his boots. For fans like me, for whom cricket matters because Tendulkar playes this game, cricket will never be the same once he quits. I agree people will move on but the little master padding up and coming out to bat will be missed by all. The cricketing world will be overwhelmed when he quits and world will see a
farewell which no1 has ever seen.
I came across a very interesting post on Facebook, a collection of comments people have made about Sachin Tendulkar. I have copied it here for you guys.
PS: Offcourse this misses the legendary one form The Don himself "He bats like me"
@Hashim Amla:
"Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with SachinTendulkar on it."
Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a
flight
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@yaseer hameed:
"Sometimes you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid
and Sachin Tendulkar that you lose focus on your job."
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"To Sachin, the man we all want to be"
- What Andrew Symonds wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed
specially for Sachin
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Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium,
there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure.
Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us,
even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom.
When he goes out to bat, people switch on their TV sets and switch off their
lives "
BBC on Sachin
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But the finest compliment must be that bookmakers would not fix the odds
or a game - until Tendulkar was out.
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"Tuzhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai?" Wasim Akram to Abdul
Razzaq when the latter dropped Sachin's catch.
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@Brian Charles Lara again
Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal.
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"We did not lose to a team called India...we lost to a man called
Sachin" -
Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)
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@M. L. Jaisimha:
"The more I see of him the more confused I'm getting to which is his
best knock."
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@McGrath:
"The joy he brings to the millions of his countrymen, the grace with
which he handles all the adulation and the expectations and his innate
humility - all make for a one-in-a-billion individual,"
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@Wife Anjali:
"I can be hundred per cent sure that Sachin will not play for a minute
longer when he is not enjoying himself. He is still so eager to go out
there and play. He will play as long as he feels he can play,"
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@ HAYDEN -
"I HAVE SEEN GOD, HE BATS AT NO.4 FOR INDIA"
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"Even my father's name is Sachin Tendulkar."
Tendulkar's daughter, Sara, tells her class her father's name after the
teacher informs them of a restaurant of the same name in Mumbai
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KUMBLE : I am fortunate that I've to bowl at him only in the nets!
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@ Shahrukh Khan -
quoting Shahrukh from an interview
Que: Who do you think as most important celebrity ?
Shahrukh: There was a big party where stars from bollywood and cricket
were invited. Suddenly, there was a big noise, all wanted to see approaching
Amitabh Bachhan.
Then Sachin entered the hall and Amitabh was leading the queue to get a
grab of the GENIUS!!
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@Navjot Singh Sidhu:
India me aap PrimeMinister ko ek Baar Katghare me khada kar sakte
hain..Par Sachin Tendulkar par Ungli nahi utha Sakte..
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@waqar younis:
He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also .
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A banner once said-' I WILL SEE GOD WHEN I DIE BUT TILL THEN I WILL SEE
SACHIN ' that quiet defines Sachin-The greatest.
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Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has
many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over
the world -- Allan Donald
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And i remember reading in one of Allan Donald's interview. This
interview was in Cricket Talk and 7-8 yrs ago.
I was bowling to Sachin and he hit me for two fours in a row. One from
point and the other in between point and gully. That was the last two balls of the over and
the over after that we (SA) took a wicket and during the group meeting i told Jonty (Rhodes)
to be alert and i know a way to pin Sachin. And i delivered the first ball of my next over
and it was a fuller length delevery outside offstump. And i shouted catch. To my
astonishment the ball was hit to the cover boundary. Such was the brilliance of Sachin. His
reflex time is the best i have ever seen. Its like 1/20th of a sec. To get his wicket better not
prepare. Atleast u wont regret if he hits you for boundaries.
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Peter Rebouck - aussie journalist:
On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the
stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual.
Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway
officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the
century.
This Genius can stop time in India!!
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Andy Flower:
There are 2 kinds of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all
the others.
1 comment:
seriously he is god.. at least 4 our generation...
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