It is with a great deal of dissapointment and frustration, which i share with thousands of cricket lovers all around the world,that I write about the master...not just a poetic description of the joy brings to the game ,but a scathing reply to all his detractors,in particular, (un)WIS(e)DEN.
The PHENOMENON:
Four sixes to as many corners of the ground and the Pakistani left-arm-spin-wizard, Abdul Qadir woke up to the brilliance of a sixteen year old lad from his Eastern Neighbour....It was not long ,before cricket pundits' apocalyptic predictions for bowlers started proving true.Sachin Tendulkar marauded attacks with murderous sadism and brute force ...and yet,with a ballet dancer's grace...And for fifteen long years,he showcased not just his technical prowess ,but an indomitable courage, an unflinching commitment to the team's cause and an unquenchable thirst for success.....that has captured the imagination of an entire generation.
Why then, would someone have to plead his case ,one might wonder........for, we live in a world ruled by critics (aided very ably by sycophantic fans) ,who spend their lives under the delusion of having the power to make or break 'greatness' by correspondingly recognising or derecognising it ......Tendulkar is no exception to being a victim of this wile trade...their favourite wave to ride on??--"HE'S NOT A MATCH WINNER"......and here I am.
Cricket, to start of with, is a team-game....Just like football......where, every individual has a specific role to play--succeeding at which,is both the individual's and the team's cause.The defender is as important as the forward who actually nets the ball.So it is in cricket.The man who bowls the first ball is as important as the man who scores the winning runs....Though it is common knowledge that individuals with extraordinary talent can control the flow of a game,an individual, as a rule, cannot completely effect a favourable outcome for his team.
Fifteen years on the international arena,and it's anyone's guess( as has been proven in practice) that Sachin is nothing short of genius.
Alas!! i have had to resort to the language spoken so commonly in cricketing circles...the 'numbers-game'....let's play just a few rounds...
....a blistering 155 not out under the chennai sun, to tame the all-conquering Aussies(2nd innings)....... a wonderfully scripted 193 on a seaming Headingly wicket against england...
....braving the storms, in the truest sense of the word, in sharjah(143 and 137%)...and of course ,a scintillating 98 against pakistan in world cup 2003,which saw him as the highest scorer of the tournament.
A dazzling 119 at the Old Trafford …and what better purpose could a first hundred serve, than to save a match???
An astounding display of technique and counter-attack on a bouncy Perth wicket ….a blistering 136 with a back that was giving way faster than a fifth-day wicket, on which a magical Saqlain spun the ball like a top---both ,instances only an inept Indian team fraught with incredibly low levels of commitment and grit…(not to mention, morality), could lose.
Now we come to the most interesting part of the statistics….the most important too….
26 out of 34 of his test hundreds have come in a winning cause; giving him a success rate of 76% ..........and 29 of his 37 hundreds in one-day-internationals have contributed to a winning cause; giving him a staggering 79% success rate.
In view of the oft made comparison to the genius of Lara, it is worth mentioning that Lara averages just over 39 in the second innings while Sachin averages just under 38. Would someone help me see the gaping void between the two…..…..It may also be a matter of interest to know that Lara’s 7 test hundreds out of 27 brought them victory--a success rate just over 25%---feels terrible to know doesn’t it ???.. but so the numbers say.....Going by the simple logic that the more consistent batsman should be in a better position to win a match for his team,being a great admirer of Lara's myself,I find it beyond my ability to comprehend as to how Lara is a 'BIGGER MATCH WINNER".
The QUESTION OF CONTEXT:
Keeping in mind peoples’ superlatively short memories, I would like to draw to your attention, an instance from the very recent past that brought an overwhelmingly familiar sense of déjà vu with it ---the fourth one-dayer in the recently concluded one-day series---a beautifully paced 123 from Sachin with a complete array of shots sets India up for 300-plus total---AND WE LOSE-----the critics unleash their pens directed at Sachin in all their sublime derisive glory …..Perhaps they wanted him to make up, in some way or other, for the Indian pacers feeding Afridi with rank-bad bowling; in a knock that proved most decisive???...
.or maybe they wanted him to compensate for Dhoni flooring a sitter from Afridi’s edge early in his innings???...or was it for Yuvi’s failure to cup one off Malik’s bat???......Would someone please care to define for me what a “Match Winning Inning” in a first essay/inning would be???...Not worth a try uh??......How effective, do u think, a brilliant ‘forward’ would be, if he had an absolute loser saving for his team????In all fairness, hasn’t he still won if he’s done all he can but still cant cover up for the collective incompetence of his teammates????.....Surely worth pondering my well-meaning fellas.
Sachin Tendulkar is no doubt, a MATCHLESS WINNER, with a balance that is seldom associated with ‘genius’.While what is being done, is gross injustice to a rare talent; its contextually wedded splendour, lost completely in translation to results based on skewed statistical premises.
P.S.
Lesson learnt::
Criticise the weak and extoll the great... you're just one in a million....But deprecate the best....And ......you have 'em looking.......
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