Great Expectations

His life is like an open book. Every move or step he takes or makes, is well documented. He is quite simply nervecentre of India sentiments....

Written by Chandresh Narayanan

February 7, 2003 12:00 AM IST

3 min read

His life is like an open book. Every move or step he takes or makes, is well documented. He is quite simply nervecentre of India sentiments. The image of a shy 16-year-old bravely facing upto the likes of Imran Khan and Co struck the right chord. No wonder since then all the Indian moms want to cuddle him and the young boys at every nook and corner want to emulate him.

Every record in the book is his for the taking. All the bowlers in the world fear him, if any doubts kindly refer to a certain Shane Warne who has had nightmares of ‘Sachin smashin me’.

WORLD CUP MOMENTS
The 1992 edition saw a tired Indian team go through the motions, but the only bright spark was the then Young Turk, Tendulkar. Incidentally in the two matches that India won, was the Man of The Match. That apart there was nothing of note. By the time 1996 event came home, Tendulkar was slipping into the role of prima donna. Bypassed all calculations and topped the batting charts. As 1999 beckoned, had the first injury scare, a back problem which threatened to put his participattion on hold. But it seemed the jinx had already set in. A personal tragedy struck, his father expired mid-way through the event.

But the emergence of this one-man army also coincided with Team India’s slow death. That story may now be changing and the latest chapters in his book may make the reader smile at every point. With his pupil Virender Sehwag slowly coming into his own, it is time for the Master to win the Cup at his fourth attempt.

For some he is the national treasure and that results in endless debates over tea, lunch and dinner on his batting slot in one-dayers.

Whatever be the case it is the right time for Mr India to be finally crowned Mr Universe, by right, at cricket’s showpiece event.

DID YOU KNOW?
• Score over 1,200 runs in schools cricket, including two triple centuries. Scored 326 not out for Shardashram against St. Xavier’s in the Harris Shield tournament, putting on 664 runs with Vinod Kambli, a record for any grade of cricket anywhere in the world • Second highest run-getter in World Cup history (1059 from 22matches); only Javed Miandad is before him with 1083 runs from 33 matches • Highest run-getter (523) in the 1999 World Cup • In November 2000, Australia’s 145 first-class players voted him the best batsman in the world • Took 79 matches and 76 innings to score his first one-day hundred • In April 2001 Became the first person to score 10,000 runs in One-Day Internationals, in an ODI in Indore vs. Australia. Scored his 10,000th run against ace leg spinner, Shane Warne. • Holds the record for most number of one-day runs (11, 546) and centuries (33) • First ever overseas player for English county Yorkshire in 1992 and was voted their cricketer of the year • Third youngest to play World Cup • Was the first player to be given out via television replay (Durban, October 1992) • An internet search fetched 48,500 sites in Tendulkar’s name

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