Sachin Tendulkar
Sir Garfield Sobers handing over the Man of Tournament trophy to Sachin Tendulkar at the 2003 World Cup
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (born April 24, 1973) is an Indian cricketer and member of the Indian national cricket team since 1989. He made his international debut against Pakistan in 1989. He is widely regarded as one of the best batsmen of all time. Sir Donald Bradman, the Australian great said of Sachin, "He reminds me of myself".
He made his test debut on November 16, 1989 v Pakistan at Karachi scoring just 15 runs and was bowled by Waqar Younis, who also made his debut in that match. It was an innings very different from how the rest of his career went. He followed it up with his maiden test fifty a few days later at Faisalabad. However he could not hit a century in that series. 59 at Faisalabad was his best effort of that series. His ODI debut on December 18 was equally disappointing where he was dismissed without scoring a run again by Waqar Younis. The series was followed by a non-descript tour of New Zealand in which he did not make remarkable contribution. It was in the tour of England in 1990 that he scored his maiden test century but the other scores were not remarkable. It was in the 1991/1992 tour of Australia that he made his mark as a remarkable batsman. He has been man of the match 11 times in test matches and man of the series twice, both times in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
His maiden ODI century came on September 9, 1994 against Australia in Sri Lanka at Colombo.
He was named by Wisden as one of the Cricketers of the Year 1997 which was the first calendar year in which he scored a 1000 test runs. He re-emulated the feat in 1999, 2001 and 2002.
He holds the world record for having scored the most runs in one-day internationals as well as most centuries in one-day internationals. He is the only cricketer so far to have scored 10,000 runs in one day international cricket. He is also the only cricketer to have scored over 25 ODI centuries. He has the most centuries in ODI cricket against Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. He is one of only 2 Indian batsmen to have scored over 9,000 test runs, the other being Sunil Gavaskar. As of March 2004, he has scored 33 test centuries, just one fewer than Sunil Gavaskar's record. He also has the most runs and most centuries among those who have played less than 125 test matches. Among those who have played over 100 test matches, he is the only one with a batting average above 55.
Born in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) into a middle class family, he played his first international match when he was 16, against Pakistan in Karachi facing up to the likes of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. In one-day cricket (ODI) he holds several records including most runs, over 13000, and the greatest number of hundreds, 37 and counting. To go with this he has more than eight thousand runs in Test cricket and 31 hundreds, at an average of almost 58, above the 50 that distinguishes a batsman as one of the game's greats. He is also a bowler of variety and is known for breaking parterships when called on to bowl. He has more than a hundred wickets in ODIs and 28 in tests. He continues to perform well under the massive weight of expectation of hundreds of millions of cricket followers, in India and around the world, and most recently was named Player Of The Tournament in the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
Some of his more famous efforts in test cricket are:
- 114 against Australia at Perth in 1991-92
- 179 against the West Indies at Nagpur in 1994-95
- 169 against South Africa at Cape Town in 1996-97
- 155 against Australia at Chennai in 1997-98
- 136 agaist Pakistan in Chennai in 1998-99
- 155 against South Africa in Bloemfontein in 2001-02
- 193 against England at Leeds in 2002.
- 194(not out) against Pakistan at Multan in 2004
Sachin's batting in ODIss really took off after he was invited to open the innings at Napier against New Zealand in 1994. His first hundred came later that year against Australia in Colombo. Since then, Tendulkar has scored at least one century in each full series he has played.
Some of his more memorable innings have been
- 90 against Australia in the 1996 World Cup in Mumbai
- 104 against Zimbabwe at Benoni in 1997
- back to back innings of 143 and 134 against Australia in Sharjah in 1998
- 98 versus Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup at Centurion, South Africa.
- 141 in a losing effort vs Pakistan 2004 at Rawalpindi , Pakistan .
His contribution to the game and his role in attracting a following to the game goes beyond his record. His game is characterized by style, aggression and often dazzling brilliance.
One common criticism of Sachin is that he doesn't win matches too often for India ,but one should remember that for a good part of his career his team was one of the worst around with Tendulkar being the only redeeming quality about it.There have been countless times where he has brought India to the verge of victory only to be let down by his teammates.
Another shining quality about Sachin is his down-to-earth nature and modesty inspite of his godlike status which might have got into the head of most people.
During the Indian tour of Pakistan in 2004, Sachin has been criticized for his disappointment over Dravid's declaration of the Indian innings. Sachin had to forego a potential double century (he was on 194) as the innings were declared. Imran Khan has told that he didn't like the excessive emphasis on records. He went ahead saying that Vivian Richards was undoubtedly the best batsmen although he doesn't stand tall in records. And Courtney Walsh was definitely not the best bowler though he holds the record for highest number of wickets. He concluded saying that he would back Indian Captain's decision as team interests valued more than individuals' performances. This sort of criticism has been very abnormal in Sachin's stellar career.
Sachin's fame in his own country is such that he is virtually a prisoner in his own home with his appearances in public causing near-riots amongst fevered fans. He reportedly takes his car for late-night drives around the city as one of the few chances to escape the protective bubble he is forced to exist within.
Sachin is married to his childhood friend Dr. Anjali and has a daughter Sara (5) and a son Arjun (3).
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