Sachin Tendulkar: the little man who hit the big fellow for six
Sachin Tendulkar of India speaks with Shane Warne of Australia during training at Brabourne Stadium on September 29, 2004 in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Hamish Blair/Getty Images)
“A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.”
- John Keats
If you came to read how absolutely mind-boggling and statistically gargantuan this man Sachin Tendulkar has been, you’ve sadly come to the wrong place. My apologies that I unintentionally misled you.
You can close this tab now for I’m not qualified enough, nor do I feel it’s necessary, to duplicate what has already been said and written, by many a great man and woman, ever so brilliantly, about the unprecedented exploits of this unprecedented man.
But what I do want to talk about is what this singular journey of a special man meant to those at the other side of the looking glass, places far away from that epicentre where it was all happening.
Sachin.
It’s like there was no cricket before this guy, no cricket without this guy. And as many begin to question themselves now – will there be any cricket after this guy? Cricket itself was this guy. Yeah, this is India I’m talking about. We’re like that.
Ever had that terrible feeling when you must hold your breath for as long as possible because the moment you let it go, all goes to hell? Shoaib Akhtar is at the edge of his run-up which is somewhere near the boundary. He doesn’t look friendly. None of the Pakistani bowlers do, especially when we’re playing them.
It was common knowledge that our players had never had too much of an answer for fast bowling. And this was no ordinary bowling attack. This was no ordinary bowler. But hold your breath, for this man at the wicket is something else. He can do it. We all think he can do it. But we have our fears. We have been disappointed for far too long. What if this turns out to be just another World Cup, just another heart-break?
It’s not in our nature to believe in ourselves too much. He might be our only hope but if he too fails…some people are not strong enough. They can’t watch this. They close their eyes. But I must watch this. He’s my hero. He can definitely do it. If I could just hold my breath a little longer…
SIX.
I breathe. It takes a moment to sink in. After that, it’s madness. A whole nation erupts. A nation with a billion people rise up, together. Imagine it – a BILLION people. In schools, inside offices, outside the tea stalls, on the streets nearby the television stores – they all erupt. Goosebumps everywhere. Slowly, we all ease into our chairs now, whether at work, at home, or anywhere else, for we know things are in control. He has assured us. Calmed a billion people down. He’s been doing that since he was in his teens.
He’s on 98 now. There’s a sense of excitement, a buzz, all around the stadium, and the nation. It’s contagious. We can all feel it. But as this excitement builds itself to an emphatic crescendo, that old nagging fear sneaks into the back of our insecure minds. It’s getting bigger. He’s still on 98. The people around everywhere are getting tense. He’s sensing it too. Sensing us. He always knew what we wanted. He tries his best to alienate everything else from his mind, he always has. But at every corner in his innings, he takes us in, with him. Sometimes, it ends in unparalleled glory.
This time, it was agony. It was Shoaib Akhtar again.
He’s sad. He’s angry with himself. He doesn’t need to show it. We know he is. He expects more from himself than we expect from him. He will feel he could’ve done better, that he couldn’t properly help his country. That he let us down.
But we can’t let him feel that.