Sachin Tendulkar: The man who carried a nation's dream
Whenever he strode out to bat, he carried the expectations of millions of his countrymen on his shoulders. Whenever he took guard, people expected him to answer their prayers. For almost a quarter of a century, Sachin Tendulkar was the fulcrum of the Indian batting line up. Players came and went, but the master stayed on.
Tendulkar took cricket to statistically astronomical heights and the numbers generated by him sent the mind into a tizzy. But, the statistics and the numbers form just a small part of the Tendulkar phenomenon. There was this unique veneration that Tendulkar enjoyed across the cricketing world, one that placed him at a pedestal that other mortals cannot even fathom. He was labelled as the ‘God of Cricket’, and many of his countrymen turned to him to find solace during melancholic times in their lives.
Tendulkar arrived onto the scene at a time when the nation was prodding along at a slow pace. When he made his debut in 1989, the Indian economy had not yet opened up, the rupee was just 17 to the dollar and the sport was telecast only on Doordarshan.
And when the nation was looking for a beacon of light, a ray of hope, there came this 16-year-old child prodigy who just unshackled the mind. Tendulkar was a perfect hero- his dedication to his craft was unmatched, his character was spotless and his achievements on the field were extraordinary.
And of course, this small article can never do justice to his gargantuan achievements with the willow. Every major batting record in the game belongs to him, he scored hundreds in every country he played (Zimbabwe is an exception), he tamed the best of bowling attacks and became the folk hero that India could proudly associate themselves with.
His magical hundred in Manchester as a 17-year-old announced his arrival, his ethereal 114* at Perth endeared him to the Australian public, his twin tons at Sharjah in 1998 made the world gape at him in awe. His 136 against Pakistan plunged India into sadness as the arch rivals won the game by a mere 12 runs. When he went past Gavaskar in 2005 by scoring his 35th Test hundred, the whole of India erupted in joy, and Tendulkar being lifted on his team mates’ shoulders in 2011 after India won the World Cup is an image that will linger in the minds of every Indian cricket fan for posterity.
After a stunning 24 years at the top, Tendulkar bid adieu to the sport in 2013 in front of his adoring home fans in Mumbai. The master showed the world a final glimpse of his genius in a fluent knock of 74 against the West Indies. And after he was dismissed, the Wankhede went into a deathly silence. And, as Tendulkar walked back for the last time in Indian colors, a poster in the stands read “I have seen God departing.”
An era had ended in Indian sport…
Yes. There will come a day when many of his records are broken, a day when most of his milestones are breached, but no Indian sportsman meant so much to so many people and stayed relevant for such a long time as Tendulkar did in his scarcely believable career. Tendulkar was the torch bearer of a nation’s dreams, and he fulfilled even the wildest expectations of his countrymen.
And finally, as Harsha Bhogle beautifully said “When Tendulkar plays well, India sleeps well.”
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