Sachin Tendulkar - Turning back the clock!

In the recent past, while Sachin was consistently failing to deliver good knocks and giving away his wickets to similar type of deliveries all the time, former cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar had said something while analysing Sachin’s game.

“Sachin never considers his failures in an easy manner. He works laboriously to surmount his dearths. He even considers to make some changes in his natural game and unfurls himself in a completely new manner. We definitely will get a chance to see former Sachin in a very near future,” Manjarekar had said.

Those who have watched Sachin bat against Rest of India in the ongoing Irani Cup must surely have felt that Manjrekar’s words have finally come true. Sachin’s excitement, self-confidence and the way he batted reminded the fans of the former Sachin. This innings shows that Sachin is completely ready for one of the most crucial series of his career against Austarlia.

Unable to move briskly in the crease, lack of self confidence, getting bowled repeatedly, incorrect timing and faltering in shot selection have been the major reasons behind Sachin’s failures in the recent past. But after watching his innings yesterday, it seems like finally he has found out a solution to these problems. Sachin was more confident and fresh than he had been in the recent past. He was never found faltering and didn’t face any inconvenience on the crease in his innings. He built his innings in a planned manner, moulding himself according to the situations. He played all the shots like cover drive, straight drive, sweep, paddle sweep, cut shot and lofted drives. He did not have any problem with his foot work too and played with a slightly different stance. Getting bowled many times in the recent past, mainly against New Zealand where Sachin got bowled in all his innings, was the reason behind the change in his stance.

The thing that has to be mentioned about Sachin’s innings yesterday, is his timing. The way he has sent the offside full length balls to the boundary, just giving them a minute touch with the bat, left the audience spellbound. All the shots he played, like the off-drive on Pandey’s bowling, the front foot six he hit over mid-off on Ojha’s bowling, the paddle sweep off Harbhajan’s bowling and the drive he played against Sreesanth to reach 99, were total pleasure for his fans. Even the commentators were left speechless after his shots. Some may not regard this innings as highly since the opponent was Rest of India, but all the bowlers Sachin had to face yesterday, like Sreesanth, Mithun, Harbhajan and Ojha have played international cricket are no pushovers from domestic cricket. Facing Sreesanth skilfully, Sachin indirectly proclaimed that he is ready to face the Aussie speedsters. On the whole, Sachin’s innings not only sent down encouraging signs for Team India, it also has gave a clear warning to Australia of what to expect.