A legend named "Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar" was born on 24th April' 1973 in Mumbai. Nobody ever had an idea about his abilities and the sheer talent which he had, that lead him to become the "Almighty of the Cricketing Fraternity". There is a common saying "When god wanted to play cricket he created Sachin Tendulkar....."
I have been a strong follower and supporter of Sachin since his debut in 1989 against the arch rivals pakistan. I still undoubtedly remember the Sialkot test where he was hit hard by Waqar Younis on the helmet, he broke his chin, but despite that he managed to score 50 runs in the second innings of the match. What is this called? sheer braveness and commitment for the game.
His array of strokes enchanted every possible human being in India and the entire cricketing fraternity, it was the beginning of an epic era, sachin's cricketing journey. He was in his teens in 1992 when he made his first World Cup appearance in Austalia, although the cup was claimed by pakistan, sachin made his presence felt all over the contest. Sachin played in the middle-order slot alongside the likes of "Sanjay Manjerkar, Mohammed Azharuddin and Kapil Dev", making some useful contributions with the bat and ball. Who would forget his match winning knocks against Pakistan and Zimbabwe! Simply Amazing!!
Since then there was no looking back for Sachin. The moment he got into his twenties, he became strong and a devastating batsmen, a true demolisher of every possible bowling attack. His all-round abilities helped India win almost each game. Sachin was a true run-machine for India, he became a heart-throb of every single Indian irrespective of the caste, creed, sex or religion.
I would never forget his breath-stopping innings in Sharjah against the mighty Australians who were at their sublime form having the likes of Steve Waugh, Mark Waugh, Shane Warne,Michael Kasprowicz and the tall Tom Moddy. It was Sachin's impeccable performance that rattled-out the Aussies on every front and guided India home comfortably to clinch the series. I still remember the post match presentation where Steve Waugh had said: "Is this man stoppable by any chance, once he gets going.."
I would never forget his dedication, commitment and respect for the game of cricket which he showed during the 1999 World Cup. 1999 was indeed a bad year for Sachin on the personal front where he lost his father; but despite this loss he made up his mind to attend the World Cup in England on the very second day of his father's funeral. Man, what a commitment! Worth a SALUTE Sir!
Every time he played for the nation, people followed and respected him on every possible front. It was there when his critics always took an initiative to jot him down the barrel whenever they got an opportunity, but Sachin was quite intelligent to know that when "One is doing so good at office, there would some creeps sitting besides you to pull you down."
Sachin was a indeed a one man army and "A last Man Standing" in every possible encounter. Winning the World Cup 2011 and becoming the first man to score 200 runs in 50 overs added a golden feather in his cap. Well, the more I try to fill up this blog about S.R.Tendulkar the very less it becomes, for me he was, he is and he will be the "Almighty of Cricket"...
Cheers,
Amzy.
