Saturday, February 27

That one blemish in Sachin's career

At the very outset, I wish to reassert my loyalties towards the country. Although, I would not mind Rahul Gandhi becoming the Prime Minster of India in the near future and would like to see Pakistani players being included in IPL, I am NOT a traitor. In fact, although I cannot remember very clearly what was my opinion on the Sonia-Gandhi-was-not-a-born-Indian-but-wants-to-be-PM issue, I think I would not really have opposed it tooth and nail.

But I am not a traitor and neither should my opinions in this post be used to judge my patriotic feelings.

That being said, let us talk about Sachin Tendulkar. Undoubtedly, he is the man of the moment. He is the favorite son of the nation and has successfully and deservedly captured the imagination of a billion minds. What he could do at 36 is a testimony to the character of the human being within Sachin. Never the one to be involved in a controversy (unless it's the Shiv Sena, which harps on dragging celebrities into controversies) nor the one who's commitment and love towards the game can be doubted, Sachin's knock of 200* at Gwalior is a stamping of his supremacy on the game. This knock has most certainly taken Sachin into a league of his own, perhaps a league into which even the all time great Sir Don Bradman would have struggled to make it.

The only milestone I'd love to see Sachin conquer is a triple ton in Test matches. In about a year, he'll be playing his last World Cup and a player of his calibre and a man of his virtues does deserve a share in the highest cricketing honour. As rightly pointed by Harsha Bhogle in this article, he could plan for it but he doesn't hold the key to a win in a team sport. It must happen, he cannot make it happen.

So, we can only hope that his 36-year-old body and his teammates ably support him in this endeavour. I'd also love to see Sachin leave a un-erasable mark as a match winner. Sachin is still not in the same club as the likes of Steve Waugh and Brian Lara. Steve Waugh, who is not as gifted as Sachin, has won matches for his country and at times single-handedly. It probably helped that he had a team which could ably play around him. Lara, a genius by himself, has certainly taken the West Indian cricket to new heights. Given his talent, combined with his deadly aggression, he has batte(re)d innumerable oppositions out of the match. Lara did not have the same cushion of a talented team as Waugh. Lara, in my humble opinion, is the greatest match-winner of the past decade.


Sachin, on the other hand has come dangerously close but never made it there. During the period which was till now being referred to as his prime - the '99 Sharjah innings against Australia - two back-to-back centuries that helped India clinch that series, Sachin was at his best ever. My memory of Sachin as a match-winner deserts me there. Perhaps, his performance in the 2003 World Cup is worth a mention, where he hit the likes of Shoaib Akhtar and Andy Caddick for towering sixes. Sachin getting the better of Shane Warne during the home series of 2001 is also a showcase batting performance of the era.

That said, Sachin has got India mindboggingly close to epic victories: The '99 Chennai test against Pakistan where we lost by 13 runs after a heroic knock of 136 by Sachin. He had gotten India close to victory, where there was none to be seen. He got out with India needing 18 runs and 4 wickets in hand. We lost. Another instance is the recent 175 against Australia at Hyderabad. The whole nation was on its knees reeling under the brilliance of that knock. Chasing 351, he got us there, almost.

The Gwalior innings and his performance over the past year has certainly made people rethink. Sachin is one of the greatest ever sportsmen in this era. I would love to see him end his career as a match-winner too. I wish in the next few months upto and including the World Cup, Sachin erases that one blemish I see in his career. He can certainly do it - one billion people can't be wrong!

----

There is an interesting discussion on my Facebook profile (oh yes, Facebook can be used for constructive discussions too!) - on whether Anwar's knock of 194 at Gwalior was better than Sachin's 200 at Gwalior.

The facts of the case are:

1. Anwar had a runner through-out the innings
2. Sachin had 20 overs of power play which Anwar did not.
3. Anwar had just returned to ODIs after a 4-month injury break.
4. Anwar scored it at Chennai in May,which is much more testing at 40C than Gwalior at 29C.
5. Anwar scored it on foreign soil.
6. Sachin scored it at the age of 36, while Anwar did it at 29.
7. Anwar's bowling attack had Kumble & Prasad, Sachin had Steyn and Parnell.
8. Anwar's opposition had a weaker fielding attack than South Africa.
9. Gwalior ground was smaller compared to Chennai.
10. Pitches during Anwar's times were not designed for ultra-high scores. Gwalior was.

(With inputs from Archana and Shankar)

My personal opinion is that Anwar's innings ranks higher than Sachin's. What do you think?

Like I said at the beginning of the post, I am not a traitor and neither should my opinions in this post be used to judge my patriotic feelings. :-) I love Sachin as much as you all do!

13 comments:

Sumedh V. Vidwans said...

"Lara has taken West Indies cricket to new heights" - Have you been watching cricket at all?

The West Indian team has been in tatters throughout the last 2 decades. *Any* win by that team - even against Bangladesh - is hailed as an achievement and the contributors to that win - which almost always includes Lara - is hailed a match-winner.

That said, Lara has been a prolific batsman. But to say he is the greatest match-winner above the likes of Rahul Dravid, Adam Gilchrist, Steve Waugh, Wasim Akram, Muttiah Muralitharan is gross injustice.

yashashvi said...

Dude Come on!!!

Lara won matches for West Indies, When did that happen? As sumedh pointed they are much greater match winners. Lara infact, was accused to be selfish throughout his career, including his much hyped 400 when the team could have declared much earlier.

Steve Waugh, Yes I accept.

Sachin: Come on, he has been winning so many matches for India over the last 4 yrs. Remember those countless 90's for India against Pak, where the norm was no century for Sachin means Indian wins. Sachin's century on final day against England chasing 380. They are so many of them. Maybe over the course of 20 yrs, he has not had many match winning innings, but give him his due man.

Shankar said...

Lara and Waugh play in in the middle order. Beven, who is regarded as one-day specialist, played at no 7. It is their position which lets them "finish" a game. Sachin is an opener. He is there is provide a start. Not finish a game. It is totally unfair to compare Waugh/Lara to Sachin on that aspect.

Count the number of matches he has been man of the match. And in 90% of them India has won. That is an excellent indicator of his contribution to the team.

As far Anwar 194 Vs Sachin's 200 goes, I think Anwar's was better. Simply because of the pitch. But consider Sachin's age too. Also, I am not sure about Gwalior's pitch. If it was cured for 350+, then yeah .. Anwar's was better. Anwar also got 15 over power play.

IDR said...

"Anwar's opposition had a weaker fielding attack than South Africa." - Haha.

IMO, Charles Coventry's knock is the best ever. Watch it if you haven't already. He goes mad.

Mr. I said...

Well, since I'm vetti enough to read this post, I might as well comment (converse doesnt follow :) )

1. I'll agree upon the fact that Lara was "possibly" a greater match winner than Sachin .. to the people who have commented saying that Lara was selfish for his 400 or he has won them tests against Bangla,etc.. they simply need to watch some of the series where Lara has single handedly won Windies or helped them score respectable totals : perfect examples would be the '98 series against the Oz, or the series against Lanka in 2001-02 --> they are feats, I must admit even Sachin can't match (no offence meant, I respect Sachin greater than Lara for other reasons). And for no reason would Lara's knocks feature greater in Wisden's best Test innings of all time (3 times in top 100 compared to 0 from aamchya Tendliya). Maybe Sachin was a better winner in ODIs (statistically) but isn't a Test match the ultimate test ?

2. Waugh's determination is unmatched and he's the sole reason why Oz lifted the '99 Cup and followed it up with 16 straight test wins. Respect. But I would rate him a match winner more as a Captain than as a batsman.

3. Anwar' 194 vs Sachin's 200 - Sachin wins. C'mon, how often do we see double centuries ? There are more scores of 400+ in ODI cricket than an ODI double! Anwar's knock might be better than Coventry's but not Sachin's; weaker fielding side and other parameters notwithstanding.

@ Lays : Good way to get the comment meter going on your blog :P

KSHITIJ said...

Sachin 'created' a record by scoring 200. Any other innings of his, or Anwar's 194 was just 'breaking' a record.

Anonymous said...

No balls ah?

Anonymous said...

"I am not a traitor"

"Sachin is the best"

"I love Sachin as much you all do?"

Its your opinion, lol. its ok.

Anonymous said...

Biased, period!

Anonymous said...

Small correction to be noted :Anwar scored his 194 at Chennai and not Gwalior as is mentioned in the blog..

Anonymous said...

Has any of you guys saying Anwar's knock was better played on a real pitch ? Playing with a runner is a HUGE advantage. Also, the Chehhai wicket was very good too. Remember India made close to 300 while chasing.

Attack which has Prasad is much easier to hit against the pathetic fielding (at that era) of India.

Also, I am no Sachin fan.

Hari

Priyanka said...

Sachin is the most overrated, over-hyped cricketer in the world. His inability to win matches for India is a blot on his career.Sachin doesnt feature in Wisden top 100 Test Cricket innings featuring all time great innings till 2011

Sachin a big failure, a sore loser

Thanks
Priyanka

arshad said...

hello to everyone !!

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