The unmatched and undying legacy of Sachin Tendulkar

There is a saying that if cricket is a religion then Sachin is the god of cricket. This may sound like an exaggeration to few, but then emotions don’t know when they crossed the line, they just continue to flow. Sachin Tendulkar is not just a superstar, he is an emotion. He is an idol, every kid dreams of emulating whenever he plays our favourite sport.

Sachin Tendulkar was the only hope of the nation

While I was very young to follow him in the 90s, perhaps when he was in his prime. While he was a nightmare for the greatest bowlers to have played the game, including Shane Warne who admitted that the master blaster gave him nightmares. The others around him often let him, but the man was just 5 feet 5 inches tall, stood tall like a man-mountain between India and defeat.

Even if someone was not interested in watching a match, they made it a point to know if the maestro was on the crease. When Sachin Tendulkar, was at the crease the nation dropped everything and turned on TV sets and transistors. When the Mumbaikar got out, they used to switch off the TV and went to sleep. They slept well when Sachin batted well while some cried themselves to sleep when even the greatest could not lead India to victory.

When India was chasing Sri Lanka’s target on a square turner in Eden Gardens, no one gave India a chance to chase that stiff total in a high-pressure situation. But while Sachin was batting even the demons in the pitch stopped misbehaving, as if even they were enjoying Sachin’s batting. But the right-handed batsman had a lapse of concentration as he got out.

The demons in the pitch came into action and the Indian batting order collapsed. The team was overdependent on the maestro and it was clear that even Sachin Tendulkar can’t do it alone in a team game.

Success with a better team

At the turn of the millennium, Indian team looked much stronger when likes of Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and Anil Kumble became an integral part of the team. This team led by Sourav Ganguly feared no one, a lot had changed but one thing was constant. Sachin Tendulkar was still the best player in the team. While it was a team effort but Sachin was the hero as India managed to reach the final of 2003 World Cup in South Africa.

He was carrying the nation’s dream in the final. When he played that pull shot of Mcgrath, whole country held their breath, as the ball went in the air. When the Australian pacer caught it, the dream of ‘God’ and his followers was shattered again. He won the man of the tournament but he was heartbroken as no one knew if he would ever get the chance to lay hands on the World Cup

Injuries

In 2004 he suffered a tennis elbow injury which kept him out of the game for a long time. There were fears that he might not play again. But the prayers of more than a billion people were answered when their favourite batsman came out on the pitch again. He did not seem to be comfortable after coming back from the long lay off as that injury had taken away a few shots from his game.

He kept breaking records, including Sunil Gavaskar’s record of most Test centuries but he didn’t look the same. While his record was not too bad, but he was nowhere near his lofty standards. Many feared if this was the beginning of the end for him.

When India got knocked out of the 2007 World Cup, in the first round itself, there were fears that India’s biggest sporting icon might decide to retire. But, this separates the greats from the greatest, he managed to change his game and came back stronger than ever. The veteran was one of the stars of the tournament as India won a tri-series in Australia for the first time in the history.

This version of Sachin Tendulkar was not as explosive as his younger version but he was still the best batsman in the world.  He became the first cricketer to score a double century in the history of the ODI cricket at the age of 36. The master blaster was no.1 in the ICC Test rankings at the age of 38, which goes on to show how he changed his name according to his body.

Dreams do come true

When India hosted 2011 World Cup, the country knew that it would be his last chance to lift the trophy. It would have been unfair to the game if its greatest icon never got the chance to lift it. The stage was set on 2nd April 2011, when India took on Sri Lanka in the World Cup final.

Sachin Tendulkar had the chance to score his 100th International century to lift the World Cup at his home ground. But sports don’t have a script, Sachin got out for just 18 and it looked that his dream will never come true. This time, his teammates did not let him as Dhoni and Gambhir took India over the line as India won the World Cup.

The team lifted Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders. Virat Kohli said that Sachin Tendulkar had carried the burden of Indian cricket for so long so it justified them carrying Sachin on shoulders now.

The nightmare came true

While the 100th century vs Bangladesh, made sure his name will be immortal, but it was a fact that his body was a mere mortal like us. When he announced his decision to retire in 2013, it became a national news.

No matter how beautiful the story is, it has an end. Even this story had to end someday, Sachin retired on 14th November 2013.  The nation was crying when Sachin Tendulkar was giving his farewell speech, he called it a day by showing his respect to the 22 yards which gave him a status of God.

The crowd thanked him by chanting “Sachin Sachin…”

This article is a reflection of the author’s opinion and has nothing to do with the Crictracker entity as a whole.