Sachin Tendulkar, the batsman who redefined modern cricket, will celebrate his 50th birthday today (April 24). He was known by many nicknames such as Master Blaster, God of Cricket and The Little Master. He was small in stature but his impact on the game was beyond comparison. Bowlers feared him, batsmen modelled themselves on him and millions of fans in India idolised him. Whenever Sachin succeeded, a billion Indians celebrated. Whenever he failed, the nation went sad. The mood of the country swung like a pendulum that was orchestrated by Sachin’s performances.
Sachin has written in his autobiography that he began playing cricket after his sister Savita gifted him a cricket bat. She had gone to Kashmir for a visit and when she returned, she brought for him a bat made of the finest Kashmir willow. Another of his siblings who had a big impact on his game was his brother Ajit. The elder brother would always analyse Sachin’s game and after every innings he would tell Sachin why he had got out and what he should have done to avoid it.
Cricket fans almost worshipped Sachin but who did he himself consider as life’s role model? It was his father Ramesh Tendulkar. When he was selected for the Indian team, his father advised him: “Son, life is like a book with many chapters. The lessons to be learnt from success and failure are many-sided. Often one learns more from failure than from success. So do not be dejected after failure. Learn from it. You will soon represent your country. That is a great honour. But always remember that the major portion of your life will be led outside the field. Behave in such a way that people will admire you outside the field too. It would please me greatly if someone told me that my son Sachin is a great human being, not just a great player.”
Father was his idol
Throughout his life, Sachin lived up to his father’s ideals. Many famous sports stars are temperamental. Some have extra marital affairs, beget children outside marriage, or take drugs, get into fights and tarnish the image of sport. But Sachin’s life was an open book. Despite being the most famous sportsman of his times, his reputation remained intact. Even when he was under stress or was dealt unfair decisions by umpires, he was never ungentlemanly in his conduct.
Outside cricket, Sachin’s second love is music. In fact he was named Sachin because his father was a fan of Sachin Dev Burman. Along with his siblings, Sachin loved listening to Binaca Geetmala hosted by the unforgettable Ameen Sayani. His elder brothers were big fans of Pankaj Udhas although Sachin initially was not fond of Ghazals. That understanding came later after he matured. But he also liked western music. Pink Floyd and Dire Straits were his most liked musicians.
Coach Ramakanth honed skills
His cricket skills were honed to perfection by his coach Ramakanth Achrekar who played a first class match in Hyderabad for SBI in the Moin Ud Dowla cricket tournament. As a schoolboy he had only one set of cricket clothes. So after morning practice he would wash them and dry them and then wear the same clothes for the evening practice. The problem arose when the monsoon season arrived. Without sunshine, the clothes would remain wet and he would sometimes wear wet clothes for the evening practice.
For four years Sachin lived with his uncle and aunt because they lived at Indravadan Society near Shivaji Park where he played. He often persuaded his aunt to throw a cricket ball at him inside their drawing room so that he could practice his batting style. Now Sachin laughs heartily whenever he thinks of those days.
He hit 4 sixes in one over facing Abdul Qadir
Later his world record with Vinod Kambli and his epic battles with the legends became a part of cricket folklore. When playing against Pakistan he smashed four sixes off the bowling of Abdul Qadir after the Pakistani star had challenged him. Shane Warne was another bowler who suffered at the hands of Sachin. The Australian was a master of the mind game and could psychologically overawe many batsmen. But Sachin destroyed Warne physically and mentally. The Aussie star confessed that sometimes he had nightmares in his sleep that Sachin was hammering his bowling.
Facing fast bowler Alan Donald in South Africa, Sachin used an unusual tactic and turned his lack of height into an advantage. Against Donald he stood with his legs wide apart thus lowering the level of his head. Then he could easily duck under the short pitched balls that Donald was bowling. The fast bowler was forced to change his length and thereby lost his rhythm.
Tendulkar played 664 international cricket matches in total, scoring 34,357 runs. He holds the record of the maximum centuries in both Tests (51) and ODIs (49) totalling 100 centuries. In 2014 he was conferred the Bharat Ratna. In 2019 he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Now, on his 50th birthday, cricket fans all over the world will no doubt wish him many more years of success and happiness.
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