Legends of Cricket: Bettor.com’s World XI – Sachin Tendulkar
The calibre of this great man can be summed up in a nutshell. Sir Donald Bradman, the greatest ever batsman to have made his way on the cricket field believed that Tendulkar’s technique was the closest to his that he had ever seen. Bradman was watching the
little master bat one day and he said to his wife, “Come and have a look at this. This guy bats like me.” Regardless of all other achievements, to have the champion of cricket Sir Donald Bradman say this about a batsman’s technique is the lone achievement
that sets Tendulkar apart from all others.
If there is ever a man in the history of the game to steal the coveted number 3 spot from the greatest batsman in history, it has to be Sachin Tendulkar. For most players, it has to be argued that their stats do not speak volumes of the sheer talent and
pleasure they have brought on the cricket field, however Tendulkar is without a doubt an exception.
In the 166 Tests played Sachin Tendulkar boasts 47 centuries and 54 half centuries. In only 59 Test matches, Tendulkar managed to score 21 centuries and 20 half centuries. For all those critics of Tendulkar who sometimes lament that he is not able to play
well against quality bowlers, he has consistently performed against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 since 1990 and in 29 Tests against them Tendulkar has scored at an average of 56 with 10 tons and 11 half centuries to his credit. Even the great Brian Lara, had an average of 51
against the Aussies in the 31 tests that he has played against them.
The thing that sets this man apart from Bradman, is perhaps the fact that India is a nation of 1 billion cricket fanatics who have unexpectedly high expectations of their players. To have lived up to their expectations for the last 2 decades deserves nothing
less than an accolade for the little master. He is without a doubt, close to being one of the most perfect batsman seen in the history of the game. His back lift is straight, his balance is truly extraordinary. This maestro has the ability to hit the best
of bowls for boundaries or sixes.
Witnessing a 16 year old scoring 80 odd runs in a Test match is unnerving to say the least. He is the best cricketer produced from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 in a 100 years. He was the second youngest batsman in the history of the game to reach three figures in a test match.
It was an important innings for India as well as he played a remarkable innings that helped India save the test match.
By 1996 Tendulkar had overtaken http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Azharuddin-c76823 as the leading scorer in One day internationals in 62 fewer innings than Mohammad Azharuddin. In the year 2000, Sachin Tendulkar created a new record by becoming the first player in the history of cricket
to have scored 50 international tons. In the year 2008, he then surpassed the record of Brian Lara as the leading test run scorer with 13000 Test runs and 30,000 international runs. Currently Tendulkar career boast 94 centuries and will perhaps be the first
player in the history of the game to have a century of centuries, a record unlikely to be broken for many years to come.
He is the Tiger http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Woods-c98113 of international cricket and there is no other man in the history of the game who would be able to break the records that Sachin has set for his contemporaries. He broke the 200 run barrier for the first time in the 40 year history
of ODI cricket as he became the first man to score a double century in an ODI game. There could not have been a better cricketer to have broken Saeed Anwar’s world record of 194 than the little master, Sachin Tendulkar himself. At the age of 37, he is no longer
a cricketer but a God of cricket, an inexplicable phenomenon, what his nation cannot achieve in their inadequacies they look up to this man to make up for it on the field of cricket. If there was ever a man to step into the shoes of the great Sir Donald Bradman
it will have to be Sachin Tendulkar.
In the words of one cricket fanatic, “Right from the beginning, he appeared to be touched by divinity. He came among us as a boy-god, unannounced. He was 16 and was hit on the head in his first appearance, but neither flinched nor retreated a step. Nothing
thenceforth could harm him, temporal or otherwise. He was short and stocky - like all the best - and mop-topped and guileless to behold. He has scarcely changed since.”
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