Reading the morning newspapers today, I am overwhelmed by the thoughts of how fortunate we all have been to have witnessed a phenomenon called ‘Tendulkar’. Following his exploits all across the globe had been a national pastime and I am no different. From the teenage to adulthood (of mine and India), he has been the only CONSTANT.
Having amassed 12K+ Test Runs and 16K+ One Day Runs, Tendulkar sits comfortably at the summit. Can anyone better him?
My Guess - Ponting will end tantalizing close to Tendulkar; and given the Australian obstinacy, the Test Match pecking order for the most test runs will be Ponting, Sachin and Graeme Smith. Let’s look at the factsheet:
Ponting at 33, is ~1800 runs behind Tendulkar. Give him 4 years of Test Cricket. At 15 innings a year, he may end-up at 3,500 runs more to the current score. This will take him to ~13,700 runs (he may play a few more matches for the 14,000 club).
Tendulkar at 35, may play for 2 more years yielding another 1600-1700 runs. He may end his career at ~13,700. Setting a close target for Ponting.
Graeme Smith at 27, is close to 6000 runs, has good 8 years of cricket left with him and has an average of ~50 runs per innings. This should take him to the 12,000 runs club.
The shape of cricket in the next decade will be a changed one with round the year cricket, more of league cricket, less of test matches etc. For instance, with this India tour, Australia faces 21 months of non-stop cricket, with 26 tests, upto 59 ODIs, 16 Twenty20, 30 IPL Twenty20 and 12 Champions League Twenty20 (courtesy Malcolm Conn). Shortened Cricket Life Span will make sure that either Ponting or Tendulkar will reign the summit forever.
On the One-Day front, Sachin is way beyond his contemporaries (Ponting is 5,000 runs behind). It is only obvious that Sachin’s maximum runs record in ODIs will never be broken, unless there comes a toddler as gifted as Sachin; assuming the shape of cricket remains the same for the next 20 years.
Away from the record books, I promise I will continue to do the following top ten activities:
1) Be in awe with the exploits of this Little Champion (ever wondered why Gavaskar calls Sachin by this nickname? Simple – he wants himself to be called Little Master)
2) Remain nervous for that 1st run, every time Sachin starts his innings.
3) Wanting a century every time he comes out to bat
4) Abusing every time he misses an opportunity
5) Cursing the umpire when ever he wrongly gives Tendulkar out
6) Praying for his success every time he is on those 22 yards
7) Urge selectors to be prudent and drop Sachin, every time he fails
8) Wanting Twenty20 to have come early in our (Tendulkar’s) life. He would have paens written all over in that version as well
9) Wanting Ponting to fail every time he comes out to bat
10) Wanting to see him Live In Action at least once, before he hangs-up his boots
7th April, 1998 ODI in Kanpur was the closest I have come to watch Tendulkar LIVE. Preparing in my mind; the unique slogans, we waited all night for our friend Tyagi to arrange for 8 tickets. He could arrange only 3 tickets and I dropped the idea to watch the match from the Green Park stadium for the sake of our team (as Tendulkar has done all his life). I planned to travel that day from Lucknow to Delhi in the rickety state bus. The other day I heard, he hit 7 sixes in the match. Pity Me!
Manoj, one of my batchmates, is a fanatic Tendulkar fan. He never lost hope when even Tendulkar had lost hope. I distinctly remember the late night Sahara Cup matches, when he would sit lonely in the TV room of the college, praying for that elusive miracle for an Indian win; some times Tendulkar helped, most of the time he didn’t – still Manoj kept seated and kept praying. Yesterday, when Tendulkar climbed the summit, he became the proud father of a baby girl. What a coincidence! Welcome New Generation! You have massive boots to fill in – as a player and as a SPECTATOR, for there will seldom be such a fine talent.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Why this blog?
Time and again, all of us have a view of things happening in a particular way in the future. The view can be based on sound reasoning, uninterupted logic, balanced judgement or pure intuition. So why not, tell it to others and keep a prediction/intuition score. You need not do anything but provide a prediction on an event with a timeline. I will keep tab of scores and keep publishing weekly.
The topics can be varied - cricket, bollywood, stock market, politics, weather, product, relationships, investments etc. etc.
So keep feelingintuitive and don't forget to leave comments. They are all counting. Lets see who is the best.
The topics can be varied - cricket, bollywood, stock market, politics, weather, product, relationships, investments etc. etc.
So keep feelingintuitive and don't forget to leave comments. They are all counting. Lets see who is the best.
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