Mt. Tendulkar just got higher

In a team game like cricket, there are few greater honours than that of being Test match cricket's most prolific run-getter. Brilliance isn't really as customary as today's media might announce out loud; every century spawns superlatives and every 5-for celebrated, but true brilliance is something special because it belongs to the elite, the very elite. What separated a Lara from an Inzamam, a Warne from a Kumble and a Gilchrist from a Boucher was all wafer-thin. And what separates Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar from all of them equally so. Yes, Mount Tendulkar just got higher and there are no overtly visible signs of a peak.



Debut at 16 in and against a hostile neighbour, India's talisman at 20, kingpin at 22, sole hope at 24 and Jesus Christ thereafter, being Sachin Tendulkar is obviously a fairy tale and horror story rolled into one. A country which has accepted corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, filthy streets and occasional electicity (or water, depending on where you live) might have been expected to have been as indulgent about Tendulkar failures with the bat. But, not to be! As India Today pointed out sometime back, 'When Sachin Tendulkar walks in to bat, a nation switches on their TV sets and switches off their lives.' Or something to that effect.



But amidst all the frenzied expectations (to understate the case) over a period of 18 years, the fact that Sachin Tendulkar has managed to stay grounded and focussed, apart from amassing over 28000 international runs and notching up 81 international tons, shows why exactly he is so, so special! If greatness was predestined for the man, then it is to his credit that he went the distance. As much as his technique is solid and his stroke-making unparalleled (arguably), it is Sachin's mind which really sets him apart. This man has got the mind of a champion like no other. Being born into a country set in mediocrity didn't inhibit him; it just added to his resolve. Probably the Indian team wears a more settled and authoritative look nowadays, but there were times, not long ago, when it seemed as if millions of people joined Sachin on his long walk back to the pavillion with a sense of a day gone wasted. Infact, Sachin-mania at its height just cannot be compared with any other sporting obsession, Maradona included or otherwise.

On a personal note, I actively ( to understate) began following Sachin from the 1996 world cup onwards. And oh my, what a journey it has been! The true beauty of his batting lies in its simplicity. And grandeur. No unnecessarily high backlifts or exaggerated footwork; and yet, if ever a pocket sized dynamo appeared on a cricket field, it has got to be him. My other musing about the man has been his perception of risk. There have been times when he has got out to what might have seemed rash acts, but for every one such act there have been hundreds of instances where a perfectly good ball has been taken apart with minimum fuss. A memorable example goes like this : 'Glenn McGrath was on the prowl on a slightly damp Indian wicket, where shotmaking seemed impossible. Sachin, opening the batting, watched on as wickets tumbled at the other end. Where many great batsmen might have looked to play out the pigeon's spell, Tendulkar begged to differ. What ensued was a blistering counter attack, with Sachin reaching three figures and India a score good enough for a comfortable victory. At the end of the match, the man of the match has this to say - "The way McGrath was bowling, I was sure that a nick was just round the corner. Unless, I managed to unsettle him by taking him on." Or something to that effect. If cricketing brain of such utter brilliance combines with such precocious talent, then is it a wonder at all that Mount Tendulkar just got higher? Again.