HOW MUCH CAN YOU GIVE TO WATCH A CRICKET INNINGS...!!

On February 24^th 2010, Mechanical students of National Institute Of Technology, Calicut were looking forward to one of the most eventful days in their Engineering career. Our pre-placement talks(PPT) were scheduled to be held and subsequently registration for placement as well. I can tell you, it is quite a titillating feeling to realize that you are going to get a job, and earn money. But little did we know, that the PPT is going to be postponed to a further date....

Well, here is the rationale...40 of the 120 students(Total strength of Mechanical and production branches) were absent. Apparently, history was being made in Gwalior, a city in the heart of India. As South Africa took on hosts India in a must win match to deny India an unassailable victory margin, the 36 years and 206 days veteran from Mumbai had his eyes set on a peak unscaled since the inception of ODI cricket, all of 40 years back. Sachin Tendulkar was nearing his double-ton, first ever in ODI cricketing history. Few things get postponed in our college. However, as it turned out, our PPT was postponed. It is not our transgression....after all, Sachin is not just anybody, a double ton is not just anything....

And people who watched him play would invariably acknowledge that this was not another of those heinous acts of audacity that is so often bracketed with engineering students. It is only a fitting tribute to someone who has put his blood, sweat and body on the line pursuing his first love and in the process, made us all proud...proud of the fact that we were born on the same stretch of land as he.

A double ton in limited overs format is not something a modern cricket analyst will reckon as impossible. Many players over the past 2 decades have fallen agonizingly close to it. That we have 15 175+ scores, says it all. Nevertheless, “ordinary” is one word you simply can't associate with Sachin. Despite having played 147 balls and striking them at over 136 per 100, Sachin had played one of the most chance less innings ever. There were no dropped chances, even no lbw shouts, no mis-hits, no mindless slogging...The fact that a record 25 boundaries along the ground and 3 over it  were hit against arguably the best pace attack of contemporary cricket makes it all the more momentous. He used his bat like a surgeon at work. It was as if all of his 20 and half yrs at the international level were put together to showcase his entire batting armory. And even as the inevitable came closer, he was able to run doubles with assuage giving testimony to his unfathomable fitness.

The shot that he played off Dale Steyn(current best ICC Test bowler), when he non chalantly strolled across the stumps and picked a ball almost yorked a foot and a half outside off to bully it through the midwicket boundary for a four was the highlight of the innings. Subsequently, Dale Steyn looked up in awe and admiration, and let out a wry smile of helplessness, knowing full well that it was the best he can give, although even his best will do little to prevent history being re-written.

The students who thronged our common room(ideally some of them should have been in Training and Placement department) even outnumbered the contingent that had witnessed India overwhelming Pakistan in a close T20 Final about 3 yrs back. It continues to confound me how people in India take all Sachin's achievements as their own...and obviously all his failures personally as well. At about 6 pm...the atmosphere was electrifying...Sachin...Sachin..Sachin...!! Eventually, when he steered the ball past point and set off for one more single thus accomplishing his double ton, they all went up in unison and let out vicious roars, bellowing their heart out, dancing, jigging and exulting as their hero fulfilled their dreams.It was incredible....

Thankfully, our PPT is now scheduled to be held on 11^th March 2010, a day when Sachin won't be playing any match. And for all those who still think Sachin is not the God of Cricket...all I can say...is...Think again....!!

"God"...Myth..Fact or Fiction...?

As an adolescent in India, one thing that is going to fascinate you the most, or may be become the topic for the most enthralling group discussion that you have ever part-taken_is probably the Existence of Superpowers-God and the Evil. As u grow up, you tend to become a vehement audience to your granny's stories delineating the bravado of many Superheros overpowering the devil, or their own experience with the Devil himself...!! And obviously there are Ramayana and Mahabharata, both of them legends, and both of them so much ingrained in the fabric of society that you wouldn't dare challenge their authenticity. Most children would gleefully accept these “facts”....So did I. And then, in comes Science, the unanimous favorite among students in school, and teaches you perceive everything rationally, teaches you the “Act” of seeking reason behind every physical phenomenon around you. Consequently, you start identifying certainly the Devil and may be God as mysterious entities and start questioning the theories put forth by your granny....well.. so did I...

Most of you might have indulged yourself in verbal tussles with your friendly contingent endeavoring to keep your perspective afloat over theirs. Most of you might have ruminated long and hard about it...so much so that you can pen down a thesis on this.....guess what...here is mine...

To start with, the Devil, to me, comes across as a purely fictional character, cooked up by desperate guardians of notorious kids, in an essay to pacify their outrageous annoyance. Most obviously, if you haven't seen anything that suits the description detailed to you, there is no point succumbing to the belief that they exist. As for my single self, I have never had any experience of any intangible power, doing me any harm. So there is hardly anything apart from a very enthusiastic “NO” that I can let out in this regard.

Moving on..the concept of God definitely has kept me profoundly engrossed in. Every time I m about to get a question paper in the Examination Hall, I think about Him. If someone in my family falls ill, I pray Him for the speedy recovery of my blood. When I proposed a girl for the first time, the only 2nd person that I was thinking about after her was God...!! :)

It is as arduous a task as anything else to sculpt a physical appearance for God. There are many “Avatars” of Him in Hindu Mythology but what we see on Television are essentially fancied versions of the directors. No one knows where He dwells. Probably only Puri, India is known to be the abode of Lord Jagannath. Some say He is omnipresent...!! We are all oblivious about His way of life, about what He wants, about what He does, but still He is the one we trust the most...Incredible...!!

But what we do know(or at least what orthodox beliefs will tell you) is that He seems to be the one who has designed the very rules of life. People are born, grow up and die. He set the sun, planets and stars into motion...Everything that seems impossible for common Man is accomplished by Him. He is the judge to everyone's good or bad deeds and sees to it that justice is meted out to everyone. So basically we have all reasons to pray to Him, even summon him by extensive and convoluted rituals to bring glory, affluence and grandeur to our lives.

All said and done, the number of Atheists, or people who eschew belief in God, is always increasing. Most westerners would ridicule most things that we take as facts. Obviously, they have their reasons, they can vindicate their stance as well...

Science can elucidate more things than ever before. The entire history of Evolution of life, or how everything works in outer space is no more an enigma to Learned Man. There remain very few things, hardly anything significant that doesn't come under the purview of Science. All the conundrums in the world, have been duly deciphered by simple physical phenomenon and chemical and/or biological reactions.

So what this spells is myriad questions for us...Is the saying “you can never say whether god made humans, but, certainly, humans made god” true...? What would the future generations be knowing God as..? How do we define God...? How important are the rituals that we perform...? Wouldn't a entirely rational attitude be best for our development...?

The advancements in Science are not going to refrain me from remembering Him when I m about to get the question paper, or when me or any close one is unwell. Any girl that I propose is safe to assume that I m thinking about God as well while I m doing that....

Personally, I don't have any problem with people saying “Maine toh bahut koshish ki...ab hua nahin toh upar wale ne mere liye jarur kuch aur aacha socha hoga...”...But when you say “Maine toh ummed hi chod diya hai..ab sab kuch upar wale k haath mein hai”...most often that not, you will be running into disaster.

One Proud Moment

After 77 years of grind in the international circuit, about 435 matches and 101 victories, finally India hold sway in the Test Arena. ICC acknowledged the fact when India annihilated Srilanka with princely disdain, handing them 2 innings defeats in as many tests. Incidentally, India climb past SA to the top of the test table. Since the inception of the ranking system, India is only the third country after Australia and South Africa to have achieved the feat.

It is anything but facile. Generations of legends would be the recipe. And India over the years was served by Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and a host of other relatively lesser contributors. Had it not been for these men, the jamboree wouldn't have been plausible.

However, as most of us would affirm, contemporary cricket has no impregnable unit(Although it has been a while since India lost in India). If India and South Africa(or Australia, for that matter) had to play against each other, there would be no unanimous favorite. So the question that Dhoni and his men have to confront with is how long...? We await for the rejoinder....

One thing that is pre-empting India to stake its claim as the No. 1 Test side is probably the absence of champion bowlers(Harbhajan and Zaheer come perilously close). There have been bowlers with exceptional talent but most of them have failed to perform consistently. Harbhajan, for instance burst into International Arena as a luminary, nailing Australia in Chennai and Kolkatta in 2001 to bring home the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The ability has never been questioned, nor has been the dedication, but for reasons unknown, he hasnt really replicated those performances of old. Irfan Pathan was another of the many riveting prospects of the decade, and in peak form could swing the ball at 130kmph as much as Murali would spin it at 80kmph, well, almost. Sadly, irfan Pathan's conquests are of mere historic significance now.

The more we look back and appraise teams that have been celebrated in the past, more evident becomes the cause for a genuine strike bowler. Australia dominated Test cricket for the most part in 90's and 2000's. That was when they had a noxious combination of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie. The rampaging Windies of 80's had The "Lethal Four": Malcolm Marshall, Curtney Walsh, Michael Holding and Ian Bishop.

Nevertheless, one cant deny the fact that India have played to their strengths to have come this far. India feature the most consistent and resilient batting line up of probably all time. The top 4 batsmen now average more than 52. 6 out of top 7 batsmen average more than 40. The whole fuss about India is that they pack a batting line up that can stand up to any bowling attack, on any pitch, against any opponent.

Indian batting has always been their asset, and the batsmen continue to hold fort for India. Swashbuckling Sehwag and the new century machine Gambhir to open, followed by the two greats, The Wall, as they call him, Rahul Dravid and Mr. Cricket himself, Sachin Tendulkar. The Very Very Special Laxman completes the enviable top 5. King of 6's Yuvraj, and Captain Cool Dhoni come in at 6 and 7. And even the pyrotechnics of Harbhajan and Zaheer in store....This is incessant....This is daunting...

Dhoni has captained India to 7 wins in 10 matches without incurring any loss. One apparent reason you can accredit to the statistics, is that no bowling unit has really been able to take 20 Indian wickets. So on some surfaces, when you play against India, a draw is the best you can get...!!

Its unorthodox for sure, but India seem to have finally found a way around their inferior bowling unit to levitate to the peak. Cricket they say is a game of uncertainties, true. So, how long can India stay afloat with their limited bowling armory...? Will they be as defiant a batting unit when Rahul, Laxman and most importantly, Sachin retire...? Will Dhoni ever lead India to a defeat...? Well, the questions are sundry, and only time will give all answers...But India's crowning as the new Champions of Test Cricket will be for many Indian fans, one proud moment....

The Most Important Indian

There will be occasions when the annual budget is passed, when SRK's new movie is released amidst elaborate promotions, when the President Of India addresses the nation on the eve of Republic day, and then..when Sachin bats. For the past decade and a half in India, nothing else has enjoyed even half the scrutiny, anticipation and celebrations that Sachin's innings have. Nothing else is deemed as significant. Nobody else has received deference and adulation enough to be nick-named the modern God of India...Indeed India is no longer the country where President is the first citizen.

And yet, as most of us, Sachin was born to a modest Tendulkar family on April 24, 1973 and was named by his brothers after Sachin Dev Burman, Marathi novelist and musician. As a youngster, he played both cricket and lawn tennis, only for the World cup 1983 triumph by Kapil Dev and his men to secure his unadulterated focus on cricket. And hence he set out to do what it takes to become the greatest odi batsmen in cricketing history and arguably the greatest batsmen of post Bradman era.

At times, it is more arduous to prove critics right than to prove them wrong. The virtuosic talent in Sachin was too overwhelming to remain inconspicuous as he made mockery of school level cricket amassing centuries (even 2 triple centuries) every time he went out to bat. He went on to make centuries on his Duleep, Ranji and Irani Trophy debuts stunning cricket pundits by his enviable maturity and incomprehensible cricketing prowess at the tender age of 14. He was already referred to as the next big thing after Sunil Gavaskar. Sachin had to live up to these wild expectations.

Sachin may not be as petrifying and gruesome as Viv Richards was, or as ruthless and flamboyant as Brian Lara, or as scintillating as Virender Sehwag. He relies on the simplest of techniques, precise foot movement, rock steady head, exemplary balance and the quirky idiosyncrasy, typical to only geniuses-to anticipate. Sachin could score all round the wicket, against any opposition, on any surface, in any format......

His mastery was eventually put to test at the highest level on November 16, 1989 when he debuted for India against the fiery pace battery of Pakistan starring Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. In the second test, he was hit by Waqar on his chin. He got up, wiped away the agitated blood and continued to play with a blood-soaked shirt. Incidentally, he dismissed the next ball to boundary to herald the beginning of a new dominance in world cricket.

For most part of 1990's he single-handedly carried the torch of hope for India with stirring performances both home and away. He scored a 114 not out against a rampaging Australian attack in Perth, widely regarded as the bounciest fastest track in the world, far different from what Indians are accustomed. In 1998, he scored a whopping 9 odi centuries, including the desert storm innings, single-handedly taking India to the finals and then winning it from there against Australia, arguably the then best outfit. There also had been many heart-breaks for him and Indians, none more popular than the Chennai innings of 1999, when he defied an excruciating back pain, a fifth day cobra-spinning Chennai track, a determined Pakistani attack and indifferent batting from his fellow mates to almost script the most incredible victory thus far. Another equivalent heart break came on Nov 5th 2009 in Hybd, when an aging Sachin with 20 years of international experience but with just as much venom as before almost chased down 350 single-handedly in a chance less, epoch-making innings.

For one thing, nobody in the international circuit has had a career as lengthy and yet as consistent as Sachin. Yes, there had been injuries and relatively lean patches, but every time Sachin has come out of them in dramatic fashion, letting his bat tacitly riposte his critics.

Consequently, Sachin now has almost all batting records to his name. As Harsha Bhogle once wrote, "he has scored much more than any of us did looking out of the window during boring lecture hours". He has now more than 17k runs in odi, is closing in on 13k runs in test cricket. And with as many as 45 odi centuries and 43 test centuries he heads all these lists. He is so much ahead of his contemporaries in odi cricket that it seems increasingly impossible anyone will ever overtake. Still a few seasons to play, it is very difficult to over-estimate Sachin's final career stats.

It doesn't end here. Sachin is not just about his batting and the records that he has. He is undoubtedly amongst the humblest gentlemen to have ever played and a true ambassador of the game. To his achievements, you add the incessant expectations, all the hope, the folded hands, the whispering lips, the celebrations, the angst and everything, and you will find no one comes close. Surprisingly he has only gone from best to still better and has now unfailingly come good for India in recent times. For all the worship, faith and certitude bestowed on him, it has become difficult to find the human in Sachin. He is and will still be to a few billion people, the most important Indian today.