Watching Tendulkar in action: an experience unparalleled

MUMBAI, INDIA – APRIL 02, 2011: Sachin Tendulkar of India celebrates his teams win during the 2011 ICC World Cup Final between India and Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium.

I don’t recollect when and how I was drawn to this sport. May be it was the craze that surrounded it or some genetic factor coming into effect. Some people call this sport crazy, while others worship it. Whatever the reason may be, I was hooked to it. And a special person’s special feat, which remains to be emulated till date, made sure it was irrevocable.

In a land where ‘One Religion One God’ is preached since childhood, I was yet to witness it. But everything changed when this sport became an integral part of my life. But of course, I am talking about cricket.

The special feat which I was referring to was Anil Kumble’s 10-wicket haul against Pakistan. Although I admired the man before, I began to revere him after that! But this is not the sporting memory that I will bring to fore in this piece. As they say, we need to look at the big picture. What can get bigger than the biggest sporting event in cricket?

PERTH, AUSTRALIA – JAN19, 2008: Anil Kumble of India appeals unsuccessfully for the wicket of Mike Hussey of Australia during day four of the Third Test match between Australia and India at the WACA.

I have witnessed all the versions of the game in the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore; it’s a different issue that most of the times we were not on the winning side. So, how was this match any different? For starters, it was the World Cup 2012! The previous time I had stepped into the stadium, it was an IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians. We all know where our loyalty lay, but one man in the Mumbai Indians dug out had the potential to change it all.

The atmosphere was crazy, and no surprises there. People ignored the fact that he was out cheaply, as he they were happy to get a closer glimpse of him when he walked back to the Pavilion. But the World Cup was a whole new experience. It was country against country. So the patriotic streak was quite evident in the whole stadium. Ignoring the fact that it was a day/night match, the stadium was full well ahead of noon. Colourful faces and wigs waiting to be identified as the face of the crowd, the Yahoo! Meter, the Emirates’ air hostesses who escorted the trophy and of course the National Anthem of England and India set the pitch for the match. It was customary in the World Cup matches to flash the stats of the team members of both the teams. It also served the purpose of telling the crowd who made it to the team for that particular match.

The crowd again showed some clear favourites through their cheers. Kevin Pietersen got the loudest cheer in the England squad, thanks to his association with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Not surprisingly, the Indian squad received the best and loudest cheer. The mere flash of one name in the whole list made the crowd go crazy with joy; one can imagine what happened when he entered the field a few moments later (India had elected to bat first). Without much ado, the man himself set foot on the ground. I am pretty sure people in a radius of 10 km could hear the cheers he was welcomed with.

I must admit that I am not a big fan of Sachin Tendulkar; I was busy in admiring the likes of Kumble and Dravid. But that day changed it all. I wish there was a word in the English Dictionary to describe the atmosphere in the stadium. For want of a better word, I will settle with electrifying. Tendulkar’s batting and Pietersen’s jig to entertain the crowd ensured there were fireworks in the stadium. I got absorbed by the energy and the craze of the crowd. Every ball Tendulkar faced, the cheer went a notch higher. It also helped that most of them were directed towards the crowd as 4s and 6s.

It was pretty obvious where the match was heading that day, given the punishing mood Tendulkar was in. First came the half century which put the crowd in an uproar; his batting became aggressive from thereon. He wasted no time in reaching his century as the crowd was dizzy with happiness. Although England came close to India’s target, victory was India’s. As they say, the rest is history. The ultimate victory was India’s. The victory lap and the tears of joy will be etched in everyone’s memory for the times to come.

It was a treat to watch the Little Master play with such gay abandon after a long time – had he already resolved to win the Cup for India? It is a question that would be best answered by him. On the hindsight it seemed so.

A quote from Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist can be recollected in this context – “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it”. Talk about connecting the dots. Today, when it is curtains on his glorious ODI career, it is with fondness and respect I salute Sachin Tendulkar – for the cricketer he is and for the human being he is. Was his retirement too soon or too late?

As Dravid put it when he announced his retirement, it is always better to retire when you are in the peak of your form, rather than wait for your form to wane. I will miss his explosive opening partnerships, his cheeky running between the wickets to steal a run or two, the gusto with which he field and the variations he brought to his bowling. Although he is still around in the Test Matches and the T20s, ODIs will never be the same. Watching India play against Pakistan and Australia will never be the same.

LONDON – AUG13, 2007: (L-R) Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, S. Sreesanth and VVS Laxman of India celebrate their series win against England at the Oval.

As is the common sentiment around, the Indian Team is no longer the same without the Famous Five – Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman and Kumble. They were the stalwarts who took India to its position at the top; their rich experience and presence in the dressing room was a continuous source of inspiration to everyone who crossed their path, even the opposition. In a time where careers last as long as a series, theirs is an example worthy to be emulated.

There have been many greats in the world of cricket and with due respect to all of them, I am proud to say that I lived in an era of Indian cricket, which witnessed the Famous Five in full swing. I am proud to say that I have lived in the era that rightly said, ‘If cricket is a religion, then Tendulkar is the God”. Where everything fails, cricket is the unifying factor to all the Indians.