10 reasons why the cricket world will miss Sachin Tendulkar

8. The Crafty Bowler – stunning the world with his mix of leg break, off-break and medium pace

Dennis Lillee, the former Australian pacer of the seventies and early eighties, was unimpressed by the precociously talented kid from Mumbai, who had arrived at the MRF Pace Foundation with ambitions of becoming a world-class fast bowler. He advised the youngster to concentrate on batting, and he never looked back from that moment onward.

But Sachin did not give up bowling entirely. He worked on being as versatile as possible on this aspect, and added both leg-breaks as well as off-breaks to his medium-pace. When it came to breaking partnerships, his services were called upon more than once.

No one will forget the semi-final of the Hero Cup against South Africa at the Eden Gardens, when none of India’s frontline bowlers were willing to take the ball for the last over. Tendulkar put his hand up and requested skipper Azharuddin that he be allowed to send down the final six deliveries, managing to convince both the leader as well as veteran all-rounder Kapil Dev.

What followed was history – India had to defend six runs, Sachin gave away three, and a wicket also fell courtesy a run-out from Salil Ankola. The man himself remained as cool as ever despite the high amount of pressure on his side.

He single-handedly won the quarter-final of the 1998 ICC Knockout Trophy against Australia with a magical century and four wickets.

Most remember Harbhajan Singh‘s exploits at the Eden Gardens in 2001, but it was the Little Master’s triple strike on the final day that helped India level the series. It was his unreadable delivery that consigned Adam Gilchrist to his one and only king pair in Test cricket, and will be remembered by the cricketing world for eons to come.