The God, the Devil and Sachin Tendulkar!!!
By: Venkatachalam. A. Krishnan
This was published in CRICKETNEXT.COM on Sunday, March 2, 2003 - The day after India's win over Pakistan.
http://www.cricketnext.com/yoursay/krishnan/krishnan6.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JOHN MICHAEL DAVISON would have been a worried man watching India take on Pakistan in the preliminary round of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 at the Supersport Park in Centurion today. After all, he had set the record for the `fastest century' in any world cup game only a few days ago. Playing for the minnows Canada and facing the mighty West Indians, he had to play out of his skin to achieve it. And the record was in real danger of being rewritten. It would have been rewritten had one SACHIN TENDULKAR not suffered from cramps midway through his innings.
It was a battle between GOD and the DEVIL. God seemed to be winning it all the way when he blessed us with an opportunity to watch one of the best ever innings played on a Cricket-pitch. It was sheer poetry right through till the Devil decided to have his own brief moments of glory. First he gave painful cramps to Tendulkar and then he robbed him off another magnificent century thereby keeping the record of the Canadian intact.
But God it was who had the last laugh as India deservedly ended up victorious in the encounter billed as `the Grandmother of all battles'. Tendulkar's innings at the top made it a no-contest within a few minutes into the Indian innings.
The Bowling figures of the `dreaded' Pakistani attack says it all. When Shoaib Akthar went for 72 runs in his quota of 10 overs, Waqar Younis went for 71 runs in just 8.4 overs. Some statistician can analyse and tell us whether these are the worst ever performances of their respective celebrated careers.
Let us not talk about the statistics here; not about the overall match; not about India entering the Super Six stage with 8 valuable points in their kitty; not even about some niggling problems the Indians still have to take care of if they are to perform better. We can save all those to another time. Let us talk about the one individual to whom India-scaling-the-ultimate-peak-in-world-cricket matters more than anything else in his life. Let us celebrate SACHIN RAMESH TENDULKAR.
If anybody had any doubts about his status as the world's best batsman, he cleared them all emphatically today. He is a country mile ahead of anyone else even dreaming about competing with him. No superlative can do enough justice to his innings today. He was in an altogether different world soaring over the mere mortals. Even the magician Akram couldn't come anywhere close to him today.
`NOW OR NEVER' is the motivating caption in the Indian dressing room for this world cup. And the person who has taken it in all its seriousness is Tendulkar. He has been the best in the business consistently for more than a decade now. He owns almost every record imaginable and is most definitely seen as the `GOD' of the game. And he knows he may never have another opportunity to get the only reward he has never been able to get so far - A World Cup winners medal.
He is committed to the team's cause and is putting his heart and soul into making India the world champions. And his wishes can come true if only the rest of the team learn to have him as the core and play around him. If he gets the necesary support from the others, there is no opposition - Australia included - who can prevent India from becoming the world champions.
Let us all get together and raise a toast to Sachin Tendulkar today and cheer him on his way to bringing us more joy. May the Devil become an uninterrupting spectator while God continues to bless us with more breathtaking acts by this alltime great cricketer.
GO SACHIN GO !!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
