Simply Sachin !
Tendulkar’s landmark dominated the front pages of leading newspapers, even overshadowing the India-Pakistan diplomatic talks scheduled for Thursday.
“Immortal at 200″, screamed a banner headline in the Times of India, while the Indian Express ran a half-page photo of a celebrating Tendulkar with the word “God!”
A similar front-page photo in the Hindustan Times, headlined “200 not out”, was followed by an appreciation by Tendulkar’s former team-mate and bowling great Anil Kumble.
“The way he celebrated when he reached his 200 epitomised the man’s persona,” Kumble, an ex-India captain, wrote. “There were no running laps around the field, no aggressive gestures, nothing over-the-top. “He did what he always does. Raised both his arms, closed his eyes for a moment and quietly acknowledged it had been done. “If the youngsters in the team can take even 10 percent of what he does, they will be better cricketers for it.
The Times of India highlighted the veteran’s scintillating form in the last 12 months, during which he has hit 10 international centuries, including six in Test cricket.
“Treasure this new, improved Tendulkar,” the paper said. “He is, by far, still India’s most valuable player, and will remain so till he decides to call it quits.”
Tendulkar, who made his debut in 1989, has scored 13,447 runs with 47 hundreds in 166 Tests, and 17,598 runs with 46 centuries in 442 One-day matches.
The Hindustan Times‘ cricket correspondent wrote: “It’s never a good idea to try and speak for a whole nation. But on Wednesday it was a risk worth taking.
“To Sachin Tendulkar, on whom more words have been written than any other cricketer, including Sir Donald Bradman, two words will suffice: Thank you.”
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar led the tribute, saying Tendulkar has established himself as the greatest batsman ever. “There is just no question about that. He is the greatest batsman the game has ever seen,” Gavaskar gushed. “See his record! Who else has got 90-plus centuries, 1700-plus runs in ODIs and 13000-plus runs in Test cricket? He is comfortably the greatest batsman ever,” said Gavaskar.
Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar paid his rich tribute to Tendulkar, saying it was an incredible feat that spoke volumes of the batting master’s toughness.
“It’s an amazing feat to get 200 in a day and that too off only 147 balls,” Vengsarkar said. “It shows his mental and physical toughness. He’s a player who does not throw away his wicket once he’s set. He always places a huge price on his wicket,” Vengsarkar said.
Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara also paid his tribute. “What an innings it was! He came close to achieving it twice. I always felt that Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya are capable of doing that,” Sangakkara said.
“He is my favourite player. I had told that one day he would go on to break all batting records and now you see him scoring runs and runs,” Miandad said.
Another former Pakistan captain Aamer Sohail attributed Tendulkar’s success to his humility.
“I think if you ask Saeed Anwar (who jointly held the previous record for highest ODI knock), he would say he’s happy that Tendulkar broke his record,” Sohail said.
“The reason for his success is that he has a great respect for the game,” Sohail reasoned.
“There is a little boy in Tendulkar who wants to keep playing. That spirit keeps him going. It’s absolutely incredible how he keeps going. “A lot of others with his record would have had called it enough. But I guess there is no word called enough in Tendulkar’s dictionary,” said Gavaskar, whom Tendulkar often looks upto. “I think he should go for the triple century in Test cricket. This is something he doesn’t have but he is very capable of. This is well within his reach and he should go for it,” Gavaskar said.
Former Test player Bapu Nadkarni found it difficult to find words to describe the feats of Tendulkar and said, “Whatever record is seen to be impossible to achieve, he makes it possible. That’s all I can say.
“It seems as he’s getting older, he is becoming more and more mature. No wonder Sir Donald Bradman saw himself in the way Sachin bats,” Nadkarni said.
“Legend of Tendulkar gets more heft. First ODI double ton, God knows how many centuries in all. Heck, do we need to qualify his greatness? Amazing innings this, swashbuckling shots interspersed with deft placements, but most impressive perhaps being the hard running between wickets. More amused than appalled that some people still question Sachin’s greatness. But not much can be done about misanthropes. relevant comparison is in impact both Sachin and Don had on the psyche of their respective cntrys and sporting world. Very similar, perhaps pressure of expectation on Sachin greater because of a billion strong Indian diaspora and a hyperventilating media. Biggest accolade for Tendulkar I can give is that despite having the world at his feet he remains humble to his profession & hungry to excel.” Ajay Menon said.
“Just when you thought he’s scaled Everest, the man finds another mountain to climb. Sachin, you are the God of Cricket. I saw Sachin score his first first class hundred 22 years ago. bunked office and then wrote a front page piece on him the next day. SRK, Amitabh, Aamir are big stars. Sachin is a hero. We celebrate stars, we revere a hero. Last night went to bed depressed with the Bangalore fire images. Tonight, Sachin’s record will ensure i sleep well.”, said Rajdeep Sai Desai
Loading ...