Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Sachin Tendulkar


As the clock stuck 9 days away from the ICC Cricket World Cup, 2011, I would like to dedicate a couple of articles on some of the players who I think will create a storm in the upcoming series with some of their statistics.
SACHIN TENDULKAR :
Full name : Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
If ones tries to google his name, the result will show about 8,710,000 results (0.09 seconds). He was born on April 24, 1973, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India, a place where cricket is next to a religion and he is considered as none other than a God of the game.  Currently standing tall at 37 years 291 days of age with the experience of 5 world cups and 21+ years of dominating teams from all around the world with his swashbuckling style of batting par elegance. He has just about written his name on every batting records that one could think off. Let me show you some of his statistics :
Batting and fielding averages
MatInnsNORunsHSAveBFSR100504s6sCtSt
Tests1772903214692248*56.945159641060
ODIs4444334117629200*44.972045686.18469319291851340
T20Is110101010.001283.33002010
First-class2804424823585248*59.86781051740
List A5315185521181200*45.74571111690
Twenty2044445151689*38.871171129.4601120121190

Bowling averages
MatInnsBallsRunsWktsBBIBBMAveEconSR4w5w10
Tests17713540962388453/103/1453.063.4991.0000
ODIs444267802068171545/325/3244.265.1052.0420
T20Is11151211/121/1212.004.8015.0000
First-class28074614280703/1061.143.44106.500
List A5311019684452015/325/3242.014.9650.7420
Twenty204489312321/121/1261.507.9346.5000
Currently Tendulkar holds the record of being the most capped player in tests as well as one day internationals. His tally of 97 international centuries is by far the most by any player who has ever played the game. While talking about his stats, one cannot dare to mention that Tendulkar became the first man to reach the milestone to score 200* in an ODI ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7HVsU6LzL0&feature=related )

Sachin at the world cups :
World CupMatchesInningsNot OutRunsAverageBestStrike Rate50′s100′s
199287128347.178484.7330
199677152387.1713785.8832
199977125342.1714090.0401
20031111067361.1815289.2661
20073316432.0057110.3410

 Some quotes on the master blaster :
Andrew Symonds: wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin. ” To Sachin, the man we all want to be “
Virendra Sehwag: Both of us have come a long away and it is a great honour that Tendulkar thinks I come close to resembling him as a batsman. It is a great honour, like a dream come true. If I die tomorrow I’ll be the happiest man because I played this game because of Tendulkar, and Tendulkar himself saying that I resemble him – there is no bigger compliment than that.
Mathew Hayden: I have seen GOD , he bats at no.4 for india in Tests.
Mark Taylor: We did not lose to a team called india…we lost to a man called Sachin.
Brain Lara: Sachin is a genius , i am a mere mortal!
Paul Strang: What we [zimbabwe] need is 10 tendulkars.
Sir Don Bradman: I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two…hi compactness, technique, stroke production… it all seemed to gel! in reference to Sachin Tendulkar.
BBC Sports: Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don’t know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their television sets and switch off their lives.
Wasim Akram: “I dont know what to bowl at him. i bowled an inswinger and he drove me through covers of the front foot. then i bowled an outswinger and he again punched through covers of the backfoot. he is the toughest batsmen i ‘ve bowled to. he shold live long and score lots of runs, but not against pakistan(smiling) “–LEGENDARY WASIM AKRAM  SACHIN on 24th april 2004 on espn Sachin’s 30th B day program.(i think) on his knock in 2003 worldcup.

( courtesy : http://www.sachinandcritics.com/quotes_on_sachin.php )


First take at the world cup in 1992.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x01ieCwhu88 (Sachin Tendulkar 84 vs New Zealand)
The war of the sub-continent in 1996. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WeZf9fFPMA (Sachin Tendulkar 137* vs Sri Lanka)
The heart-broken innings, 3 days after his fathers demise in 1999. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA_6utZU3MQ (Sachin Tendulkar 140* vs Kenya)
The explosion of mastery of the game by the god in 2003.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSmArxGgNss (1) / http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc2vgeyay9I&feature=related (2) / http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd2hsBvNMA8&feature=related (3) / http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCxYaHkFL7A&feature=related ( highlights of the masters innings on the 2003 outing)

Individual honours and appreciations

  • Tendulkar was the only player of his generation, and the cricketer to have played for India, to be included in Bradman’s Eleven.
  • ICC Award-Sir Garfield Sobers trophy for cricketer of the year 2010
  • Padma Bhushan, India’s second highest civilian award, 2008.
  • ICC World ODI XI, 2004, 2007
  • Rajiv Gandhi Awards – Sports, 2005
  • Player of the tournament in the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup
  • Maharashtra Bhushan Award, Maharashtra State’s highest Civilian Award in 2001
  • Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award, 1999
  • Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest honour given for achievement in sports, 1997–98.
  • Wisden Cricketer of the Year, 1997
  • Arjuna Award, by the Government of India in recognition of his outstanding achievement in Cricket, 1994.
  • In October 2010 he was awarded for Outstanding Achievement in Sport and the Peoples Choice Award at The Asian Awards in London
  • On January 28, 2011, he won the ‘Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year’ awar
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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011


ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

And finally after a 4 year long wait, the cricket world cup 2011 is just 11 days away to kick start off in Dhaka, super contenders India vs upset wonders Bangladesh on 19th Feb, 2011. The subcontinental grounds are more batsmen friendly and boasts of run feasts where talents from all around the world die to play on. The environment is not felt anywhere else in the world. Thousands of  fans screaming at the top of their lungs, mexican waves and the battles fought. This is the arena where cricket is considered next to religion if not more, with some cricketers worshiped as gods. If i am not wrong, I think when New Zealand was once touring India, Stephen Fleming hung microphones at the nets to get accustomed to the crowd excitement, which was unlike what they were used to in their homeland.
PAKISTAN :
The tournament did start off with some controversies with the bans imposed on Pakistani players ex-captain Salman Butt, magnificent Mohammed Asif and teennage sensation Mohammed Aamer who were all proven guilty of spot fixing during the Pakistan Vs England series. Flamboyant Sahid Afridi is all set to lead the team.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/other_international/pakistan/9388893.stm) Afridi is a destructive force and can spring a surprise to the opponents. With stable Misbah as a wall that keeps pushing with immense power. Shoaib Akhtar probably will be considering this as his last world cup and will be playing it with all his life. We all know how destructive he can be.
AUSTRALIA :
Australia with the series victory of 6-1 over England in the recently played ODI series, will have to play their best to defend their championship status. Captain Ricky Ponting might also play it as his last world cup will use all his wits to be the captain with the most world cup wins. With a fast bowling battery consisting of  Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Doug Bollinger and gift of the gods in Shane Watson, a captain who is considered as one of the greats of the batting masters has its spinal cord made of Michael Clark and the Husseys. Andrew Symmonds will be missed, as a matter of fact any team would, team Australia will be all set to dominate their way through the series.
NEW ZEALAND :
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has announced his retirement as the National team captain after the mega event. High on Jesse Ryders century, the team would be the one of the underdogs but with players of the caliber of Brandon McCullum and Jacob Oram, led by the captain of action could scale heights.
WEST INDIES :
The 2 time world champion where the gentle giants ruled decades back are contending with potential match winners who are threats to any opposition on their given day. Left out in the IPL 2011  auctions, captain Chris Gayle on his favorite hunting grounds will make serious attempts to make his mark. With explosive all rounders in Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo the nations will see a lot of fireworks. Having ex-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan back in the squad, who combines force with all time veteran Shivnaraine Chanderpaul to pour the experience with rage.
SRI LANKA :
The team with spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan playing his last world cup and supported by mystery magician Ajantha Mendis, toe crushing Lasith Malinga, destructive Tillakaratne Dilshan who can turn around a match in a matter of a few overs, evolving Mahela Jayawardene and captain Kumar Sangakara won the championship in such ground conditions in the 1996 edition. They are also a leading contenders for the cup.
ENGLAND :
The originators of the game but other than the 2010 T20 world cup, it didn’t win any ICC events. High on the Ashes victory, the humiliating 6-1 by the kangaroos served the English side a balancing jolt to make sure they forget the Ashes not and get back on the road to the mother of all trophies. Captain Andrew Strauss will need to hold his nerve while leading the pack in the quest for the jewelled prize.

SOUTH AFRICA :
Like England, this is another strong side which has never won the world cup. History has witnessed how hard luck changes destinies and who else can best describe it other than South Africa. Another star studded line-up and proven match winners who have been there and done almost everything, raising the bar of performance not only for themselves but also for world cricket.


INDIA :
Now just before the signal if flared to start the tournament, the Indian camp suffered a jolt as its medium pace bowler Praveen Kumar failed the fitness test. Rightful replacement would be Sreesanth, says the Indian cricketing greats. The squad look solid but I will miss the games of Rohit Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Robin Uthappa. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise for the guy who has yet a lot to learn about the delivery of expectations. The stage lights will definitely be on the God of cricket, as they talk of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. A lot is being said about his last world cup and that the team should win it for him. Captain cool MSD has a formidable squad line up with the top 6 in Sehwag, Tendulkar, Gambhir, Kohli, Yuvraj, Raina and Yusuf, cannot ignore the tons Harbhajan recently played. Home conditions though would be in favour for the team but the pressure will be immense. Team India is also a favourite for the trophy of 2011.
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