By Mayank Jain:
“There are two kinds of batsmen in the world. One, Sachin Tendulkar. Two, all the others.” ~ Andy Flower
Every cricket fan who has ever experienced zoning out of the world and its voices, just to watch the maestro hit that leg glance on a splashy fast paced delivery, knows what madness is. He knows what passion is and what it means to see one guy carrying the burden of a whole country’s expectations on his shoulders to the ground. Now with the Bharat Ratna conferred to the lord of the Cricket, it is time to recount some of the greatest moments that made him what he is today:
1. November 15, 1989:
16-year-old lad Sachin made his debut versus Pakistan in Karachi. He had just recently scored an hundred on his Irani Trophy debut for Rest of India.
2. December 14, 1989:
It was another big game for India and the most fierce pace bowling attack on the other end. Sachin was hit on the nose by a ball from Waqar Younis but he didn’t go off the crease and went on to make 57 runs against an attack that included Wasim Akram and Imran Khan as well.
3. August 14, 1990:
His first hundred happened in style against England at the Old Trafford in the fourth innings. Sachin saved the match for us and also became man of the match for his unbeaten 119.
4. 1993, Hero Cup:
Super thriller semi-final between India and South Africa was well down to the last over and South Africa required just 6 runs to win. Then, the ball went into Sachin’s hand and he carried it off with confidence and conceded only three runs.
5. March 27, 1994:
Sachin Tendulkar’s love affair with opening the innings started in this match against New Zealand. He was asked to open the batting and he hit a blistering 82 off just 49 balls.
6. April 1, 1998: Sachin Tendulkar rattled the Australian batting in Kochi in a tough game for India that became a cake walk after his first five wicket haul in the ODIs. He took 5 wickets just for 32 runs and gave us another victory.
7. April 22, 1998:
Australia had never seen another after Don Bradman but Sachin had arrived. In the first of the two back to back hundreds, he put Australia into a whirlwind with his knock of 143. He scored 134 in the very next game against Australia.
8. 2003-2004:
The first series win in Pakistan ought to be special. The master has been quoted as expressing his joy in the following words: “Undoubtedly one of the top series wins in my career. Remember, Pakistan had a good side and we went there and won convincingly.”
9. February 24, 2010:
How can one forget the first 200 made by a batsman in the ODIs. Sachin’s career had recently landed into controversies and speculation on his retirement and he silenced the critics with that superb unbeaten 200 against South Africa and bagged the series for India.
10. April 2, 2011:
After passing every milestone and breaking the records long standing, only a World Cup was left to take home and the master’s career couldn’t just end without this win. He did his best to play tournament after tournament to finally end up on the winning side and he did finish his world cup career with a great win against Sri Lanka in Mumbai.