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A Decade of Brilliance

Meghana Joshi:
vasudha_joshi@e-architect.com: Tendulkar no doubt is a man of brilliance,but he surely is excellent in hard hitting when his other batting partner is just ahead of him.

Meghana Joshi:
vasudha_joshi@e-architect.com: Tendulkar no doubt is a man of brilliance,but he surely is excellent in hard hitting when his other batting partner is just ahead of him.

Gowtham:
gtham@hotmail.com: Looking back at the time when he stepped on to the playing field, and recollecting what he was expected to do and seeing what he actually has, I feel his talents are exaggerated. At best, he can be compared to Gavaskar...Bradman and his like are beyond Tendulkar's realm. I only hope that he continues to do atleast what he has done so far.

shailesh:
sshailesh@hotmail.com: Best luck ..You are the man of next millinium

Rogo:
gogo158@go.com: We had seen the success at Toronto and Nairobi by having one best batsman (ganguly also some times)playing in the middle order and Ramesh or MSK starting. Why you didn't continue that and we lost almost when the first 3 wickets down in both games with NZ ?

rahuls:
rahuls@omantel.com: Sachin, you are the best and you deserve the best. will u send me a reply to my e-mail address. I love you tooooooo much. I go to school in Muscat and am in the 7th standard. Cricket is my favourite game and u are my best idol. luv you always rahul

Abou Baker:
aboubakerm@hotmail.com: Hai, I feel Tendulkar should play better in crucial matches. No doubt, he is "The Best".

Sravan:
sra12345: Congratulations Sachin! I think India has got potential to produce atleast 10 more sachin-like cricketers;And that will happen when Cricket at all levels becomes politics-free!

Subhash Samuel:
: Congratulations on completing a successful decade in international cricket for India. Thank you for making India proud with you fabulous performance. Hope you would continue for several more decades making landmarks for yourself and India. Wish you all the best.

Sekar:
: One good player in Indian side who needs to needs to show his flashy shots in all the matches he plays. May God bless him all he needs.

Shri Sridhar:
shrima@worldnet.att.net: To me, a cricketer's (or any other sportsman's) greatness lies in almost single-handedly helping his team win championships. Judged by this criterion, Sachin is definitely not 'great' because he is yet to help India win the World cup!!

rakesh gupta:
: no doubt that he is second to DON in terms of his batting but as a captain he is probably one of the worst captains of all times!!! rakesh gupta

hari:
hariprasadj@yahoo.com: Way to go !............ BOOM BOOM bOOM ............ie the fours and sixers Congrats sachin...... hope we find another .....

Dwarkanath:
luvbuddy007@hotmail.com: Let victory be yours and u blossom like flowers not for this day alone but for ever and ever!!! I wish we had more Tendulkar's for India !!! Hey Tendelia I composed a song in cricket team which I'll be releasing in the market probably in another 4 months. JUST LOOKING OUT FOR SPONSORS!!!!

Chandran Balaji:
cbalajivk@hotmail.com: To be a Sachin would be more difficult than to be Bradman/Gavaskar/any body in many many years to come. This is how I would like to start my recap of the most dearest and finest evangelist of the game called cricket. It so happens that only a few could practice what they preach. And if one were to revisit the wonderful days of ball bashing, wood shattering, crowd pulling and ego breaking days of this great man/lad, the preaching what ever they were could be found in the practices and accomplishments. Its also true that its only because of this character of his we all are spending our time writing in praise for what ever this greatest of all criceters had done to game of cricket and Indian cricket. There are two particular moments of Tendulkar which I envy as well as I feel such a heavy heart like a ton of iron in it and feel millions of butterflies fluttering in my stomach if I were to be him. But being a lesser Moran, it gives me a blissful pleasure just to analyze the capacity of this wizard. The two occasions would be the century with the greatest of Bombay ranji players in audience and the latter would be the century against Kenya in the recently concluded world cup. Thinking of the toughness in mind and soul, as well as the confidence a person could behold in circumstances as these proves large enough to lay the laurel of the BEST EVER on this little head.

At age 14 many of us might go crazy just to get an autograph of Ranji players, but to debut and score in that league and to have an audience such as ex-legends says, what I or any body couldn't possibly say in words. The second occasion was the one which touched the heart of many Indians and humanity around the world. After the irreplaceable loss of his father a man at 25 returns to the war all armored and scores a scintillating century to prove that the Country is More than the family. On that day I thought how many of us could do this, many of us might have crumbled, got disoriented but for this man who breathes cricket, he was just living another day of his life and hence the great game of cricket lived a day longer. I have nothing in particular to compare with this prodigy but if I were to wish I would wish I beget a son of at least his mental caliber. With all the love there could be, C.Balaji.V.K

Milind tare:
milind_tare@hotmail.com: Incredible Article , Prem...... I luv reading u.... Milind Philadephia US

Uma Shankar:
cvumashankar@hotmail.com: Hats off Prem I claim myself to be the greatest fan of Sachin. One friend of mine who is also a Sachin detractor had sent this mail to our friends. I had replied a long mail that time like what you had written. I really enjoyed this article. I hope Sachin gives us much more fun and more importantly "pride" for being an Indian. Bye, Uma Shankar

Venkat:
venkatra@engr.sc.edu: Prem, The best way to reply is to attack. That is what you have done. We have been waiting for this 'article'. You chose the best match to answer (that Sharjah match). No one can deny the fact that 'sachin' is the best batsman in the world, not for his stats/neither for his hundreds, but for his shots/technique. He has all the shots in him. Ask anyone whom they would like to see 'bat', invariably every one would say sachin. That's his class.

However I do feel that, Sachin fails on important occasions. For instance he got a beautiful 140* against Kenya. But he failed in the all important Supersix Australia match. Infact his contribution in the world cup is zero, but he lost his father, so we can't take the world cup as the basis.In recent times the best innings I have seen is Steve Waugh's hundred against Southafrica in the super six(not the semi-finals). He did it in when the team needed from him badly and when Australia was trailing by 48/3 chasing 270 plus. I rate this innings much more than Sachin's 140 at Sharjah. Sachin obviously is better than Steve Waugh in technique/class everything. But determination/temparament I think Sachin doesn't have. So far in this Newzealand tour 3 of our batsmen have crossed 150+. We have won only two so have NZ. We need to play as a team. There is no doubt these three (Sachin,Rahul, Ganguly) will be taken into any team's batting 11. But the point is our middle order is weak, that's why we fail while chasing very small totals. Whenever sachin/gang click we win big time. Rahul dravid can play the support. He is the best number3 batsman. I somehow feel one of Sachin/Ganguly should come in the middle order especially when we are chasing. In the first 10 overs the fielding team is motivated and the best bowlers bowl(McGrath, donald, Cairns, Akram). In the middle that 5 th bowler bowls, that's why we need a strong middle order batsman. I am sure neither Sachin/Ganguly will be willing to do that in one day matches, because they can't make 50-100 hundreds in ODI matches in their carrier. Afterall they are human beings, and they want to be in limelight. But think about it Steve waugh has only two hundreds, but he won a worldcup for his country. There is nothing wrong in being defensive, sachin can come after 20 overs chasing 280 plus at 50/1-120/2. He is the only person capable of chasing and scoring against any bowling. If Ramesh or anyother batsman just make the ball old, sachin can not get out at all. sachin should come after 15-25 overs while chasing/if not sachin ganguly should come in the middle order if India has to chase any total.

We have the best 3 batsmen in the world by class/technique/average/100s. But we still lose don't you think that is too bad. Sachin has played 10 years, I am hoping to see more of Sharjah type innings from him. (I strongly believe that he can chase 400 plus batting second against SA/Australia batting second if he bats through the 50 overs) Venkat

Madhav:
mrdind@yahoo.com: No Indian cricketer is worth untill they go to pakistan and win a test and ODI seris on their soil to take revenge of losses to Akram & Imran's team.

We play cricket as a nations team and not as a buch of individual intelegient players. Till then hell with the cricketers

Ramesh Gopinath:
gopinath@exodus.net: I have been a great great fan of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. I have been following him right from his debut days when he faced the wily Akram, ferocious waqar and an aging but clever Imran and something was telling me that This guy is born to rule the world with his 3.5 pounds Magic Wand.

Sachin has already scketched his name in Gold as a WunderBat and is already among the all-time greats like Bradman and Sobers. He has been a boon to cricket and i consider myself very very lucky that i will be getting to see him all through his career.

I have poured out some of my thoughts about sachin in my web page, http://members.tripod.com/~ramesh_gopinath. Please go through it... the web page says it all..... from one of the Greatest fans of Sachin in the world Ramesh Gopinath

Anand K:
kanand@mail.com: I for one would be willing to shell out a goodly sum of hard earned cash to get a video of some of these innings - particularly the ones against Australia at Perth and Sharjah

Nina C Saxena:
: What sets Sachin apart from the other cricketers of this and other times is his complete dedication and commitment to his country. His pride as an Indian is an example for all of us to excel not for ourselves but for our country and all the glory that surrounds its past, present and future. His sense of duty and integrity are also without question. It is his high level of personal principles and character that set him apart from any cricketing hero, past or present. Combine that with his talent and courage, and you have the epitomy of perfection, a gift from the Lord himself!

Devadatta Mukutmoni:
mongol@tir.com: Hello Mr. Lavakare: I think the issue is not that Tendulkar is as good as Bradman. The question is whether Tendulkar is the 2nd best batsman ever. It is too early for that. But, he is definitely a contender. Why not write a column on that? regards, Devadatta Mukutmoni

Ram:
abcxyz123@hotmail.com: I agree Tendulkar is a great batsman. But there seems to be more myth and hype surrounding him than any reality. I would definetly not place him alongside all-time greats like Don Bradman, Vivian Richards, Gary Sobers to name a few. Even among contemporaries, he is no better than say batsman like Mark Waugh, Saeed Anwar,Brian Lara etc. I gave up on calling him an all time great after he let India down on two crucial occasions where India needed hin badly in the recent past. The first was in Chennai against Pak last year when he was out with the match well within his grasp. The next was his tame surrender to Glen McGrath in the first of the super 6 matches against Australia in the recent world cup. Prior to the match, there was all this hoopla about Tendulkar having McGrath for breakfast etc, but it was the other way around. Tendulkar's meek surrender in that match resulted in India loosing that crucial match. All in all, I'd say Tendulkar is a great player, but to be considered an all-time great, he must pull of a few incredible innings against all odds and against the likes of Donald, McGrath, Ahktar, etc. Tell then he is just great, not an all-time great!!!

Paresh Tandon:
Pareshtandon@mailcity.com: Thanks for the oppartunity to write something about the man of iron will and complete dedication. I think these two words says all what i want to say about this wonder boy!! But i feel still the lavel of consistency we expext from a guy like him is not proved. I wnat him to perform like Bevan I wish him all the success (if any lest still) Love Paresh

Anoop:
: Hope he serves us 10 years more

Atul:
akp1975@hotmail.com: I see the tendulkar of today, as a person who has a distinct image of how he wants indian cricket to be, I think he is on his way in th eright earnest. The first part of his mission is accomplished- read " The Blooming of Ganguly and Dravid Phenomenon.'. I am not trying to take anything away from these great batsmen, but i think their batting accuemen has bloomed and revolved, with tendulkar being the pivot. I think he now has a definite plan how he would like his bowling to be. Even if we do not concur with his line of thinking, Sachin being sachin , i think will be more often right than wrong. So let us just trust him with that.

Favorite Cricketing Moment: When he battled away single handedly against Pakistan in chennai, although for a lost cause , but i think that was the moment when i realised that he will take his batting to the next level (If one does exists).I think the loss pained him the most! But the memory is distinctly etched in my mind and Sachin if yo are reading this,Indian Cricket will always be gratefull to you for it.

Favorite Anecdote: Jeff Thomson to Mike Kaspovich (sorry for the spelling): "Mate take the bat away and give him a single stump, i think he still will be allright!"

Favorite Quote: Shane Warne on Sachin : " I still have naightmares of him hitting me for a six!"

Uma Shankar:
cvumashankar@hotmail.com: Hi Everybody, I claim myself to be the greatest fan of Sachin and I am proud of that. My Favourite Test Centuries of Sachin ------------------------------------- 1. Against Pakistan at Chennai 1999 Most people would put the Perth Century at the top. But for me this was his best. I have many reasons for that. First of all it came against Pakistan and was against all odds. Sachin was having back problem and the pressure was enormous. Also we should take note of the fact that Saqlain's bowling was the best I had seen in India for the past 15 years and that includes Hirwani's 16 and Kumble's Perfect ten. So all this makes that century a rare rare gem.
2. Against Australia at Perth 1992 What an innings? Infact most of Sachin's innings are blemishless and easily classify as great innings but this was definitely one of the best innings of the 90's. 3. Against England at Edgbaston 1996 I still remember the 3 fours he hit of Cork. One feature of Sachin's centuries is the way he dominates the bowlers no matter who he is Donald,Walsh,Cork or Warne. 4. Against Australia at Chennai 1998 The centuries scored in second innings are always tough. But the above second innings centuries were all in lost cause so I wanted to pick a second innings winning century. Of them this was a marvellous innings well past one's imagination. I never thought India could win the match. Infact on the day Sachin scored century I just hoped he could stay there and save the match. But oh man never under estimate this small dynamo. What an innings he played. This innings will be remembered more for the he way he hit Warne but in bigger sense that innings paved the way for the series and helped India to a remarkable series victory against one of the best sides in test cricket. 5. Against Australia at Sydney 1992 This was very tough for me to choose. I couldn't leave out the 169 at Cape Town which was also one of the best innings of the 90's. But I chose this one for various reasons. One main reason was the kind of shots played in that innings. I still remember one shot of McDermott. Sachin just shaped to play forward but the ball was just short and immdiately he was on the back foot and moments later the ball was picked from the cover boundary. Channel 9 showed the replay atleast 1o times from various angles of the shot and the commentator just couldn't beleive that somebody can change a shot so late and still do it to perfection. That shot has been my most favourite shot of Sachin. It was just unbeleivable. Also after that innings Neil Harvey said that it was one of the best centuries ever scored in Australia. That day Sachin became the youngest to score a century in Australia and I guess it will be years before somebody breaks that record. Special Mention : The 85 he scored against the West Indies in the first test when they came to India in 1994. It would have gone down as one of the best if had made it a century but nevertheless it was a great innings against a very tough pace attack.
My Fav One Day Centuries ------------------------ 1. Against Australia at Sharjah 1998 (League Game) This is the best one day innings ever played though there are a lot of close contenders. But this wins simply because of the near impossible task achieved with this. I can still see the joy of thousands and thousands of spectators being happy to see India qualify for the final. It was one innings which made everybody spellbound. That's why Coca-Cola gave an award of 20000 pounds for Sachin for just that innings while India got 15000 pounds for winning the tournament. I will say the Australlians were lucky to see that innings.
2. Against Kenya in the 1999 World Cup This may not be a great innings in terms of cricketing sense though Sachin was absolutely divine in the way he played but more for the sheer sense of emotions he must have had while playing that innings. Quite rightly he saw his father in the sky after he scored the century.
3. Against Zimbabwe at Benoni in 1997 Many will forget this innings because Sachin was little shaky to start with. But he was under tremendous pressure when he went to bat. He had not scored even a fifty in the one day tournament and India had to score 243 in 42 overs to qualify. It was sure that the only way we could achive it was, if Sachin played well. And he did. It was an awesome innings played with brutal power. In the course of his century I saw one of my favourite shots of Sachin. He lifted Eddo Brandes straight over his head for a six and with the bat as straight as an arrow. There are very few players who can play the straight drive as well Sachin. The ultimate tribute for this came in the West Indies tour when Walsh and Ambrose bowled to Sachin with mid on and mid off straighter than you can ever imagine. Sachin was still trying to pierce that small gap. I was very very happy to see such great bowlers giving this kind of respect. Of course he Sachin... and nobody can play straight drive like him.
4. Against Australia at Sharjah in 1998 This innings paled to his own innings 2 days earlier. But still it was an astonishing innings and one which brought victory over Australia. Earlier in the innings Kasprowiz had told something to Sachin and he didn't reply. Later when he came back for second spell he hit him straight over his head and answered in a way a great batsman would. After that shot Tony Greig in the commentary box told "He is the closet ever to Bradman".
5. Against NewZealand at Hyderabad 1999 This takes the place simply because of the no of runs scored. Though 186 is a huge score. I always felt and still feel that Sachin can score a double century in one day cricket. I hope it comes soon and against pakistan hopefully.
Special Mentions: 1. Against Australia at Mumbai in 1996 World Cup 2. Against Zimbabwe at Sharjah Nov 1998 Champion trophy final 3. Against Australia at Dhake in 1998 4. Against NewZealand at Auckland in 1994 (First as opener) 5. Against South Africa in the final at Sharjah 1996 (Fifty would have won the match for India if he had not been run out) 6. Against Pakistan at Sharjah in 1996 (Same tournament as above) 7. Agaunst South Africa in South Africa in the final in 1997 (Scored 40 odd but was magnificient in the short while he was there)
As a batsman I rate Sachin next only to Bradman. Do I need to say anything more? As a captain he is good with what he has got. I strongly beleive in the theory that "A Captain is only as good as his team". The best example for this is the Srilankan team. There was hardly any difference between the 1996 and 1999 world cup teams but see the performances. Ranatunga can't do anything if Jayasurya and DeSilva are out of form and the conditions are not suited to your strength. So my evaluation of Sachin's captaincy says that he is a good solid captain. He is not creative like Martin crowe or Lara. He will become creative as he grows in confidence and wins more matches as captain.

My favorite moment in Sachin's life hasn't come yet. I judge Sachin by Sachin's standards. My wish is that he wins the World Cup for India when he plays. That should be the best one day achivement. On the test side I want him to score more than 34 centuries and also beat Border's record. If he could lead us to a series win in Australia that will be the best thing he can do in Test Cricket.

To end more than anything else Sachin's makes me proud to say that "I am an Indian". I have tears in my eyes when I write this. My Salutes to him...... Bye, Uma Shankar

prakash:
phariharan@hotmail.com: I have been an ardent cricket watcher since I was a kid. The image of Tendulkar that lingers is the short arm pull shot of Pat Patterson at Perth in a World Series one-dayer in the 91-92 series. I think he scored around 76 in a total of 160, but the manner in which he scored them was just effortless. The pull shot was infact his first scoring stroke and he followed this one with a couple of more shots in the same over. The wicket was a green top with Patterson really hitting the deck. It was also the same game when Gangs made his debut and was comically run-out. So too was Chikha ( Srikkanth)when he slipped and fell on the way to the crease. This game was before his 114 in the same ground and I firmly believe that this was one knock that made the commentators sit up and notice his ability.It also sowed the seeds for a series of superlative knocks that summer in Australia. I recall watching this lad bat with disbelief that day, especially since all the other batsmen from both the teams really struggled. We are talking of Shastri, Vengsarkar, Azhar, Sanjay, Richardson and Haynes.

Sumeet:
sumdude3@hotmail.com: Sachin is the most awesome cricketer I have ever seen.His flair and variety in strokes is beyond mere brilliance.I am sure we have a lot to see in the future from this ingenious cricketing legend.

Ravi Verma:
ravi_ver@hotmail.com: Sachin has become the holding piller of Indian Cricket Team. When he is ON, no one can stop him, Just Brilliant. He is a rock and no one will ever be abel to beat him.

Varun:
Thunderbolt@rediff.com: The very name Tendulkar brings back memories of pure magic the man or should i say the boy can create in cricket. he is the best thing that has happened to Indian cricket. I even shudder to think of the next 15 years later when we will no longer be able to see the boyish tendulkar face warne and whack him like no one else. I have seen cricket for the past 10 years of my 16 years in this world and no one can even come close to what he ia capable os achieving. I only pray for him that he should acheive the highest score in test and one day matches. hats off to the man or should i say the wonder boy

Atul:
akp1975@hotmail.com: My salutations to an Apt answer, i dont think it could have been done any better and moreover i think it had to come from someone who is as passionate about sachin as anything ( my feelings, for what they are worth, exactly). Good One.

Sharathbabu Krishnarao:
sharathbabuk@hotmail.com: Favourite cricketing moment: Whenever he comes to bat anecdote: (its from hindi song from Jo Jeete wohi Sikandar)

Usne "Batting" ke kuch aise dang se Sapne de gaya wo hazaro "run"oke Rahagaya virodhi haarke kamyabi choo diya uske kadmo pe Rating as player: A++++++++++++++++++ Rating as Captain: A (tries to take everything on himself, he must learn a few things from Azhar)

Ashish Jadhav:
ashjd2@yahoo.com: A plaque I read, which defines Sachin's batting the best is : "6 + 4 = 10dulkar"!!!

Chandrashekhar S Vaish:
mannoo@netzero.net: Let us see, Mr Sachin Tendulker undoubtedly good cricketer and probably a good human being but he did let country down by returning to family for father's death immediately after hearing as any ordinary person would have done. He is a human being and acted that way. I had raised this question briefly when on chat with Panicker and company before other matches India had to play. If we look back it can easily be argued that that important match against Zimbabwe and Sachin's presence may have brought a different result and possibly different outcome of the world cup. India could have emerged champions as I all along believed it to be one of the finest team there. Now anyone can say in a situation like that when a tragedy of that sort occurs family needs presence of every member.

True. His father's death has occured and funeral and other rites had to be arranged. Since the family is extremely well off because of tons of money that Sachin has made, funeral could have been arranged for a little later date or time and he should have done the job at hand by staying back as was also felt by his mother. Again I say he is a good player, plays for himself I guess because if he played for India he would have stayed back but that would have required a super-human effort which he can not or could not as Shane Warne did who despite his wife having a child continued with the team and rest is history in this world cup. I still believe though child delivery very safe, anything can go wrong sometime. Other than that who could be real heroes an ordinary jawan who knowing well that there is danger at the front and he may not return to be with the family and loved ones, still goes to the war-front loses life or returns with horrible memories. How much he gets paid and recognized. We better start changing our yardsticks before we start naming or saluting our heroes. Sachin Tendulkar can never be my hero. I think he let us down when faced by a personal tragedy.

Radhukar:
radhu19999991@hotmail.com: Tendulkar is the nightmare of indian cricket. He is damm bloody hype. This hysteria and hype devastated Indian cricket. Tendulkar is the most cunning and selfish sportsperson, competes with the likes of sunil Gavaskar.(no wonder gavaskar is the mentor of tendulkar) As a captain, he is just nonsense. As a batsman he is good enough to be in Indian cricket team. But he doesnt deserve all the hype he gets from the media.

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