Sachin, the Superman

Today, it’s 20 years to the day the man we all adore wore the India colours for the first time. Playing his first test match against arch-enemy, Pakistan, in the 1st test match starting on 15th November, 1989, the man who will eventually hold almost all batting records, actually had his first initiation as an Indian player as a bowler – bowling a solitary over in Pakistan’s first inning for 10 runs at National Stadium, Karachi. He got to bat in only the first innings, coming in at no. 6, lower than Manoj Prabhakar!

Blooded into his first match in the august company of past, present & future captains like Kapil Dev, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Mohammed Azharuddin & Ravi Shastri, he managed just 15 runs in India’s first inning before being bowled by Waqar Younis. He bowled another 4 overs for 15 runs in the second innings, and didn’t get a chance to bat again, in a drawn match. With those humble beginnings began the birth of a cricketer, who has not looked back since. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, as his parents named him; Genius, as he’s fondly referred to by the other biggies of the game who know their cricket all too well; and God, for the millions of adulating fans across the world; did not take the world by storm on his arrival. But over the years, he’s marvelously demonstrated what a whirlwind he is.

Boring as it may sound, two decades of being at the top does merit a look at the man’s (or more appropriately, the Superman’s) achievements & records till date.

The man has 12,773 runs in test cricket from 261 innings in 152 tests, with 42 centuries to his credit. The most runs and the most centuries. The nearest, Lara with 11,953 runs & 34 centuries has retired. And the only one who can probably stake a claim to at least the test records is Aussie captain, Ricky Ponting, who has 11,345 runs from 229 innings in 136 tests with 38 centuries and has at least 1-2 years’ age benefit over Tendulkar, being younger to him by 1½ years. At 95 fifties, Sachin is also way ahead of Ponting, who’s at 86. But theoretically speaking, at the rate he is scoring, and if he keeps going on for those 2 extra years (even though he made his test debut exactly 6 years later than Sachin), Ponting should overtake Sachin. But whether he is mentally & physically as tough to keep playing till the age of 36 and beyond (or even 38, if Sachin continues to play till 2011, as is popularly believed), needs to be seen.

When it comes to ODIs too, Tendulkar is unparalleled. Though he began with a golden duck in his very first ODI, he now has 17,178 runs to his credit, and is almost 4,000 ahead of his nearest competitor, Sanath Jayasuriya, who has actually played 4 matches more than Sachin’s 436. And he is 5,000 ahead of the next man, Ricky Ponting, though Ponting has played only 330. Compare his 45 centuries to the second best 28 by both Jayasuriya & Ponting, and you know how far ahead Sachin is of those two, who can only marvel how he has managed so much. Most would not know, but Sachin has scored 9 ODI centuries against Australia, which is the highest for any player against a single team. He also occupies the second place with 8 hundreds against Sri Lanka. Sanath Jayasuriya, with 7 against India, and Saeed Anwar, with 7 against Sri Lanka, come in next. And, Sachin’s the only cricketer in the world to have scored over 3,000 runs against a single country, with Australia being his favourite punching bag, and also is the only player to have scored over 2,000 against 3 nations – Australia, Sri Lanka & Pakistan.

Huge as they without a doubt are, Sachin has never let any of those achievements go to his head. The man, who has enthralled millions for the past 2 decades, not just with his batting & bowling, but also with his well-behaved, gentlemanly manners on & off the field, is truly a statesman of cricket, even at a time when most would not call it a gentleman’s sport any more. With his mild manners, and his not so mild batting, this 5’5” tiny giant has proven that the best way to earn respect is by commanding it with his bat, not demanding it because of what his status as the world’s top batsman is.

With 2 decades of cricket behind him, there have been times when he’s not been at his very best, and age obviously has played its role. There have been those occasions when many have dared to clamour for his head when he’s failed to live up to the expectations of his fans, citing age, lack of performance, young blood needed, etc. However, every time there is a call for his head, he comes back stronger, proving to all his critics (including me) that form is only temporary, class is permanent.

With the likes of Geoffrey Boycott, Graham Gooch & Clive Lloyd playing well into their early 40s before finally going into retirement, Sachin would appear to be a good 4-6 years away from retirement. If he does play on till that age, he should have scored at least 15,000 test and 20,000 ODI runs, benchmarks which may remain unbroken forever. Who knows, maybe we will see that day. Till then, we can continue being amazed every time he steps out to bat, and wonder – “Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Superman.” Sachin, the Superman.