Sachin Tendulkar has always been in the limelight when it comes to records and now with 99 international centuries to his name, he is just one short of becoming the first man with such an achievement. A huge achievement and it is one that will probably stand as a significant monument such as Bradman's average in the chronicles of the game. However in chasing this glory are we forgetting that 100 is just a number and that there are more important things?
Indians are always astounded by facts and figures and if you want to impress an Indian, all you have to do is sound confident and state some numbers and he will think you to be very wise, that is until he figures out that those numbers have little or no meaning. But jokes apart, Indians love numbers and that is why records of individual players are celebrated in this country as much as a win or sometimes perhaps even more. Even I do this and if you ask me how many ATP career tournament Federer has won, and I'll reply 70 from the top of my head or if you ask me how many test centuries Dravid has, I'll reply 36 without blinking an eye. That is how much these numbers mean to the Indians and it is no wonder that we anxiously wait for Sachin's elusive century.
Sachin Tendulkar in India is an icon beyond what any words can describe. If he was to run for parliament, people would elect him and likewise if he does a small cameo in a flop movie, you can bet yourself that the movie will be one of the biggest earners that year. That is the magic that one associates with Tendulkar and this century of centuries is just another feather in his cap which will be cherished every Indian as a national artifact. Whenever he bats nowadays people wait and even I hold my breath. He is so close yet so far away.
That was the heart break in Mumbai a couple of days ago when he fell just six runs short. I'm sure had someone listened in, they would have noticed India going quiet when Sammy pouched that catch. Such is the love and admiration for this man that people don't just expect him to reach that milestone but demand that he does! They all know its just a matter of time.
With the nation waiting for the next best thing in Indian cricket happening, the media dives straight in creating more hype and trying to get this publicized even more. So hence its just not the fans and the followers of the game but the fourth estate is behind all this and sometimes I feel that news anchors feel more pain reading out that Sachin has missed out another chance to score his 100th 100 than when they read about a terror attack in which people have been killed. Such is the tragic state of our media but that is another matter altogether.
With so much hype and expectations on Sachin, it is no secret that he feels the pressure to perform. Sachin may play it down saying that this does not affect him, but the truth is far from that and being a player who is quite nervous when in the nineties, this only makes the job even worse.
However in the quest for this individual glory are we missing the bigger picture of Indian cricket? I sadly feel that is the case. Even the final match at Mumbai which was an absolute thriller in the final day is being talked not for what happened there in the final day but about Sachin's missed opportunity. Sure Sachin's century would be great and being a fan of his I would love nothing more but isn't Indian cricket and a Indian win more important and more news worthy?
A fearless Sachin with no baggage on his shoulders is a must for India during the tour of Australia later this year and I hope Sachin scores his 100th century there in the first match so the monkey is off his shoulder. And also because I am getting tired of listening to this talk about when he'll get his magic century of centuries. So here's that he will score those 100 runs soon and raise his heads to the heavens and lift his bat to the crowd like he has done 99 times in the past.
Indians are always astounded by facts and figures and if you want to impress an Indian, all you have to do is sound confident and state some numbers and he will think you to be very wise, that is until he figures out that those numbers have little or no meaning. But jokes apart, Indians love numbers and that is why records of individual players are celebrated in this country as much as a win or sometimes perhaps even more. Even I do this and if you ask me how many ATP career tournament Federer has won, and I'll reply 70 from the top of my head or if you ask me how many test centuries Dravid has, I'll reply 36 without blinking an eye. That is how much these numbers mean to the Indians and it is no wonder that we anxiously wait for Sachin's elusive century.
Sachin Tendulkar in India is an icon beyond what any words can describe. If he was to run for parliament, people would elect him and likewise if he does a small cameo in a flop movie, you can bet yourself that the movie will be one of the biggest earners that year. That is the magic that one associates with Tendulkar and this century of centuries is just another feather in his cap which will be cherished every Indian as a national artifact. Whenever he bats nowadays people wait and even I hold my breath. He is so close yet so far away.
That was the heart break in Mumbai a couple of days ago when he fell just six runs short. I'm sure had someone listened in, they would have noticed India going quiet when Sammy pouched that catch. Such is the love and admiration for this man that people don't just expect him to reach that milestone but demand that he does! They all know its just a matter of time.
With the nation waiting for the next best thing in Indian cricket happening, the media dives straight in creating more hype and trying to get this publicized even more. So hence its just not the fans and the followers of the game but the fourth estate is behind all this and sometimes I feel that news anchors feel more pain reading out that Sachin has missed out another chance to score his 100th 100 than when they read about a terror attack in which people have been killed. Such is the tragic state of our media but that is another matter altogether.
With so much hype and expectations on Sachin, it is no secret that he feels the pressure to perform. Sachin may play it down saying that this does not affect him, but the truth is far from that and being a player who is quite nervous when in the nineties, this only makes the job even worse.
However in the quest for this individual glory are we missing the bigger picture of Indian cricket? I sadly feel that is the case. Even the final match at Mumbai which was an absolute thriller in the final day is being talked not for what happened there in the final day but about Sachin's missed opportunity. Sure Sachin's century would be great and being a fan of his I would love nothing more but isn't Indian cricket and a Indian win more important and more news worthy?
A fearless Sachin with no baggage on his shoulders is a must for India during the tour of Australia later this year and I hope Sachin scores his 100th century there in the first match so the monkey is off his shoulder. And also because I am getting tired of listening to this talk about when he'll get his magic century of centuries. So here's that he will score those 100 runs soon and raise his heads to the heavens and lift his bat to the crowd like he has done 99 times in the past.
2 Comments:
Fully agree with your article.
Thank you, Shruthi.
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