The first time I remember watching him bat was in the 1992 World Cup in Australia. As a 6 year old, I was just getting addicted to cricket and I was lucky that the first cricketing hero I had was Sachin Tendulkar. And now, as he completes 20 years in international cricket, I really salute him. And his achievements are not just restricted to the cricket field. I cant recollect any other celebrity who has spent 20 years in public eye without one controversy. He knows only one way of replying back to his critics. Let the bat do the talking. This is why, I really feel good to call him my role model. 15th of November will always be an important date in both our lives. Its my birthday and its the same date 4 years later that Sachin first played against Pakistan.
Over the past 17 years, I have seen many knocks of Sachin. Here are some of my favorite test innings
1. 155* vs Australia at Chennai, 1998.
India were trailing Australia on the first innings. Sachin had perished to Warne quite cheaply in the first innings trying an expansive shot. So the pressure was on him. He responded by hitting 155 of just 191 balls. The reason why I rate this innings quite high was not only the high rate of scoring, but he made Warne look like a fool. The image of Warne bowling round the wicket and Sachin cross hitting him for six to midwicket boundary will always remain in my mind.
2. 155 vs South Africa, Bloemfontien 2001.
This was the first time we saw him playing the cut shot above the wicket keeper and the slip cordon. South African pacemen had blown the Indian top order apart and it was left to Sachin and Sehwag to give the Indian innings some respect. Sachin's counter attack left the Proteas with no choice but to accept their fate. India lost that match after horrible performance in the second innings.
3. 76 and 65 vs Australia, Mumbai 2001.
I still remember Tony Greig's comment while Sachin was batting in the first innings. First there is Sachin Tendulkar, then there is day light and then there are the rest. What I liked the best about this innings was his incredible straight hitting. He hit Fleming for four boundries straight down the wicket. Till he was at the wicket, it looked like it would be a close match. But he got out and the Indian team collapsed like a deck of cards.
4. 136 vs Pakistan, Chennai 1999.
A year after Operation Warne Thrashing, Sachin was back in Chennai. India needed 271 in the fourth innings to win the test. Sachin was suffering from back pain the entire test match. With a painful back, he still scored 136 runs of the highest quality. Its a big shame that the last 3 Indian wickets couldnt score 17 runs between them. Their failure has prevented this innings to be one of the greatest the game has ever seen.
5. 169 vs South Africa, Cape Town 1997.
India again were in big big trouble when Sachin and Azhar made batting look very very easy during their partnership. Sachin looked all set for a double century when he fell to a once in a life time catch by Adam Bacher. It took that brilliance to get him out. Allan Donald came fuming in and Sachin just hit nonchalantly for four through the covers. Simply an amazing innings. His best as captain of the Indian team.
I missed some of his early centuries as I was too young then. But from what I hear, the one at Old Trafford as well as Perth and Johannesburg should definitely feature in this list.
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yaa! Adam Bacher is probably best remembered for that catch!awesome innings by the great player!
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