Sachin Tendulkar



INTRODUCTION




Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and One Day International cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in an innings in the history of ODI cricket. In 2002, Wisden ranked him the second greatest Test batsman of all time, next to Donald Bradman, and the second greatest one day international (ODI) batsman of all time, next to Viv Richards. In September 2007, the Australian leg spinner Shane Warne rated Tendulkar as the greatest player he has played with or against. Tendulkar was the only player of the current generation to be included in Bradman's Eleven. He is sometimes referred to as Little Master or Master Blaster.
Tendulkar is the first player to score fifty centuries in all international cricket combined, he now has 93 international centuries. On 17 October 2008, when he surpassed Brian Lara's record for the most runs scored in Test Cricket, he also became the first batsman to score 12,000 runs in that form of the game, having also been the third batsman and first Indian to pass 11,000 runs in Test cricket. He was also the first player to score 10,000 runs in one-day internationals, and also the first player to cross every subsequent 1000-run mark that has been crossed in ODI cricket history. In the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, Tendulkar surpassed Australia's Allan Border to become the player to cross the 50-run mark the most number of times in Test cricket history, and also the second ever player to score 10 Test centuries against Australia, after only Sir Jack Hobbs of England more than 70 years previously. Tendulkar passed 30,000 runs in international cricket on 20 November 2009, and has been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan award, India's second highest civilian award, and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India's highest sporting honour.




EARLY YEARS AND PERSONAL LIFE




Tendulkar was born in Bombay (now Mumbai). His father, Ramesh Tendulkar, a Marathi novelist, named Tendulkar after his favourite music director, Sachin Dev Burman. Tendulkar's elder brother Ajit encouraged him to play cricket. Tendulkar has two other siblings: a brother Nitin, and sister Savitai.
Tendulkar attended Sharadashram Vidyamandir (High School), where he began his cricketing career under the guidance of his coach and mentor, Ramakant Achrekar. During his school days he attended the MRF Pace Foundation to train as a fast bowler, but Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee, who took a world record 355 Test wickets, was unimpressed, suggesting that Tendulkar focus on his batting instead.
When he was young, Tendulkar would practice for hours on end in the nets. If he became exhausted, Achrekar would put a one-Rupee-coin on the top of the stumps, and the bowler who dismissed Tendulkar would get the coin. If Tendulkar passed the whole session without getting dismissed, the coach would give him the coin. Tendulkar now considers the 13 coins he won then as some of his most prized possessions.
While at school, he developed a reputation as a child prodigy. He had become a common conversation point in Mumbai circles, where there were suggestions already that he would become one of the greats. His season in 1988 was extraordinary, with Tendulkar scoring a century in every innings he played. He was involved in an unbroken 664-run partnership in a Lord Harris Shield inter-school game in 1988 with friend and team mate Vinod Kambli, who would also go on to represent India. The destructive pair reduced one bowler to tears and made the rest of the opposition unwilling to continue the game. Tendulkar scored 326* in this innings and scored over a thousand runs in the tournament. This was a record partnership in any form of cricket until 2006, when it was broken by two under-13 batsmen in a match held at Hyderabad in India.




INTERNATIONAL CAREER




EARLY CAREER




Tendulkar played his first Test match against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989 aged just 16. He made just 15 runs, being bowled by Waqar Younis, who also made his debut in that match, but was noted for how he handled numerous blows to his body at the hands of the Pakistani pace attack. In the final test in Sialkot, he was hit on the nose by a bouncer, but he declined medical assistance and continued to bat even as he gushed blood from it. In a 20 over exhibition game in Peshawar, Tendulkar made 53 runs of 18 balls, including an over in which he scored 28 runs off Abdul Qadir. This was later called "one of the best innings I have seen" by the then Indian captain Kris Srikkanth. In all, he scored 215 runs at an average of 35.83 in the Test series, and was dismissed without scoring a run in the only One Day International he played.
The series was followed by a tour of New Zealand in which he scored 117 runs at an average of 29.25 in, Tests including an innings of 88 in the Second Test. He was dismissed without scoring in one the two one-day games he played, and scored 36 in the other. On his next tour, to England in 1990, he became the second youngest cricketer to score a Test century as he made 119* at Old Trafford Wisden described his innings as "a disciplined display of immense maturity" and also wrote.




CAPTAINCY




Tendulkar's two tenures as captain of the Indian cricket team were not very successful. When Tendulkar took over as Captain in 1996, it was with huge hopes and expectations. However, by 1997 the team was performing poorly. Azharuddin was credited with saying "Nahin jeetega! Chote ki naseeb main jeet nahin hai!", which translates into: "He won't win! It's not in the small one's destiny".
Tendulkar, succeeding Azharuddin as captain for his second term, then led India on a tour of Australia, where the visitors were comprehensively beaten 3–0 by the newly crowned world champions. Tendulkar, however, was at his usual best and won the player of the tournament award as well as player of the match in one of the games. After another Test series defeat, this time by a 0–2 margin at home against South Africa, Tendulkar resigned, and Sourav Ganguly took over as captain in 2000.
Tendulkar remains an integral part of the Indian team's strategic processes. He is often seen in discussion with the captain, at times actively involved in building strategies. Former captain Rahul Dravid publicly acknowledged that Tendulkar had been suggesting moves such as the promotion of Irfan Pathan up the batting order which, although only temporary, had an immediate effect on the team's fortunes.




INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE




Tendulkar was made the icon player and captain for his home side, the Mumbai Indians in the inaugural Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition in 2008. As an icon player, he was signed for a sum of US$1,121,250, 15% more than the second-highest paid player in the team, Sanath Jayasuriya.




STYLE OF PLAY




Tendulkar is cross-dominant: He bats, bowls and throws with his right hand, but writes with his left hand. He also practices left-handed throws at the nets on a regular basis. Cricinfo columnist Sambit Bal has described him as the "most wholesome batsman of his time". His batting is based on complete balance and poise while limiting unnecessary movements and flourishes. He appears to show little preference for the slow and low wickets which are typical in India, and has scored many centuries on the hard, bouncy pitches in South Africa and Australia. He is known for his unique punch style of hitting the ball over square. He is also renowned for his picture-perfect straight drive, often completed with no follow-through. Recently, legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar, in an article he wrote in the AFP, remarked that "it is hard to imagine any player in the history of the game who combines classical technique with raw aggression like the little champion does".
Sir Donald Bradman, considered by many as the greatest batsman of all time, considered Tendulkar to have a batting style similar to his. In his biography, it is stated that "Bradman was most taken by Tendulkar's technique, compactness and shot production, and had asked his wife to have a look at Tendulkar, having felt that Tendulkar played like him. Bradman's wife, Jessie, agreed that they did appear similar.


While Tendulkar is not a regular bowler, he is adept at bowling medium pace, leg spin, and off spin with equal ease. He often bowls when two batsmen of the opposite team have been batting together for a long period, as he can often be a useful partnership breaker. With his bowling, he has helped secure an Indian victory on more than one occasion. He has taken 44 test match wickets and is the ninth highest wicket taker for India in ODIs.




FAN FOLLOWING




Sachin Tendulkar's entry into world cricket was very much hyped up by former Indian stars and those who had seen him play. By scoring his first half-century in his second match and his first century aged 17, Tendulkar's consistent performances earned him a fan following across the globe, including amongst Australian crowds, where Tendulkar has consistently scored centuries. One of the most popular sayings by Sachin's fans is "Cricket is my religion and Sachin is my God". Cricinfo mentions in his profile that "... Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world."
At home in Mumbai, Tendulkar's fan following is so great that he is unable to lead a normal life. Ian Chappell has said that he would be unable to cope with the lifestyle Tendulkar was forced to lead, having to "wear a wig and go out and watch a movie only at night". In an interview with Tim Sheridan, Tendulkar admitted that he sometimes went for quiet drives in the streets of Mumbai late at night when he would be able to enjoy some peace and silence.




CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS




Sachin Tendulkar is the most prolific run scorer in one-day internationals with 17,598 runs. With a current aggregate of 13447 Test runs, he surpassed Brian Lara's previous record tally of 11,953 runs as the highest run scorer in test matches in the second Test of Australia's 2008 tour of India in Mohali. Sachin described "It is definitely the biggest achievement in 19 years of my career" on the day he achieved the record. He also holds the record of highest number of centuries in both Test (47) and ODI cricket (46). Throughout his career, he has made a strong impact on Indian cricket and was, at one time, the foundation of most of the team's victories. In recognition with his impact on sport in a cricket-loving country like India, Tendulkar has been granted the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India. He was also elected Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997 and is ranked by the objective scoring method of the Wisden 100 as the second best test batsman and best ODI batsman of all time.
Tendulkar has also consistently done well in Cricket World Cups. Tendulkar was the highest run scorer of the 2003 Cricket World Cup and 1996 Cricket World Cup. Tendulkar has scored over 1000 runs in a calendar year in ODIs 7 times, and in 1998 he scored 1894 runs, easily the record for the highest number of runs scored by any player in a single calendar year for one day internationals. Tendulkar is also one of the very few players who are still playing in international cricket from the 1980s. On February 24, 2010, Sachin broke the previous world record for highest individual run scorer in an ODI and became the first cricketer to score double century in ODI. He scored 200 runs and broke the previous record of 194 runs jointly held by Pakistan opener Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry.
He has been Man of the Match 13 times in Test matches and Man of the Series four times, out of them twice in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. The performances earned him respect from Australian cricket fans and players. Similarly he has been Man of the Match 60 times in One day International matches and Man of the Series 14 times.




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