Tuesday, June 03, 2003

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| | The eternal sachin fan !!

Born in mumbai, India and brought up in a locality where cricket was followed like religion, it was no surprise that i got hooked on to cricket in a big way. In bombay, being born in a middle class family, you dont really have many options when it comes to following or playing sports. Like here, in the US anyone can just pick up a basketball, pick up a trash can and start playing BBall, the same way in india, all u needed was a rubber ball (aww..come on perverts..that is what it is called !!) usually the MRI variety and a wooden plank to start playing cricket. Yes, you also need someone to volunteer to bowl to you. Cause initially cricket used to be all about batting. Any one who has played cricket would tell u that batting has to be the most pleasurable thing to do.

Cut to 1983 - about 20 years back, India won the prudential world cup, as a 4 year old you dont actually know whats happening around you, but even then i remember the celebrations that had taken place in and around our locality, i knew this was something big, one sport that i had to follow no matter what. A year later, we won the Champions trophy, down under, not a single cricket fan can forget the scene of a jubiliant shastri riding his audi..all around the ground (nor can we forget his photos being burnt when he didnt perform - that later tho). I was hooked on to cricket, one sport i knew my country was doing well in.

Another 4 years, the world cup was held in india, it was a big thing, and the countries biggest industrial group sponsored the cup. That was the indication that there was money to be made if this sport was projected in the right manner...and projected it was, cause today the total money earned by indian cricketers in more than any of their counterparts (courtesy - contracts by different brands). Till then i was a normal cricket fan, seeing every second match, follwoing what was going on generally.

Cut to 1989 - the Indian team leaving for pakistan. I can still recall the interview ravi shastri did with a 16 year old school boy, curly hair, at the international airport in mumbai (dont really know what its latest name is..cs..bs..whatever..so lemme play safe). I still remember that question when he was asked whether he was nervous going to pakistan at that age...he replied back in hindi..."unko hara ke aayenge".

I was 10 and that is the time..you start following sports, and seeing sachin gave me reason enough to see cricket. I can safely say, i remember most of his matches, the way he got out, his trademark shots and his stats (roughly) till the 2002 natwest trophy held in England. Cause after that i came here, to the US where seeing cricket is like a big project. Its been a pleasure being born in the same era as he has...cause i can not imagine seeing cricket before or after him.

He started off playing with legends like Imran khan,Joel Garner, Craig mcdermott, Merv Hughes and Chris Lewis among others, he weathered that storm, within a couple of years he was already being rated as one of the best youngsters in the circuit. The 92 world cup gave us a hint as to what lied ahead. Then came the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis,saqlain,mushtaq ahmed,shane warne, murali,Mcgrath,Ambrose,Walsh....they came and they went, he weathered the storm..building on his ever growing average and reputation. They still keep coming ...the lee's, akhtar's, and he is still weathering the storm. All fronline bowlers have just one thing in mind when they play india...take sachin and the rest will follow (another point of debate in the recent past). He has seen and played 3 generations of cricketers..and is still going strong.

A thorough team man, one who has always put country before self, he is still being doubted upon - that to me is the saddest part of indian cricket. Some still believe that sachin is a "chocker" - and i would personally like to talk to those ppl about this. They say he does not perform at his best in the finals...i say respect him and adore him...atleast he got you to the finals yaar. Better than those times when your team just used to be a struggling one..and participate just cause it used to fill the cash registers of the ICC. Admitted he may not be a good finisher of the game, but then everyone has his or her weakness...THAT to me is his..and no insult in accepting that. He might not be too good at mind games but that is acceptable.

For me winning the game against pakistan in that fashion was the defining moment of the world cup (i know this is debatable too), the fact that he got out to mcgrath trying to pull him,chasing a total of 360 in a world cup final, after making some 600 odd runs in the world cup, with the pressure of 1 billion fans, even after hitting a four of the previous ball... no shame in that..no shame at all.

Choker or not? Its for you to decide and argue... for me he is the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be.

JaI. | 1:10 AM