Sachin Tendulkar: You Beauty

The ball whistles past the gully fielder, who has dread and awe written all over his face. Scenes of a shocked Shane Warne at Sharjah come scurrying back. It was the best display of dominance by an Indian batsman against one of the best bowling attacks in the world.

Eleven years on, nothing much has changed except that a few more masterful strokes now embellish the little champion’s repertoire. One of the best shots being the intentional arc over the slip fielders.

Later this year, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar will complete 20 long years in international cricket with a hunger that outdoes itself frequently. A whole generation has grown-up keeping track of years through Sachin’s centuries and milestones. Like my class 10 physics tuition where the old but jolly Mr. S.P. Singh regularly fed us with scores during his classes. That was around the time Sachin scored a classy century and got Saqlain Mushtaq LBW towards the end to help India register its first victory against Pakistan in 5 years at Sharjah in 1996. Or, when I studied well enough (not) to ensure some big rotund scores in my graduation exams since the master was milking runs down under.

It’s been one heckuva journey, one that you wish never comes to an end. While the Sehwags and Yuvrajs of the world will continue to quench my thirst for the big shots, the elegance, the class, the post-shot nonchalance and the indescribable joy of ball hitting the Mumbaikar's bat will never quite be matched by anyone.

I can’t quite disagree with a spectator at the first test match between India and New Zealand who held up a banner that read ‘When Sachin retires, I will stop loving Cricket’