Friday, November 6, 2009

WINDING THE CLOCK BACK...

Why did we all start playing the game when we were kids? Definitely it was not for making money, nor was it for gaining the knowledge to tell between an outswinger and leg cutter. Playing for India was a dream, but not the motive. It was for the pure joy of hitting the ball as far as we can, for experiencing that feeling of ball meeting the middle of that bat, for hearing that perfect thud, for seeing the ball take wings and soar higher and higher in the sky. Probably it is the same thing which still drives Sachin Tendulkar forward. At the age of 36, when most men of that age settle for a steady job and start worrying about their kids, he wore the the outfit of an 18 year old maverick, looked the challenge straight into its eye and painted an epic 175. He ran between the the wickets as if his life depended on it, egged on his younger partners for better shots and stamina, thrashed all the Aussie bowlers around the park as if he despises them and then showed the disappointment and bitterness of a child who lost his favorite toy after India lost.

How does Sachin do that? Run after run, day after day, defeat after defeat , he shows the same commitment and desire to improve, to win, to enjoy and more importantly to get out of the bed everyday and think about only cricket, all over again. When Carl Lewis was a kid, his coach asked him what does he want in life. He answered that he wants to be best athlete in America, he wants to be a millionaire and he wants to be famous all over the world. His coach calmly told him that, if his focus is on all these things, he is going to be nothing. But if he starts focusing on becoming the best athlete ever he will achieve that and all the other things too. Carl Lewis went to achieve all that and how! Ramakant Anchrekar might well have said the same thing to sachin too. In the last 20 years Sachin’s unrelenting focus was on cricket and cricket only, and all the records and accolades are testament to that.

Sadly his innings was not enough to take India to victory. In every sense it was like going back to the 90s. Sachin single handedly fighting for victory and the entire team crumbling around him. He just stood apart among his teammates as a gladiator amidst ruins. Sachin’s biggest contribution to Indian cricket is not winning numerous matches or making cricket popular, but taking an entire generation back to its childhood. Bunking classes, standing in front of a TV showroom, taking turns to climb on friends’ shoulders to catch a glimpse of the action over the crowd, cheering for each boundary, clearing our throats out when he scores century, those were the best days of life. And every time he walks out to bat he takes all of us to those beautiful days. Yesterday, it was one of those days.

1 comment:

  1. hi harin
    wonderful post harin (as usual) loved reading it.
    how can i miss such a match, felt like banging myself arrrrrr....
    175 off 141 balls that was really wonderfullll....
    unfortunately i was unable to watch the match:(
    and Ricky Ponting applauded Tendulkar for his performance. ohhh seriously i missed watching it.

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