India 'properly prepared' - Tendulkar

Series win would be Sachin' s career highlight

India 'properly prepared' - Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed for 19 in the washed-out tour match against Victoria but he is confident India have played enough cricket lately to be ready for Boxing Day © Getty Images

Sachin Tendulkar says it would be the highlight of his career if India can complete the mammoth task of beating Australia in the four-Test series that starts on Boxing Day. No visiting team has won a Test series in Australia since West Indies in 1992-93 and Tendulkar, who is embarking on his fourth tour of Australia, is desperate to taste the ultimate success before he retires.

"I think it would be the most important tour if we can pull it off," Tendulkar said. "Beating Australia is obviously the ultimate thing because the way they have played for so many years makes it a special tour. Having come here four times, it would be a wonderful occasion."

India last visited Australia in 2003-04, when they won the Adelaide Test and secured a 1-1 series draw. Australia have now triumphed in their past 14 Tests and two more would see them equal their own record set under Steve Waugh, but it was India who broke that winning streak in 2000-01 and Tendulkar is keen to help them do it again.

Their tour started with a three-day game against Victoria at the Junction Oval but only 48 overs were possible because of Melbourne's wet weather and play was abandoned completely on Saturday. Some parts of Melbourne had more than 100 millimetres (four inches) of rain in the week to Saturday morning - most of it in the last two days - although a warm change was expected by Christmas.

During the rain breaks India trained at the MCG's indoor nets and if Melbourne's weather remains nasty they will be back there several more times before the first Test. But Australia's coach Tim Nielsen said India would still be fresh from their tough series against Pakistan and Tendulkar agreed that they were already primed for Boxing Day.

"We have come here properly prepared because although the practice match was rained off, we have come here having played Test cricket, which is extremely important," Tendulkar said. "We are geared up and as far as I am concerned we are ready and we would like to go out there and put on a good show. We are confident."

However, he felt it would have been ideal if the players had more time to rest and recuperate between Test series. India arrived just days after a demanding home series against Pakistan and their season includes a massive seven back-to-back Tests.

"We can have more cricket, but it's equally important to have a little more gap in between the tours," he said. "But the international calendar is very tight so there's not much time to go back home and assess things."

Tendulkar made an entertaining, albeit brief 19 against Victoria and he is certain that the knee injury that kept him out of the final Test against Pakistan is behind him. He also wants to keep up his impressive form in Australia - from 12 Tests Tendulkar has made 1029 runs at 54.15. But India's hopes rest not only on Tendulkar but also on how quickly his team-mates can adjust to the bouncier pitches in Australia.

"All the batters have scored runs so they are feeling confident," he said. "What you do out there in the middle matters. You can practice various things but you have to go out there and get used to the occasion. Once you calm down your nerves, everything falls into place."

Tendulkar wraps up Indian test win

NEW DELHI, India -- Sachin Tendulkar completed his 46th test half-century as India wrapped up a six-wicket victory over Pakistan in the first test in New Delhi on Monday.

Tendulkar is now second only to Brian Lara in the list of test run scorers.

The hosts knocked off the 32 runs they needed to win and go ahead in the three-match series off 6.2 overs, Tendulkar finishing with 56 not out.

Tendulkar, 32 overnight, pulled pacemen Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami for fours and reached his half-century by hitting leg-spinner Danish Kaneria through the covers for a boundary.

He finished the match with a square-cut four off Akhtar.

"Every time he (Tendulkar) goes out to bat he has to handle pressure and he has done it for the last 18 years," said India captain Anil Kumble.

"The hunger is there as always. He is definitely going to be number one test batsman in terms of runs, centuries, everything."

During this match Tendulkar became the second-highest test scorer with 11,207 runs and a record 37 centuries. Retired West Indies captain Brian Lara is now the only player ahead of him with 11,953.

Shoaib was Pakistan's best bowler with four for 58.

He denied left-handed Sourav Ganguly a 50 in his second over of the morning, having him caught pulling by debutant Sohail Tanvir at fine-leg.

Ganguly fell at his overnight score of 48 after putting on 88 for the fourth wicket with Tendulkar to set up the comfortable victory. He hit eight fours in his 64-ball knock.

Kumble said:"I think the boys responded very well. Everyone contributed in this win. The stand between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Laxman in the first innings was very crucial. Laxman is a class player.

"Our bowlers kept pressure in the second innings and then came the Ganguly-Tendulkar stand, which was the turning point."

The match was a personal triumph for veteran leg-spinner Kumble, who finished with seven wickets on his captaincy debut and was named man of the match.

The second Test begins in Kolkata on Friday.

Sachin Tendulkar-Stats

Sachin Tendulkar

Player profile

Full name Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Born April 24, 1973, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra
Current age 34 years 275 days
Major teams India, ACC Asian XI, Mumbai, Yorkshire
Nickname Tendlya, Little Master
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak, Legbreak googly
Height 5 ft 5 in
Education Sharadashram Vidyamandir School

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	146	236	25	11740	248*	55.90			39	49		47	98	0
ODIs	407	397	37	15962	186*	44.33	18669	85.50	41	87	1747	166	120	0
T20Is	1	1	0	10	10	10.00	12	83.33	0	0	2	0	1	0
First-class	245	383	40	20379	248*	59.41			64	95			165	0
List A	494	482	51	19514	186*	45.27			52	105			155	0
Twenty20	5	5	0	198	69	39.60	119	166.38	0	2	30	5	2	0

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	146	123	3856	2206	42	3/10	3/14	52.52	3.43	91.8	0	0	0
ODIs	407	263	7985	6774	154	5/32	5/32	43.98	5.09	51.8	4	2	0
T20Is	1	1	15	12	1	1/12	1/12	12.00	4.80	15.0	0	0	0
First-class	245		7215	4095	67	3/10		61.11	3.40	107.6		0	0
List A	494		10161	8402	201	5/32	5/32	41.80	4.96	50.5	4	2	0
Twenty20	5	4	57	65	2	1/12	1/12	32.50	6.84	28.5	0	0	0

Career statistics

Test debut	Pakistan v India at Karachi, Nov 15-20, 1989 scorecard
Last Test	Australia v India at Perth, Jan 16-19, 2008 scorecard
Test statistics	- Statsguru Test analysis - Player analysis menu/filter Test match list --------------------------------- Batting career summary Batting innings list High scores Batting series averages --------------------------------- Bowling career summary Bowling innings list Bowling match list Best innings bowling Best match bowling Bowling series averages --------------------------------- Fielding career summary Fielding innings list Most catches in an innings Fielding series statistics
ODI debut	Pakistan v India at Gujranwala, Dec 18, 1989 scorecard
Last ODI	India v Pakistan at Jaipur, Nov 18, 2007 scorecard
ODI statistics	- Statsguru ODI analysis - Player analysis menu/filter ODI match list --------------------------------- Batting career summary Batting innings list High scores Batting series averages --------------------------------- Bowling career summary Bowling innings list Best innings bowling Bowling series averages --------------------------------- Fielding career summary Fielding innings list Most catches in an innings Fielding series statistics
Only T20I	South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006 scorecard
T20I statistics	- Statsguru T20I analysis - Player analysis menu/filter T20I match list --------------------------------- Batting career summary Batting innings list --------------------------------- Bowling career summary Bowling innings list --------------------------------- Fielding career summary Fielding innings list
First-class debut	1988/89
Last First-class	Australia v India at Perth, Jan 16-19, 2008 scorecard
List A debut	1989/90
Last List A	India v Pakistan at Jaipur, Nov 18, 2007 scorecard
Twenty20 debut	South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006 scorecard
Last Twenty20	Bengal v Mumbai at Ahmedabad, Apr 19, 2007 scorecard

Notes

Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1997

Profile

Sachin Tendulkar has been the most wholesome batsman of his time, and arguably the biggest cricket icon as well. His batting is based on the purest principles: perfect balance, economy of movement, precision in stroke-making, and that intangible quality given only to geniuses, anticipation. If he doesn't have a signature stroke - the upright, back-foot punch comes close - it is because he is equally proficient in each of the full range of orthodox shots (and plenty of improvised ones as well) and can pull them out at will.

Though he has adopted a noticeably conservative approach in the last quarter of his career, there are no apparent weaknesses in Tendulkar's game. He can score all around the wicket, off both front foot and back, and has made runs in all parts of the world in all conditions.

Some of his finest performances have come against Australia, the overwhelmingly dominant team of his era. His century as a 19-year old on a lightning fast pitch at the WACA is considered one of the best innings ever to have been played in Australia. A few years later he received the ultimate compliment from the ultimate batsman when Don Bradman confided to his wife that Tendulkar reminded him of himself.

Blessed with the keenest of cricket minds, and armed with a loathing for losing, Tendulkar set about doing what it took to become one of the best batsmen in the world. This was after he was turned away from a fast-bowling camp in Chennai by Dennis Lillee.

Tendulkar's greatness was established early: he was only 16 when he made his Test debut. He was hit on the mouth by Waqar Younis but continued to bat, in a blood-soaked shirt. His first Test hundred, a match-saving one at Old Trafford, came when he was 17, and he had 16 Test hundreds before he turned 25. In 2000 he became the first batsman to have scored 50 international hundreds, and he currently holds the record for most hundreds in both Tests and ODIs - remarkable, considering he didn't score his first ODI hundred till his 79th match.

Tendulkar's considerable achievements seem greater still when looked at in the light of the burden of expectations he has had to bear from his adoring but somewhat unreasonable followers, who have been prone to regard anything less than a hundred as a failure. The aura may have dimmed, if only slightly, as the years on the international circuit have taken their toll on the body, but Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world.
Sambit Bal October 2007

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Sachin Tendulkar-Stats

Sachin Tendulkar

India

Player profile

Full name Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Born April 24, 1973, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra
Current age 34 years 218 days
Major teams India, ACC Asian XI, Mumbai, Yorkshire
Nickname Tendlya, Little Master
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak, Legbreak googly
Height 5 ft 5 in
Education Sharadashram Vidyamandir School

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	141	228	24	11207	248*	54.93			37	46		42	93	0
ODIs	407	397	37	15962	186*	44.33	18669	85.50	41	87	1747	166	120	0
T20Is	1	1	0	10	10	10.00	12	83.33	0	0	2	0	1	0
First-class	240	375	39	19951	248*	59.37			63	92			160	0
List A	494	482	51	19514	186*	45.27			52	105			155	0
Twenty20	5	5	0	198	69	39.60	119	166.38	0	2	30	5	2	0

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	141	117	3742	2143	42	3/10	3/14	51.02	3.43	89.0	0	0	0
ODIs	407	263	7985	6774	154	5/32	5/32	43.98	5.09	51.8	4	2	0
T20Is	1	1	15	12	1	1/12	1/12	12.00	4.80	15.0	0	0	0
First-class	240		7101	4032	67	3/10		60.17	3.40	105.9		0	0
List A	494		10161	8402	201	5/32	5/32	41.80	4.96	50.5	4	2	0
Twenty20	5	4	57	65	2	1/12	1/12	32.50	6.84	28.5	0	0	0

Career statistics

Statistics	Statsguru Tests | Statsguru ODIs | Statsguru T20Is
Test debut	Pakistan v India at Karachi, Nov 15-20, 1989 scorecard
Last Test	India v Pakistan at Delhi, Nov 22-26, 2007 scorecard
ODI debut	Pakistan v India at Gujranwala, Dec 18, 1989 scorecard
Last ODI	India v Pakistan at Jaipur, Nov 18, 2007 scorecard
Only T20I	South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006 scorecard
First-class debut	1988/89
Last First-class	India v Pakistan at Delhi, Nov 22-26, 2007 scorecard
List A debut	1989/90
Last List A	India v Pakistan at Jaipur, Nov 18, 2007 scorecard
Twenty20 debut	South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006 scorecard
Last Twenty20	Bengal v Mumbai at Ahmedabad, Apr 19, 2007 scorecard

Notes

Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1997

Profile

Sachin Tendulkar has been the most wholesome batsman of his time, and arguably the biggest cricket icon as well. His batting is based on the purest principles: perfect balance, economy of movement, precision in stroke-making, and that intangible quality given only to geniuses, anticipation. If he doesn't have a signature stroke - the upright, back-foot punch comes close - it is because he is equally proficient in each of the full range of orthodox shots (and plenty of improvised ones as well) and can pull them out at will.

Though he has adopted a noticeably conservative approach in the last quarter of his career, there are no apparent weaknesses in Tendulkar's game. He can score all around the wicket, off both front foot and back, and has made runs in all parts of the world in all conditions.

Some of his finest performances have come against Australia, the overwhelmingly dominant team of his era. His century as a 19-year old on a lightning fast pitch at the WACA is considered one of the best innings ever to have been played in Australia. A few years later he received the ultimate compliment from the ultimate batsman when Don Bradman confided to his wife that Tendulkar reminded him of himself.

Blessed with the keenest of cricket minds, and armed with a loathing for losing, Tendulkar set about doing what it took to become one of the best batsmen in the world. This was after he was turned away from a fast-bowling camp in Chennai by Dennis Lillee.

Tendulkar's greatness was established early: he was only 16 when he made his made his Test debut. He was hit on the mouth by Waqar Younis but continued to bat, in a blood-soaked shirt. His first Test hundred, a match-saving one at Old Trafford, came when he was 17, and he had 16 Test hundreds before he turned 25. In 2000 he became the first batsman to have scored 50 international hundreds, and he currently holds the record for most hundreds in both Tests and ODIs - remarkable, considering he didn't score his first ODI hundred till his 79th match.

Tendulkar's considerable achievements seem greater still when looked at in the light of the burden of expectations he has had to bear from his adoring but somewhat unreasonable followers, who have been prone to regard anything less than a hundred as a failure. The aura may have dimmed, if only slightly, as the years on the international circuit have taken their toll on the body, but Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world.

Arjun Tendulkar-Sachin's son

Mr S. Khan: Aryan’s pride, other papas’ envy - Sorry, young fathers, the superstar has bagged the gold at son’s school and set a tough goal for you

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Dad’s dash: Shahrukh Khan Mumbai, Feb. 8: If you had been a young father at this school sporting event today, you might not have felt inclined to clap very hard. The announcer was businesslike: “Mr S. Khan, father of Aryan Khan, please come to the podium.” A 40-year-old wearing a grin familiar to millions stepped proudly forward to receive his medal. Superstar Shahrukh Khan had just pocketed the gold at the 100-metre sprint for parents at his child’s school sports meet. The demands of fatherhood had just got a little tougher for hundreds of thousands of Indian men in their thirties and early forties. Young fathers prevented from attending the meet by the oppressive schedules of modern urban life may not have grudged the actor his presence by his son’s side, though it’d mean they would’ve some hard explaining to do at home. But try explaining to your eight-year-old kid why papa can’t disappear ahead of the rest of the field in a cloud of dust. “He is 40 and still he was yards ahead of the rest of the pack at the finishing line,” said Manas Munim, a wonderstruck rival. Shahrukh’s son Aryan (top) and Sachin’s son Arjun, the winner and runner-up in the 100-metre race for students If only it had been a cricketer or any other sportsman who had won! The morning had begun harmlessly enough. His usual energetic self, Shahrukh clicked away on his digital, capturing his children while wife Gauri chatted with friends and fellow parents Juhi Chawla and Adhuna Bhabani Akhtar. Khan, in jeans and red checks, was joking away with other parents when the call was made for the runners to take up position. A few stretches and the celebrity father was ready. He lined up with Chunkey Pandey, Farhan Akhtar, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and a host of others from more mundane walks of life. Then he was out of sight? well, almost. “Shahrukh was thrilled to have the gold medal around his neck. It didn’t matter that it was at his children’s school sports meet,” a close friend said. Hardly surprising, since the actor had been a school-level athlete and had made it to the hockey, cricket and football teams at his school, St Columba’s. “I would’ve been in the army or become an athlete had I not been an actor,” Shahrukh had once told an interviewer. Aryan, too, won gold in his 100-metre event, beating off strong competition from the silver-winner. And here’s where Munim and the other young fathers ? worrying how to live up to expectations at home from now on ? have reason to feel a bit hard done by. The boy who came second to Aryan was named Arjun Tendulkar. If only for a day, many Indian men would’ve been wishing that Sachin Tendulkar were here to try and win a 100-metre gold rather than be at the nets in Pakistan, eyeing a 40th one-day century.

QUOTES: About Sachin

• 
• In terms of technique and compactness, Tendulkar is the best: Desmond Haynes.
• I have watched a lot of Tendulkar and we have spoken to each other a lot. He has it in him to be among the very best: Sir Garfield Sobers.
• He is 99.5 per cent perfect. I'd pay to see him: Viv Richards.
• I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two... his compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel: Sir Donald Bradman.
• Technically he stands out as the best because of his ability to increase the pace at will: David Boon.
• There is no shame being beaten by such a great player, Sachin is perhaps only next to the Don: Steve Waugh.
• Sachin is cricket's God: Barry Richards.
• India's fortune will depend on how many runs the little champion scores. There is no doubt Tendulkar is the real thing: Sunil Gavaskar.
• A complete batsman — he's the best in the business: Mohinder Amarnath.
• Sachin is an attacker. He has much more power than Sunny. He wants to be the one to set the pace. He has to be on top. That's the buzz about him: Jeff Thompson.
• If I've to bowl to Sachin, I'll bowl with my helmet on. He hits the ball so hard: Dennis Lillee.
• You take Don Bradman away and he is next up I reckon: Steve Waugh.
• I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player: Shane Warne.
• When it comes to judging the best among these fabulous band of batsmen, my vote goes to Tendulkar. He has an uncanny ability to come out on top under different circumstances and under different conditions, whether it is Test cricket or one-day internationals. And more importantly, he has done this so young: Shane Warne.
• Don't bowl him bad balls, he hits the good ones for fours: Michael Kasprowicz.
• Hell, if he had stayed, even at 11 an over he would have got it: Allan Border (after India won the Coca-Cola cup in Sharjah).
• He is a perfectly balanced batsman and knows perfectly well when to attack and when to play defensive cricket. He has developed the ability to treat bowlers all over the world with contempt and can destroy any attack with utmost ease: Greg Chappell.
• It's scary, where the hell do we bowl to him: Allan Border. Yeah mate, but that's with all great players: Ian Chappell. Imagine what he'll be like when he's 28: Allan Border. I'd like to see him go out and bat one day with a stump. I tell you he'd do okay: Greg Chappell.
• Sachin's better; Lara is more risky outside the off stump: Mark Waugh.
• You have to decide for yourself whether you're bowling well or not. He's going to hit you for fours and sixes anyway. Kasprowicz has a superior story. During the Bangalore Test, frustrated, he went to Dennis Lillee and asked, "Mate, do you see any weaknesses?" Lillee replied, "No Michael, as long as you walk off with your pride that's all you can do"
• He's a phenomenon. We have to be switched on when he plays allow him no boundries, for then he doesn't stop: Mark Taylor.
• Tendulkar is the most complete batsman I have stood behind. I saw the hundred in Perth on a bouncy pitch with Hughes, McDermott and Whitney gunning for him — he only had 60-odd when No 11 came in. I've seen him against Warne too: Ian Healy.
• Harder he works, the luckier he gets: Ian Chappell.
• He has defined cricket in his fabulous, impeccable manner. He is to batting what Shane Warne is to bowling: Richie Benaud.
• Sachin's the best. I've had this view since I saw him score that hundred in Sydney in 1992. He's the most composed batsman I've ever seen: Mike Coward.
• The pressure on me is nothing as compared to Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin, like God, must never fail. The crowd always expects him to succeed and it is too much pressure on him: Mark Waugh.
• I still think Tendulkar is the best batsmen in the world ahead of Steve Waugh and Lara: Glenn McGrath.
• He is currently the best batsman in the world: Sir Gary Sobers.
• There's no doubt about it. He is the best: Tony Grieg.
• Technically, you can't fault Sachin. Seam or spin, fast or slow — nothing is a problem: Geoffrey Boycott.
• Sometime back I had written a piece that said that Sachin's the master and Lara a genius with his head high up somewhere. That's it: Peter Roebuck.
• A little genius. Reminds me of Sunny Gavaskar: Kieth Fletcher.
• He is Sachin Tendulkar. I hope he stays Sachin Tendulkar. We need a new player, a player in his own way. He has a technique which is the hallmark of a great player. Everything indicates that he will be a great player and I am sure he will prove me right. Reminds me of Barry Richards: Eddie Barlow.
• Destined to be a great: Barry Richards.
• What we (Zimbabwe) need is 10 Tendulkars: Paul Strang.
• The original little master, Sunil Gavaskar, had said that the champion cricketer was an example of the perfect batsman. Gavaskar praised Tendulkar for the stillness of his head, his straight back-lift, the ease with which he played his shots and their wide range.
• 
  
• West Indian great Brian Lara said Sachin Tendulkar was a peerless batsman with a lot more to offer. Lara, Test cricket's leading scorer with 11,294 runs, regarded Tendulkar the best batsman he ever watched despite the prolific success of Australian captain Ricky Ponting and South African Jacques Kallis. Lara said: "For me, the best batsman in the world is Sachin Tendulkar. I admire Jacques Kallis' consistency and Ricky Ponting, with the purple patch he's going though. Everybody gets 15 minutes of fame. But if there's one person I've admired over a 15-year period, it's definitely Sachin."
• The fact of the matter is that India still need Sachin in a big way. All this talk of the youngsters taking over is very foolish. The reason why Tendulkar is so important for the team is because of his ability to inspire others and make them perform under pressure - TOI
• Not only did Tendulkar continue playing, but he also emerged as one of the finest batsmen to grace the game and was regarded by the great Don Bradman as his modern reincarnation. Greg Chappell too is impressed with Sachin. The Australian believes the hype and expectations on Sachin is greater than even Bradman faced in his day.
• The Indian coach said: Sachin carries a weight of collective expectation to the crease that few can comprehend. Bradman would not have had the weight of expectation that Sachin has on him every time he went out to bat."
• "Cricketers like Sachin come once in a lifetime and I am privileged he played in my time," said Pakistan legend Wasim Akram.
• Many hold Tendulkar's mastery of the craft high above anyone else in the modern era. Even the great Sir Don Bradman saw Sachin as his closest replica, indirectly branding the batting maestro better than Gavaskar.TOI
• But the finest compliment must be that bookmakers would not fix the odds - or a game - until Tendulkar was out.

The Napolean of Centurian - TED CORBETT

We have been in awe of Sachin Tendulkar's sills, ready first of all to be enchanted by his youth, then to be respectful of his mighty figures, and now to be assured that, whatever Bradman achieved, whatever Gavaskar did, he stands on his own, writes TED CORBETT

IS there anyone, no matter how experienced, how qualified, how seasoned, who dare to measure the greatness that lies within Sachin Tendulkar? I doubt it. In an era of sublime batsmen - Lara, Kallis, Dravid and Ganguly, the Australian top five, none of whom need to have their names spelt out -Sachin has no equal.For 13 years Test and one-day batsmanship has been defined by his deeds. We have been in awe of his skills, ready first of all to be enchanted by his youth, then to be respectful of his mighty figures, and now to be assured that, whatever Bradman achieved, whatever Gavaskar did, Tendulkar stands on his own.He is not just the richest of cricketers but the most richly rewarding to watch.

In the early 21st century we can easily recall the achievements of another generation only recently past: Lloyd and Richards, the Chappell brothers, Martin Crowe, Javed Miandad, Gower and Botham, Azharuddin and Zaheer Abbas; all touched with angelic grace and producing figures to astound us. None measure up to the prowess of Tendulkar, the supreme batsman. We knew it when the World Cup began and now we have had all our adjectives confirmed, all our dreams realised, seen his muscular batsmanship reach heights we only guessed at, seen, best of all, his courage, his imaginative use of the unorthodox, and wondered once again at his pocket battleship strength. Here is no Viv Richards using his boxer's power to whip the ball to whatever part of the field took his fancy; here is no David Gower, harnessing his lithesome elegance and timing to ease the ball hither and thither.

For, let us make no bones about it, Tendulkar is small yet, like those Amazons of the tennis circuit Venus and Serena Williams, he can stand away from the ball and yet hit it powerfully. Into the crowd as he did against Pakistan in that never-to-be-forgotten win or around the boundary ropes as he did in the England game. There has never been another batsman like him. One of a kind; and what a one! The poet Chesterton's phrase "The legend of an epic hour'' from The Napoleon of Notting Hill fits him precisely. Tendulkar is more properly The Napoleon of Centurion, a ground that ought to have a memorial to his deeds but before he raced to that magic score against Pakistan he had already made this tournament his own. He seems to have realised quicker than most that the old tactic of a 15-over bash at the top of the innings would not apply against the white ball on these sluggish South African pitches.

Sixty runs has been the mean average for the overs of field restriction in this event and that is how Sachin went about scoring his runs. How right he was too.By the time the preliminary matches had been completed, after 24 days of controversy and confusion, Tendulkar stood head and shoulders above the rest. Remember Shane Warne's departure under the shadow of a drugs charge, Rashid Latif's threat to sue, New Zealand's decision to drop out of the match in Nairobi, England's long battle to have their Zimbabwe match moved to South Africa, arguments about the failure to post four fielders in the ring, the ban on Waqar Younis for bowling beamers, Pakistan's fight during a football game, South Africa's inability to interpret the Duckworth-Lewis rules. The stories are endless. Happily, they are all forced into the shadow by Tendulkar's dynamic batting. As the preliminary matches ended his statistics took the breath away.

He began on the fourth day of the World Cup with 52 from 72 balls off Holland; a pipe-opener that went almost unnoticed as the host South Africa led by Shann Pollock slaughtered Kenya. (If only we had known then that Kenya were not the mugs of the competition but the first round heroes; would we not at this moment be sitting on our own Caribbean island, soaking up the sun and wondering how we might spend our ill-gotten gains.)

From that moment he made a steady progress of sizeable scores: 36 off 59 against Australia, 81 off 91 against Zimbabwe, 152 off 151 versus Namibia, 50 from 52 against England and finally, gloriously, 98 from 78 balls delivered by Pakistani bowlers brought victory and a certain place in the Super Sixes. In total six innings, 469 runs, at 78.19 with a century and four fifties ? not to mention a strike rate of 93.80 ? meant that as the teams regrouped for the next stage it was being called Tendulkar's Tournament. When we set his last few weeks in context we are not disappointed. Overall in World Cups Tendulkar has played 27 innings in 28 matches, been not out three times and scored 1,528 runs with that 152 not out against hapless Namibia his highest score. He averages a colossal 63.67, he scores at 88.63 for each 100 balls he faces and he has four hundreds and 10 fifties.

Surely there is another World Cup in his life which means that one day he will retire - yes, even gods have to put their feet up at some stage in their lives ? with figures beyond the dreams of youngsters starting on their one-day careers. Just as a reminder, Tendulkar has played 309 one-day games, batted 300 times, scored 12,015 runs with his highest score an undefeated 186, an average of 44.50, 34 centuries and 60 fifties. He collects those runs at 86.43 runs each 100 deliveries. I will throw in his Test statistics just to show what a big man lies inside that chunky body. In 105 Tests he has batted 169 times, scored 8,811 runs, including 31 centuries and 35 fifties at an average of 57.59.

So as the preliminary matches in the 2003 World Cup ended, Tendulkar had scored 20826 international runs and 65 international centuries and, not just in the opinion of the sub-continent, was sitting so high on Mount Everest that his rivals appeared to be making their way through the foothills. And, even in this World Cup, there is so much more to come. Perhaps even success for India if the rest of the side can back up that great man's towering success. The figures are not as impressive but he bowls and fields as enthusiastically as he must have done in his teen years when he set out on this great career in the rough grounds of Mumbai. He has captained India too and one day he may do so again.

So thank heavens for Tendulkar. He may be a millionaire many times over and he might, if he chose, retire and live in luxury for the rest of his days.But the best of this extraordinary cricketer is that, having played all the matches on the calendar, he rises every morning keen to play, looking forward to carrying that hefty bat to the middle and certain, as he has every right to be, that he can make even more runs. Long may he reign!

Why Yorkshire Loves The Wrong 'un - GEOFFREY BOYCOTT

During the December 1997 Sharjah series I remember telling my good friend Sunil Gavaskar that I was thinking of writing that Sachin Tendulkar should stand down as captain. I strongly felt that that extra responsibility was holding him back as a batsman. He is a nice lad, polite, well-mannered—yet I felt the Indian team needed a good ‘kick up the backside’. I didn’t think it was right for him and India to spend so much of his mental and emotional energy on others. Sunil said, ‘Don’t write it Geoffrey—there will be hell to pay!’ Well, the selectors had the same view and it proved to be the right one. Freeing Tendulkar of the captaincy was a godsend.

Once relieved of the extra stress, he had a magical year. The Indian team has blossomed and he has solved the question on everyone’s lips as to who is the best—Brian Lara or Sachin Tendulkar? I have been privileged to see quite a lot of both fine players. But while Sachin has moved forward with dominating and majestic innings, Lara has gone backwards. Technically, you can’t fault Sachin. Seam or spin, fast or slow—nothing is a problem. Of course he will get out cheaply from time to time. Who doesn’t? All that will prove is that he is human.

When he came to Yorkshire as our first overseas player in 130 years he was a promising talent, a young man on the verge of his career. Much was expected of him in India but nobody was quite sure how good he would become. Who could know for sure? Most of us don’t have a crystal ball. With hindsight some will say ‘I told you so’ but it is easy to be right with hind-sight! There are people in England who still say he didn’t do that well for my county. I say they are wrong and all of our Yorkshire supporters loved him. We’d have him back tomorrow if we could!

It was vital that we had as our first overseas player someone who was no trouble. How awful it would’ve been if he had been seen out disco dancing on match days or drinking late at night in pubs or off—hard to members, sponsors and media. Sachin was a dream. A boyish smile, warm, friendly—nothing was too much trouble for him. Our members and the office staff loved him.

Yorkshire prided itself on having only Yorkshire-born players and by pure mis - chance we had never had a coloured cricketer. Therefore, we were open to the criticism of being prejudiced. Sachin’s arrival did away with that and every youngster knew from then on that what had been said was true.

I am delighted to have been the prime mover and proposer that changed Yorkshire’s club rules, and proud that the first one was a little embryo genius! Sachin played well for a medium team but at the age of 19 he was not the finished article. We didn’t expect him to be but he created an enormous amount of interest and left behind tremendous goodwill. I wouldn’t have swapped him for any other player.

From now on as his greatness unfolds there will be the inevitable comparisons with the ‘little master’—Sunil Gavaskar. It is always unfair to judge people who play in different eras but it won’t stop some individuals. The rules today are different for Sachin. Sunil played in an era where unlimited short stuff was allowed at the umpires’ discretion. Today there are only a handful of genuine fast men but Sunil had to take on—and won—against the all-conquering West Indians who had four of the very best operating all day long—every day.

So while we are all heaping praise on Sachin, don’t put down Sunny’s contribution. What we should do is enjoy Sachin’s batting while we can. His wicket will be the biggest prize sought after by every bowler around the world. That has always been the case for batsmen who hold the mantle of ‘best in the world’. From Grace to Hobbs to Bradman to Sobers and Richards. That won’t change—but I am confident Sachin can handle that.

Tendulkar A Genius! - GREG CHAPPELL

When I watch Sachin Tendulkar bat I find myself wondering how Don Bradman would have coped with the modern game.

The Indian genius was at his imperious best when he delivered a match-winning innings for India in the humiliation of Sri Lanka at the Wanderers Stadium.Would Bradman's insatiable appetite for scoring runs have been diminished by so much cricket, especially the endless stream of one-day matches? How would he have handled the modern method of individual game plans and field placing?Suppose he experienced some of that with bodyline bowling and field placing and it curtailed his rampant run making. Would Bradman have automatically batted in a helmet and would he have graduated to heavier bats?

These are all imponderables, but it is natural to fantasise about such things when watching another blitzkrieg from the modern genius. Make no mistake Tendulkar is a genius!

Tendulkar's combination of deft touches and raw power is virtually unmatched in the game today.

Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Brian Lara probably go closest to him. They can certainly match his power though they don't quite match his exquisite skill and versatility.The versatility is an innate, instinctive skill. It must have been learned somewhere because I doubt that it was taught. Something in Sachin's environment early in his cricket development allowed for the acquisition of this skill.Bradman developed his similarly exquisite skill on his own, with the help of a golf ball thrown against a tank stand, and played with a stump.

Had Bradman learned to bat with the heavy bats in vogue today he may have played very differently?

While there is only a difference of 6 or 7 pounds between the bats used by Bradman and Tendulkar, the extra weight can make a difference in balance and style.Bradman controlled the bat with his top hand. This would have been more difficult with the heavier bat.In place of the glides, glances, pulls and cuts that he favoured, all along the ground of course, we may have seen more of the modern bludgeoning.Bradman used the laws of physics better than anyone else, then or now. He used the energy created by the bowler and redirected the ball with brilliant footwork and incredible wrist work.

Tendulkar goes closest to emulating him, but has the added advantage -- delivered by the heavier modern bat -- of being able to block the ball back past the faster bowlers more quickly than it was delivered.Tendulkar's innings of 97 was as intimidating to most of the Sri Lankan bowlers, as it was for the Pakistanis at Centurion Park.Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan were the only Sri Lankan bowlers who seemed capable of withstanding the Tendulkar-led tornado that comprehensively blew them away.The Indian bowlers, led by Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra then delivered the knockout blow which may have destroyed Sri Lanka's World Cup hopes. Just maybe!

I am not sure some of the bowlers will ever recover from the brutality of the assault.

India has made a remarkable recovery from the tour of New Zealand and the mauling by Australia on February 15. Confidence is a remarkable thing and it is difficult to play well without it. The difference in the team now is noticeable in all aspects of their cricket, not least of all in the field.

The intensity of commitment and quality of fielding has risen commensurate with the improved results. In this form India can seriously challenge for the title.

It will need the same level of commitment shown since the loss to Australia and it will need a team effort.

Tendulkar has shown them the way out of the gloom that had descended on the team, and their supporters, over the poor form leading into the World Cup.

He is one of the best four batsmen I have seen and he is the best player of his generation. What is it that makes Sachin Tendulkar so good?

He has an exceptional physical talent. He has outstanding balance. He is very competitive. He is very strong. He has exceptional speed. He has great presence and an excellent temperament. He has a huge desire to be the best and he has an extraordinary mental ability.Batting at the highest levels of the game is as much about mental skills as it is about physical talents. The better players may have a greater range of strokes than the rest but you can bet they also have a greater mental capacity.

Sir Donald Bradman was the best batsman of all time because he was the most determined and mentally strong batsman there has ever been. I am sure I have seen batsmen who have had as much physical talent as Bradman but they have not had the same ruthless drive to make big scores.Bradman had the ability to treat batting in matches the same way as he batted in the middle. He seldom felt the same pressures of batting that mere mortals feel. This allowed him to concentrate for long periods.

What exactly is concentration?Concentration is the ability to focus on the important things at the right moment while blocking out the rest. Some things are more relevant than others at different times.At the point of delivery the only thing that a batsman should see in his field of vision is the ball leaving the bowler's hand. Just prior to the point of delivery the batsman should see the full view of the bowler as he folds up into the delivery position. The ability to be able to track between the two at the appropriate times separates the men from the boys.

Testing that was done with Bradman concluded that his eyesight and reflexes were within the 'normal' range.

What he did better than the rest was to pick up the cues from the bowlers' action just prior to, and at the point of, delivery better than all the rest.I have no doubt Bradman, a well organised man, had a process of concentration for each and every delivery. His instincts were well trained from hours and hours of hitting golf balls with a cricket stump as a young man.His brain will have had a greater capacity for storing information than the most complex computers that man can build.The most important part of a batsman's development happens in the early stages of learning the game. The instinctive skills that are learnt at this stage are relied upon when under pressure in a match situation.These instinctive skills are learnt rather than taught.

A good coach will create the environment in which the young player will train these instincts.

The early environment in which Sachin learnt his skills must have been excellent. His instincts are outstanding.

I have been lucky enough to see all of the best batsmen of the past 50 years.

Some of those whom I rate in the very top bracket of the elite group of players in that time would be Peter May, Ken Barrington, Neil Harvey, Garfield Sobers, Rohan Kanhai, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Graeme Pollock, Sunil Gavaskar, Clive Lloyd, Barry Richards, Doug Walters, Viv Richards, Javed Miandad, Gordon Greenidge Ian Chappell, Allan Border, the Waughs, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Brian Lara and Tendulkar.

Each one of these players had slightly different methods and styles but each had great instincts.If I had to pick the best of all of these I would choose Sobers, closely followed by Pollock, Viv Richards and Tendulkar in no particular order. They all possessed 'genius' quality and could win matches on their own. Each hit the ball with incredible power. Sobers' record has stood the test of time for he made runs under all conditions against all types of bowling.

Tendulkar's record is also exceptional and he has played well against quality pace and spin. His clashes with Shane Warne in recent times, especially the past two Australian tours of India, have provided some excellent theatre.I have also seen him take on Saqlain (Mushtaq) and (Muttiah) Muralitharan in Sharjah and Sri Lanka respectively and he has taken them on and come out on top nearly every time. Tendulkar's record in the games India must win is excellent and stamps him as a true champion.His footwork and brute force are awesome to see and his range of strokeplay makes him the most awkward of customers against whom to bowl. I love to watch him bat because he has two or three options to the same delivery and he is just as likely to hit the best balls for four, or six.

If there were a weakness in his armoury some would say it is against quality fast bowling on the bouncy wickets of Australia. If that is true it doesn't make him Robinson Crusoe! All good players have been troubled by quality fast bowling on bouncy wickets at one time or another.As the pre-eminent batsman of his time, Tendulkar is always targeted by the opposition and has been tested on innumerable occasions. He has come out on top more often than not and his successes have usually carried India's fortunes with them.Few of Tendulkar's predecessors have played as much one-day cricket as he has and few, Bradman apart, have had to endure the pressure of mass adulation at home as he has.

The fact that he has endured the adulation, and the pressure of expectation of one billion fans, and has been able to maintain his equilibrium and his passion for the game is a great credit to him and his parents who obviously set an excellent foundation for him.

He cannot last forever so I make every effort to see him bat whenever I can for he is a rare gem, the like of which does not come along very often.

At 33, a fighting Tendulkar is still surprising us

Tendulkar's true gifts lie in his mind, but it is his body which is the instrument of his genius, writes Rohit BrijnathSix months before Kuala Lumpur, before he advertised he could run 50 overs even at 33, before an innings against the West Indies that was like some national reassurance, before a century impressive for its unhesitancy, for a moment, even he was visited by doubt.

In late March, as surgeons poked around his shoulder in search of a cyst, mid-procedure, as he lay there semi-awake, they told Sachin Tendulkar that his bicep tendon, well, that had ruptured, too.

Toe. Finger. Back. Elbow. Shoulder. Now bicep. Sachin Tendulkar's true gifts lie in his mind, but it is his body which is the instrument of his genius. And it was failing him. Still, stoic, he told the doctors, "do what you have to do''.

Later, the pain was so pure, so cruel after even the slightest movement, that he thought "what is happening, it was like someone still cutting through your arm''. It was the only time when, understandably, he admits, "you always wonder if it's going to get better''.

Testing time

For much of his career Tendulkar has batted with such assurance that he spins the illusion he is unfamiliar with struggle. But he knows struggle. Well. He knows it because pressure arrives every morning, and just because he manages it with serenity hardly means he doesn't feel it.

He knows struggle because his form has dipped in recent times and the criticism hasn't always been pretty, but he keeps working; he knows struggle because he's missed 77 one-day matches because of various ailments since 1998-99, and as the years accumulate on his joints every comeback must be more testing.

Rehabilitation is slow, steady; great athletes are anything but. They are conditioned to push. Tell them recovery takes six months, and they think four. Sometimes it works, sometimes it makes for moments so deflating they'd rather be erased from the memory.

Tendulkar's moment, the worst one, came he says ''when I was trying hard to go to the West Indies. I was told by the doctors it was tough to make it. At one stage, I was the only one who said I was going there. Others said after this sort of surgery (shoulder and bicep) there was no way to recover in four months.''

''(But) I was pushing myself. And there was a setback. I felt a twitch in my bicep, it started hanging like a hammock. I got scared." So there he was, Tendulkar, mind flown to the Windies, but body on the couch in front of the TV in India.

Did he weep? "No," he laughs. "But I felt bad, I felt frustrated, I felt extremely low." He also felt desperately driven to come back. So he struggled on, leaning on wife Anjali, saying, "I spoke a lot to her, she's a huge supporting factor. She has a balanced mind, (offering both) a wife's opinion and a doctor's opinion."

But through this battle, gradually restoring his shoulder, muscle after muscle, stroke at a time, one thing he didn't doubt. His form.

Surely he was anxious; surely after another injury, another year older, he frets. But no, if Tendulkar didn't believe in himself, he couldn't play. "I wasn't worried," he says, "I don't need to convince myself. I know it (that I could reclaim my form).''

Addiction to attention

Were we surprised that he scored a century in his first full match back? Should we have been surprised? He says he wasn't, insisting he had laboured long to be ready, but maybe it's more than that. Champions, like him, seem to suffer from what might be light-heartedly termed an addiction to attention, finding the limelight irresistible, constant stealers of headlines.

Only the special can do this. Can score 93 off 96 balls as he did last year against Sri Lanka after returning from six months out because of elbow issues. Can return after making a duck in Multan on February 16 and score not just 141, but stay unbeaten, and last 50 overs. If he was making a statement, we heard it.

If it's been hard for Tendulkar, and annoying, because from 16 he's been a man of action and now he's condemned to these periods of idleness, he continues because cricket still infects his being. When he turned to heaven after the West Indies century, he may have thought of his late father, but he was also "thanking God'' that he was simply able to play, "to do what I enjoy doing''.

"I dont mind pushing myself. Every time you push yourself it's a torture only if you're not enjoying it, but I am (enjoying it). I look forward to even the practice sessions.'' At 33, Tendulkar's iron will is carrying a patched-up body forward.

His form, he admits, these past two years "has been good in patches". The injuries, all pertinently to his upper body, have stolen momentum from him, but time, too, has robbed his batting of some luminosity. No man is the greatest forever; but some men, like him, just remain great for longer.

I ask him, forget the scores, how does he know when he's batting well. He says: "When I see the ball early enough and move the way I want to move. To commentators and experts, they may feel I'm not moving, but the batter (knows best). If I want to do something and am able to do that, then there's nothing to worry about."

He's not worried. Ok, then, neither are we.

Sachin Tendulkar - The God Of Big Things

Across cricket academies in India, youngsters chant a single mantra: that of Sachin
By God : He's God

EVEN when he's miles away from home, putting the world's most feared bowlers to the sword, Tendulkar is omnipresent at the coaching camps that have mushroomed across India's cricket-crazy cities. Monotheism is the unquestioned creed. Sachin is God, the only God. While wide-eyed youngsters, wielding bats heavier than their bodies, want to model their game on the master blaster's, many parents are willing to wager everything on their children in the frenzied search for more Tendulkars. Says Prinann Dutta (13), of Calcutta Boys School: "Sachin is the Boss. I worship him."

So do numerous young cricket enthusiasts. Sachin inspires the kind of fervour generally reserved for Divinity. Not even Gavaskar or Kapil quite had the same impact. They were huge icons of their times, but their exploits were always in the realm of the tangible. Tendulkar's deeds have assumed mythic proportions even as he's only probably a quarter of the way through his career.

Non-stop live TV has helped no doubt, but it's Tendulkar's own aura that's translated into a windfall for the cricket coaching shops. Virtually everyday, a new private coaching centre is unveiled in some corner of India, one of the latest being the Sunil Gavaskar Foundation training scheme in Calcutta. In Delhi, almost every major former cricketer, not to speak of veteran coaches like Drona-charya award-winning Gurcharan Singh, is actively involved with overbooked seasonal or permanent coaching camps. Demand far outstrips supply. Says Dilip Vengsarkar, who runs Mumbai's Elf Cricket Academy: "Sachin's been responsible for the increase in the number of kids taking up serious cricket training." The Calcutta cricketer-turned-coach Gopal Bose says: "Sachin is the No. 1 idol of the boys I coach. There's no other name. Ganguly maybe, but there isn't a third name."

Not surprising at all. He stands alone in the pantheon of cricket's Mt Olympus. Says Aravind Lal (13), a student of Hyderabad's Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan: "Sachin's God's gift to Indian cricket. I dream of emulating him, but can I?" Can anybody? Wonders K. Sai Baba, who runs the MCH-Sport Coaching Foundation: "Is it possible to consciously produce Sachins? A sportsman like him is born once in a way." Quite so. Isn't that why Sachin mania gets bigger and bigger? Ask Gaurav Majumdar, 15, of Calcutta's Julien Day School. "I've idolised Sachin ever since I took to cricket four years ago," he gushes. Adulation's grown into full-blown obsession. The youngster's bedroom walls are plastered with Sachin posters. He's asked his mother to pick up every book, every article that mentions the Big Little Master. "If you idolise Sachin, you don't need to idolise anyone else. He grabs your attention totally," says Gaurav. That's a bit like Sac-hin's game: no half measures.

But when a young cricketer goes gaga over Sachin, he should keep his feet on the ground, warns former Ranji player Vijay Mohanraj, the first to start a private coaching centre at the Secunderabad Gymkhana grounds. "Not everyone can be a Sachin. Coaching is only a part of the learning process. Everything hinges on natural ability." Cricketing abilities do vary at these camps. But the reigning idol is constant. Such is Sachin's power over minds and hearts