'Sach' is life..

Full name: Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

Born: April 24, 1973 in Bombay, Maharashtra
Current age: 39 years 243 days
Major teams: India, Asia XI, Mumbai, Mumbai Indians, Yorkshire
Nicknames: God, SRT, Tendlya, Little Master, Master Blaster, Batting Maestro
Playing role: Top order batsman
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak, legbreak, googly
Height: 5 feet 5 inches

463 ODIs (452 Inings), 18426 runs (Avg. of 44.83 & S/R of 86.24) with 2016 fours & 195 sixes, highest score – 200*, 49 centuries, 96 fifties, 140 catches, 154 wickets (ER: 5.10) with best figures of 32/5 [all of this achieved across 90 different grounds across the world]

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He made his debut on December 18, 1989, as a 16-year-old against Pakistan. He played his last ODI on March 18, 2012, also against Pakistan in the Asia Cup.

His last ODI hundred came in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh in March 2012, a feat that completed an unprecedented 100 international tons (across all formats).

He has opened Batting 340 times in ODI cricket, a record.

First player to reach 10,000-11,000-12,000-13,000-14,000-15,000, 16,000 and 17,000, 18,000 ODI runs. Only player to score 5, 150+ (186*, 152, 163*, 175 and 200*) scores in ODI cricket.

He  has scored 1,000 or more ODI runs in a calendar year a record seven times - 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2007. His tally of 1894 runs in 1998 is a record for the highest number of ODI runs by anyone in a calendar year. Also his 9 ODI centuries in the same year is also a record for the highest number of ODI centuries recorded by anyone in a calendar year.

He has the most Man of the Match Awards (62) and the most Man of the Series Awards (15) in the history of ODI cricket.

Most Runs (2120), Most Fifties (13), Most Hundreds (6), Highest Partnership runs for 3rd wicket (237, with Rahul Dravid) in World Cup cricket. He was the Man of the Tournament in the 2003 ICC World Cup, in which he scored 673 runs (the highest by any player in any World Cup).

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So, the greatest ODI batsman India (and arguably, the world) has ever seen will not get to 20,000 ODI runs. Nor will he get to his 50^th ODI century. The many who wanted him to roll back the years and still be around when the 2015 ICC World Cup came around will be disappointed. Pakistan, who are just about to embark on an ODI series against India, will be happy to not have to bowl to him. The growing number of people who have been calling for his head will be happy to see him go. Cricket, though, both Indian and of the world, has been left with a gigantic hole.

His statement (released by the BCCI on the morning of 23.12.2012) read, "I have decided to retire from the One Day format of the game. I feel blessed to have fulfilled the dream of being part of a World Cup wining Indian team. The preparatory process to defend the World Cup in 2015 should begin early and in right earnest. I would like to wish the team all the very best for the future. I am eternally grateful to all my well wishers for their unconditional support and love over the years." Sachin Tendulkar, perhaps the most-worshipped cricketer of all-time, will not pad up for India in ODIs again. Many, including myself, were somewhat puzzled when he did not retire after winning the 2011 ICC World Cup, simply because it seemed as if he had nothing left to achieve in this format. Yet, the batting legend has always maintained that he will go on playing as long as he enjoys the game, and he now goes on his own terms. It is strange to think.. no, to know.. that the name ‘Tendulkar’ will never again appear on an ODI scorecard for India.

 

 For as long as I have followed the Indian team (& cricket in general), SRT has been a constant figure in the sea of change. Questions have been raised – about his big-match-situation performances, about his captaincy, about his match-winning abilities, about his supposed lack-of-sportsmanship, about his unwillingness to retire & so on & so forth – but Sachin has always let his bat do the talking. 23 years is one hell of a long time..

 Comparisons have always been part & parcel of any & all sports, & many are of the opinion that Dada’s contribution to Indian cricket is bigger than Sachin’s. To me, while Dada is without a shadow of doubt the better leader among the two, there is no comparison when it comes to their batting – Sachin is head & shoulders above & beyond the southpaw, be it in Tests, ODIs or IPL. On who was more inspirational of the two, it’s a difficult question to address simply because of the drastically contrasting styles of the two – Dada’s in-your-face aggression to Sachin’s subdued stay-in-the-background approach.

They say a hero is immortal only until he dies. R.I.P. the immortal Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, veteran of 463 ODIs and World Cup-winner. To say that you will be missed would be the biggest understatement in the history of understatements.. A true champion and one of the last of the gentlemen cricketers has just left the building. Thank you for all the memories..

A large part of the cricket-fan in me died today morning. Maybe the world should indeed have ended on 21.12.2012.