I had started following cricket in early 90s , around 91 i think , started reading newspapers and 'Sportstar' magazine . Since the time i started following Indian cricket there was this young kid with curly hair , who was regarded as the most talented by one and all . As kids we loved him as he was a youngster who could take on much older guys , it also helped that he was bloody good . Benson & Hedges cup tri -series in Aus (91-92) was when i started following live cricket action on TV first time , used to wake up early and follow the matches , thts when i saw Sachin in action for the first time ! That tour confirmed to the world what he was one of the most talented and complete batsmen with his centuries in Sydney and Perth . For me as a viewer that series was the beginning of the era of a legend whose career i would be following eagerly over two decades . A career with a lot of promise which actually ended up getting fulfilled , one with a lot of expectation which were easily surpassed effortless by the man known as The Little Master , but for the legions of cricket crazy fans in India for whom the game is nothing short of religion , He is God !
Over last 2 decades a lot has changed in India , post liberalization and opening up of economy the country has totally transformed , among all the crazy transformations the only constant has been the His presence in the Indian line-up . They say 90s was the decade of hope after a long period of just sustaining and surviving India decided to break shackles and slowly tried to make its presence felt . Sachin was a symbol of that hope of 90s , a country that was changing ,as TV sets became more common the fanatic worship had begun , then and now, He was/is always the reigning deity and He never disappointed the millions. Indian cricket in 90s began and ended with Sachin Tendulkar , such was our belief in Him that the moment He got out millions of Indians without a second thought used to switch off the TV and come out of the bubble of hope and exuberance that was built by His mere presence at the crease . As long as He was around we were always in the game was what majority of Indians felt.
As 90s ended , India as an economy had acted on the promise just like Sachin . Economic growth took off in 2000s , things started improving all around , IT , communications , infrastructure boomed , basic facilities improved , red tapism had gone down , private sector was running the show now , cable TV and news channels had emerged and for many Indians life started getting better. The cricket team also improved , VVS Laxman and Dravid put up a huge partnership following on and even without Sachin doing too much India made a miraculous comeback and defeated Aussies. More victories started coming , other support players emerged , Ganguly was the brave new captain .. Sehwag was new hard-hitting fearless opener cracking triple centuries ; But for most of us He was still the no:1!
The presence of an effective support cast meant a lot of burden was lifted off His shoulder/elbow (the tennis one !) He moved to a different role that of a consolidator , the boy ripped apart attacks was cast aside and the man who could ruthlessly accumulate runs was born. We didn't like it initially we wanted the old kid back , one who would pummel the opposition to surrender , the one who would create nightmares for the bowlers even if they were regarded as Greatest Leg-spinner ever. But He knew better and He excelled in his new role as a mentor figure for youngsters , someone who would guide India home.
Economy was now clocking steady growth , BSE Sensex was mirroring the run aggregate of Sachin and things around us were improving at a steady rate , Sachin was also scoring at a steady pace . However time and again critics would surface point out flaws only to have The Little Master put them to shame with an impeccable display of batting They said he cant play in finals , He thrashed Aussies with a 117 and 91 in 2 finals to guide India to victory in the CB series finals in 2008 , they said he cant play in the 4th innings in test match , He scored an assured century and guided India to a brilliant victory chasing a huge 387 run target in 4th innings at Chennai . Just when u think you have seen it all , He turns the clock back and comes up with knocks like the 175 in the recent ODI agains Australia which turned an impossible run chase to a thrilling one and almost had India coasting home !
To the person up there .... Thanks a lot for 20 years of Tendulkar !
