Ten+Ten-dulkar

This one's for you, BRB/AV. Enjoy!

If you are even remotely interested in Indian cricket and have been following it these past few days, you are aware of the attention being given to Tendulkar's 20 years-of-service. Everyone under the sun with a microphone, pen, or camera (or blog) has had something to say. Earlier I gave you Prem Panicker and Harsha Bhogle's take on the man.

Here are some of the more eye-catching one's out there:

1) Tom Alter interviewed Tendulkar when the kid was on the verge of making it to the national squad. Thankfully, wiser heads prevailed or else his fate may well have been that of Graeme Hick's, who was thrown in front of Ambrose and co. a few years later. (By the way, Tom Alter's son has a job that I covet!).



2) A few try to give some hatke analysis of the man, focusing on his body language during a press conference, whereas others like Steve Waugh call him a "once in a century star". (In that article, Waugh has a throwaway line that says a lot about the Indian team today. He writes: We always sensed that once we take him out of the game, his teammates tended to lose some of their spirit. This might not be the case today, but for a decade, getting Sachin early was the key to beating India).

3) Gideon Haig, who does not write as often as he probably should, deserves his own space as he describes what Tendulkar has meant to him.

4) There are many more such articles, but it would be best to simply direct you to India Today, which has an extensively well-compiled and displayed treat for fans of Tendulkars stats and more.

My personal thoughts on Tendulkar? I believe his strength - an absolute single-minded determination to do things his way - is his greatest weakness, too. He has been remarkably consistent throughout his career. Not for long does he go through a dry spell. However, people forget that, as a century-maker, Tendulkar was a late bloomer. His first ODI century came 5 years after he made his debut. 20 of his first 21 Tests were abroad and he did not score his first Test century at home until 4 years after he first batted in one.

For about 8 years, from 1993-01, I did not watch any cricket and would have lost touch with it but for the creation of CricInfo. I have been told multiple times that I missed out on Tendulkar's prime. I can believe that. The advent of Youtube has allowed me to relive some of those lost memories, and I have not missed a Test match on WillowTV since 2001 (except under the most extenuating circumstances, of course). I have watched him closely, rejoiced when he scored runs, agonized when he went into a monk-like defensive state and cost us Tests, and celebrated when he finally began to relish playing under MS Dhoni.

He is not my favorite cricketer but I have spent numerous hours defending his "record in losses" to the likes of BRB/AV. Ironically, some of Tendulkar's best memories have been crafted in BRB/AV's hometown of Chennai.

On the whole, I have enjoyed watching Tendulkar bat when he in the mood to dominate and look forward to doing it for many years to come.

(Getty images 2009)

P.S. In the end, CricInfo did come through with a comprehensive profile of the man and his achievements. It has everything you want - articles by peers, articles by writers, and a boatload of statistics. Enjoy!