The Last Hurrah
There are several lasting images of Sachin Tendulkar: the manner in which he took guard after flexing out both his knees like a jockey, the intense concentration under the gladiatorial helmet, the heavy bat he preferred like a natural appendage to his arm, the quickfire reflexes that enabled him to find exasperating gaps in the field, the impeccable straight drive and the dab over the slips cordon with the bat facing the skies. He had, as they say, all the shots in the book, but more importantly, in his prime, he could play them at will. Ever since he made his debut at the age of 16 in Karachi in 1989 against the fearsome pace of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Yunus, the cricketing world recognized the advent of a genius. It took Tendulkar a few more Tests before he made his first hundred, a match saving 119 not out at Old Trafford in 1990. He was then just 17 years old and was not to know that he would add another 50 Test centuries and 49 one-day hundreds, an astounding century of centuries, before he would decide to call it a day. It is a record never likely to be broken. In the years to come, many will wonder if this was fact or figures conjured up by an eccentric statistician.
Apart from that maiden Test hundred, several others stand out in memory. His 114 on a pacy, trampoline-like pitch at Perth in 1992, and in the same year a brilliant 148 not out at the SCG against a rampaging Australian team, a magnificent 169 at Cape Town in 1997 rescuing India from a precarious position, and that patient, uncharacteristic knock of 241 not out in Sydney in 2004. In the one-day arena, several match winning innings stand out, especially in Sharjah against Pakistan, but the record books will show that he was the first batsman to score a double hundred in this format of the game, a feat he achieved with an unbeaten 200 against a strong South African side in Gwalior in 2010.
Critics may ponder over a highest Test score of 248 not out against Bangladesh and no international triple hundred at the end of such a remarkable career. But it is the manner in which he played the game that went against him achieving such a milestone. Classical in his approach with a watertight defence, he still always played the risky shot and prided himself in threading the needle in a packed field. He was neither the brazen all-out aggressor like Virender Sehwag or as dour as the South African Jacques Kallis. Even in his later years, and thoroughly professional in his approach, he still invested the game with an infectious amateur spirit.
A 24-year long career will willynilly bring about personal milestones and international records. But it is the manner in which he played the game, unblemished by controversy or boorish behaviour that will leave behind an indelible imprint. It was an accident of fate that saw him play alongside the best Indian batsmen of his generation—Saurav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid. All four batsmen had their distinctive styles, and perhaps Laxman and Dravid will be more memorably remembered for that astonishing, series turning partnership against Australia in Kolkata. But it must be borne in mind that cricket is the ultimate team sport. A crucial wicket here, a seemingly impossible catch there and a quickfire 50 can contribute equally to the outcome of a game. And Tendulkar, the ultimate team man, almost always and inevitably made a contribution.
It is true that in the last two years, the master has been only a shadow of himself, with only a few shades of brilliance illuminating his batsmanship. But no true cricket lover can begrudge him his last hurrah. As he sets out to bat in his last two Tests against the West Indies and achieve the miracle of 200 Tests, we can only wish him well as he fades into the sunset.
