Writing about Sachin is a thankless task at most times. It’s a bit like writing about the Beatles. It’s really hard to come up with things that haven’t been chewed, ruminated and digested by legions of cricket fans all over the globe. The awkward teen doing a TV interview with Tom Alter with insanely high waist-ed trousers, the practise sessions that were motivated by a 1 rupee coin placed on top of a stump by “Achrekar sir”, the vada pavs and the friendship with Vinod Kambli, the rise of Sachin the marketing commodity which coincided perfectly with Manmohan Singh (the Financial Minister avatar) opening up the Indian markets in 1991 and many, many more stories. Because we all have our own private Sachin, I’m going to walk down memory lane and pick my favorite Sachin moments over the years.
The Wonder Years (1989-1992): This was the period when he arrived into our collective consciousness, as a shy 16-year old prodigy. I mean here was a sporting equivalent of Doogie Howser, except that he wasn't fictional. This period was characterized by curiosity, awe and avuncular affection in equal parts. Hordes of middle-aged Indian aunties were seen gushing over this precocious teenager as he walked out to an intense media glare to face the most intimidating fast bowlers from all over: Wasim, Waqar, McDermott, Merv Hughes (“This little prick is going to score more runs than you, AB”), Hadlee … the list goes on. I clearly remember my late grandmother (who could generally not be too bothered what what 22 men dressed in whites did) once come out and watch Sachin, just for the sake of seeing him. “Ha Sachin ka?” Is that Sachin?
After his trial by fire on the Pakistan tour, his near miss at a first test hundred in Napier, he smacked a century at the SCG the same time that a blonde leg-spinner was starting out in international cricket. He even one-upped himself in Perth, cracking a 114 when the rest of the Indian batsmen didn’t know whether they were coming or going, a century Ian Chappell still rates as one of Sachin’s best.
However, it was the ODI World Cup in 1992 (where India were also-rans) that he took on the mantle of being the team’s fulcrum for the first time. Where teams looked at him as a young international freak before, they started to build plans that involved getting him out early. My favorite moment was his stroke filled batting in scoring a half century against Pakistan. This World Cup was what really started my love affair with cricket and Sachin was an integral part of it. It was around this time that the Wonder Years were coming to an end, and his career entered the next phase.
The Lone Ranger (1992-1996): This was a period of great tragedy, or great romance depending on which way you look at it. India had some handy batsmen and bowlers on subcontinent pitches. And there were a couple of good performances here and there (the 1993 Hero Cup win, 3-0 sweeps of England and Sri Lanka at home), India were always a team relying on brilliant individual performances from him to carry them through. This was the period where all the Sachin stereotypes have been built on. There was a commercial on TV at the time that had someone say, “Sachin hai na?” Is Sachin still batting? It captured the mood perfectly. India only had a chance if Sachin was around. Kids who grew up watching cricket in the 2000’s when Sachin had an able support cast will never quite get the desperation of this period.
The lowest low of this time came during the 1996 World Cup semi final against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens. It was probably one of the most painful moments as an Indian cricket fan but it captures what supporting India was like at the time more than anything else. After Sachin had been sublime to get India to the brink of a World Cup final, Azhar made the absolutely horrendous call of giving Sri Lanka first use of a newly laid pitch. Chasing just over 250, Sachin made the pitch look like it had no demons in it while he was around. Once he got out for 65, 98/2 became 120/8 and a literal riot ensued. I locked myself up in the bathroom and cried. There were pictures of Vinod Kambli, his childhood friend and teammate, walking off the field of play, crying inconsolably. That pretty much sums up this period for me.
The Golden Years (1996-2005): This Golden Age of Indian cricket actually had more to do with the support cast rather than Sachin himself. As Indian fans, we should thank the likes of Ganguly, Dravid, Sehwag and to a lesser extent Laxman and Yuvraj for taking the pressure off Sachin and allowing himself to express himself without having to be an Atlas every single game. I really do think that without the emergence of these batsmen, Sachin would’ve been broken and would not have lasted in international cricket as long as he did.
There were some disappointments during this time, make no mistake about that. The second innings 136 he made against Pakistan on a difficult pitch against a great bowling attack in Chennai is still, in my mind, his best innings that almost was a throwback to the pre-Ganguly/Dravid era, and the 2003 World Cup final against Australia will continue to rankle. However, this time had some astonishing good displays of batsmanship that were not about Sachin alone - like Dravid and Ganguly’s plundering of Sri Lanka in England in the 1999 World Cup. Inasmuch as Sachin would’ve loved to be part of the fun, I’m sure he enjoyed watching that match and felt some sort of release. There was also the legendary 2001 series against Australia that will be remembered for the Laxman/Dravid partnership, or the Pakistan series for the Sehwag triple.
Sachin provided some masterclasses of his own during this time too, including the 241* against Australia at Sydney which almost spoilt Steve Waugh’s farewell series and his belligerent 98 against Pakistan at the Centurion in the 2003 World Cup. However, the highlight of this period will always be his duels with Shane Warne. Warne dismissed Sachin for 4 in Chennai to elicit a ruthless response from the Master. His 155* in the second innings of the same match in Chennai was probably one of his most complete innings. It only got better in Sharjah when his twin centuries to hand India the trophy were innings of a genius at the top of his craft. One particular moment that lingers on was Warne going around the wicket to pitch it into the rough against him. Warne is animated in his field placings, has an intense look in his eye. Sachin steps out and hammers the first ball over long on’s head. Camera back on Warne who is seen swatting a fly away with a sinking feeling in his gut.
The Second Wind (2005-2013): After going through a lull in the 2005-2007 phase where there were mutterings about whether this would force him to draw the curtain on his long and storied career, his second wind officially started when he scored a couple of sublime 150’s against Australia in the series that will always be remembered for monkey-gate. He ended a hundred drought (by his standards anyway) by smashing a century and followed it up with a 91 to help India seal what would be the last triangular series to feature on the Australian summer calendar. As was his wont, he saved his best for Australia and the 214 he scored against them at Bangalore in an oddly arranged 2-test series in 2010 was as close as he came to perfection during his later years. It’s fitting that his 146 against Dale Steyn’s South Africa at Cape Town will remain his final test century. By then, he was probably not the great player he used to be (still a very, very good one) but used all his cricketing wisdom and experience to hang around and fight his way to what could’ve been a series winning hundred against South Africa.
He also had a couple of fantastic ODI performances during this time. Special mention must go to his 160 against NZ in Hamilton where he showed utter and complete mastery of the format and his 175 against Australia in a losing cause. This period also featured his ODI double century and the 2011 World Cup win. You got the sense that not winning a World Cup always hounded him and that night in Mumbai went a long way to exorcising the ghosts from Eden Gardens ‘96 and Wanderers ‘03.
The lasting memory of Sachin from this phase will always be the heartfelt words of Virat Kohli (“He has carried the nation on his shoulders for 20+ years”) and Yuvraj Singh (“We did it for Sachin”) and the grace Dhoni displayed in letting Sachin-mania take center stage in Mumbai after India had won him the trophy he had craved more than any other in the course of his career.
So how will Sachin be remembered? As the most complete cricketer of his generation. As one of the best role models a young kid could ask for. He has transcended an invisible line to become what I would call a super-sportsman where it’s impossible to mention a sport without thinking of him. It’s like what Pele and Maradona are to football, Federer is to tennis and Schumaker is to F1. He is an ambassador for the sport and cricket is lucky to have an ambassador like him. During his farewell test series characterized by fawning aristocrats tripping over each other, his calm and grace brought sanity to what could have otherwise been an unbearable, over-the-top affair.
So, thank you Sachin. We have taken you for granted for the last 24 years and we now wish you the best of luck to enjoy the next chapter of your life with your family, out of what has been a continuous reality show of an existence. Thanks for the entertainment, thanks for the memories. You were a large part of our childhood growing up and have brought us a lot of happiness over the years, so thank you for that.
So this is what the end of an era feels like. I feel all grown up ...
