My Tendulkar Memory
A special ability to stay in the moment
A former New Zealand captain pays tribute
Martin Crowe
18-Nov-2013
Sachin Tendulkar completed the most incredible, wonderful 24 years imaginable. While the records stand out, it is the humility and inspiration that will last forever.
It will be his temperament that I will remember the most. When he batted against New Zealand at the tender age of 16 in the first Test in Christchurch in early 1990, he lasted just one ball, caught behind off Danny Morrison. The ball was too quick and too tough for this young boy.
A week later, on a slightly slower pitch in Napier, he found his feet and the pace of the bowling and went on to play a beautiful innings of 88. He fell just short of becoming the youngest Test centurion of all time. What astonished me at close quarters was his ability to forget the nerves and pain of the previous week, and to instead focus on what was in front of him.
Full postMastering the nets
A former team-mate and friend chats about Tendulkar's meticulous approach to practice and his desire for reinvention
Paras Mhambrey
15-Nov-2013
In the last IPL, Mumbai Indians were playing Delhi Daredevils on their home turf. Irfan Pathan, one of Delhi's bowlers, was in good rhythm and getting the ball to swing in to the right-handers. So Sachin wanted me to create the left-armer's angle. He asked me to bowl from 20 yards, around the stumps, very close to the wicket with my arm coming over the wicket. As a right-arm medium-pacer, I nearly fell over in the process but he wanted to visualise Irfan's left arm while I was essentially bowling an inswinger.
One of the first times I used a bowling machine against Sachin was an eye opener. When you fire balls out of a bowling machine it lands on a particular spot. So if the ball landed on a good length on off stump Sachin would play it initially after taking his natural guard, say on middle stump. Then he would move to the off stump, leg stump, and outside the leg stump. That exercise was to create the angle that he expected the bowler to deliver at, and then to drive on the rise.
He did that a lot. If it was a normal-length ball that was right underneath his bat, he would drive. Then he moved slightly away, and further away, to create an angle to try to reach the pitch of the ball. The first time he did it, I was wondering what he was trying to do.
Full postHe played to their pitch
Mumbai groundsmen who worked with Tendulkar from his young days recollect their favourite moments with the batsman
Nagraj Gollapudi
13-Nov-2013
A year from now, Lalsuram Jaiswal and Vijay Tambe, the longest serving pair of groundsmen at the Wankhede Stadium, will retire.
Walk around the ground and it's not hard to spot these two maalis, both in their 60th year, with a mop of snow-white hair, dressed in khaki. In their 30-plus years of service, the duo has seen some of the finest cricketers that Mumbai, India and international teams have had to offer. And then they have seen the finest: Sachin Tendulkar.
Jaiswal, the oldest serving groundsman working for the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), has a twinkle in his eye as he recalls his very first memories of Tendulkar, as a kid and then as a youngster making his way into the Ranji Trophy team. It was at the Wankhede that Tendulkar played his maiden first-class match and though Jaiswal's memories do not always match the facts, they are vivid enough for you to get the picture.
Full post'If you try to hit a six, I will hit you on the bum'
Tendulkar's batting partners remember interesting conversations they had with him on the pitch
08-Nov-2013
In February 1988, Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli ransacked 664 runs in a world-record partnership for Shardashram Vidyamandir against St Xavier's High School, in the Harris Shield semi-final at Azad Maidan, Mumbai.
"Once we got into the groove, Tendlya and me toyed with the attack," Kambli said earlier this year. "After every boundary and six, we would sing Wham's "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go".
Like Kambli, a number of batsmen down the years have enjoyed unforgettable partnerships with Tendulkar. And many of them have gone on to narrate snatches of conversation that transpired during these passages of play.
Full postStar-struck in Mumbai
A school-mate and former state team-mate talks about how he was in awe of a young Tendulkar
Amol Muzumdar
06-Nov-2013
As a kid, BEST bus No. 91 was my be all and end all. I would take the bus to Shivaji Park to attend Anna Vaidya's nets at the Bengal Cricket Club. Sachin Tendulkar was already being singled out as a future Test player, and one time both of us were on the same bus - Sachin had boarded at Vakola. My mom was with me that day and when we got off the bus, I remember telling her: "Aai, that fair guy's name is Tendulkar. They all say he is going to play for India one day."
There were a few others, like Mayur Kadrekar, Rupak Mule, Atul Ranade and Parag Jiwankar - all Shardashram English school products and famous for their batting. But Sachin stood out big time. I remember when I was in grade six or seven, my school, BPM, were playing against Shardhashram. I did not make it to the first XI, so our teacher, who doubled up as a coach, asked me to keep score. Sachin got 275 runs in a day. I scored every single run. My fingers might have ached but I enjoyed it.
When I went home I told my dad I wanted to change schools and move to Shardashram. It was solely because of a boy called Tendulkar, who had created such a big impression on my mind. The following year, 1987, I moved to Shardashram. That was the most important decision of my life and I would not be where I am today if not for the move.
Full postGame for anything
A former Indian team manager recalls some lasting Tendulkar memories from the sidelines
Amrit Mathur
05-Nov-2013
Admired for his relentless focus and concentration while batting, Sachin demonstrated an equally fierce competitive streak away from cricket. In Pakistan during the 2003-04 tour, an impromptu indoor golf contest was arranged for the Indian players in the corridor of Lahore's Pearl Continental Hotel to kill time before their flight back to India. Contestants, led by Yuvraj Singh, had to putt into a glass tumbler from a spot roughly 20 feet away.
This proved to be a task more difficult than handling Shoaib Akhtar and Wasim Akram on a two-paced wicket. The uneven carpet was no St Andrews, and the golf technique of the Indian players was shaky at best. What they lacked in talent, they made up for in enthusiasm, and they got noisier with the frustration of repeatedly missing the "hole". A sleepy Tendulkar emerged from his room and asked to have a go. Granted a wild card to participate, he took his position, held the putter (incorrectly) like a cricket bat, and rolled the ball into the cup on his first attempt.
As others screamed in horror, surprised by his fluky success, a triumphant Sachin casually handed the putter to a colleague and "retired" to his room grinning.
Full post'Just bowl him another long hop'
The Zimbabwe offspinner, who played against a young Tendulkar in 1992-93, recalls being impressed by his batsmanship and modesty
John Traicos
23-Oct-2013
In the 1992 World Cup, Sachin was the youngest player and I was the oldest player in the tournament. I guess both of us were thinking the same thing: we are lucky to be playing a World Cup at our individual ages. Interestingly, I did not know he was the ball boy at the India-Zimbabwe match during the group stages of the 1987 World Cup, played at Wankhede Stadium.
Sunil Gavaskar had rated Tendulkar as a champion cricketer, so there was an expectation and aura surrounding him even at an age when he had just come into international cricket. The difference between most youngsters and Sachin is, Sachin came in as a boy with a sort of reputation of being a world beater or the next big thing. But he had modesty about him and quietness about him.
Sachin was a very shy guy, but very, very confident. He certainly had a great deal of confidence. He was incredibly modest in his approach. There was never anything flashy about him. You often find talented players at such a young age tend to be precocious, tend to be flamboyant in their game. But Sachin was very precise, very methodical.
Full postShowing 1 - 7 of 7
Most Read
Writers