Sachin Tendulkar – The Master who was Born to Bat

There are two kinds of batsmen in the world. One, Sachin Tendulkar. Two, all other batsmen. - Andy Flower

If one were to ask what is Indian Cricket Team’s most prized possession, the answer would be unanimous – Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. But he is not just Indian team’s most prized possession. He’s also Cricket's most prized possession.

The man has been playing astounding cricket for the last two decades and is still nothing short of a blitzkrieg! He refuses to age or get less aggressive with time. Still a bowler’s worst nightmare (bowlers like Shane Warne and Glen McGrath stand in testimony to this); Sachin is also known for his sportsmanship and gentlemanliness.

He has emerged as a source of inspiration to crores of Indians exhorting them to rise above mediocrity and can single-handedly elevate the mood of the nation.

Can Sachin Tendulkar Walk on Water?

Not difficult to make his fans believe that Sachin can walk on water who might also probably believe that he has X-Ray vision and can stop trains. The man has been elevated to a Godly status in India and his worshippers can be found almost everywhere.

Born in Mumbai to Ramesh Tendulkar, a novelist and Rajni Tendulkar, who worked in the insurance sector Tendulkar was soon identified as a cricket prodigy. It didn’t take him much time to embark on his cricketing journey and he became a mentee of Ramakant Achrekar in his early years. There’s an interesting incident from his kid-years: When he was young, Tendulkar would practice for hours on end in the nets. If he became exhausted, Achrekar would put a one-Rupee-coin on the top of the stumps, and the bowler who dismissed Tendulkar would get the coin.
Young Sachin got thirteen Re 1 coins from his coach and he considers them his most prized possession.

Tendulkar started to make his presence felt as he touched teenage. He was being talked about in the Mumbai cricketing circles. Many started predicting that the boy would be the next big thing in cricket. There’s a legend which goes around that Sachin would make bowlers shed tears while he played for his school, as he would refuse to get out.

The world came to know about Sachin in 1989 when a 16-year old ‘genius-in-making’ put on his batting gloves for his first international test match.

Despite a humble start in his first two series (against Pakistan and New Zealand respectively) he hit first test ton against England in 1990 (119 not out) and then there was no looking back. The little genius now has a plethora of records in his kitty; some are the ones which other players can only dream of achieving.

Sachin, Lord Rama of the world of Cricket.

As Lord Rama is to his devotees, Sachin is so to his fans. He’s taken to be an embodiment of righteousness in cricket. Known for his high personal integrity and honesty, every time he ‘walks’, it becomes ‘A Walk to Remember’.

Even though it took him 70 ODIs to get his first century in the limited-overs edition of the game, Sachin is just a hundred short from making a ‘century of the centuries’ in the International cricket (tests and ODIs combined). Sachin’s most memorable ODI inning (which is also the most memorable inning in the history of ODI cricket) came against South Africa.