A Tribute to 15000 runs

As he drove the ball towards extra cover, he achieved a feat no other man could achieve so far, and yet again stamped his authority on the game. Sachin Tendulkar, now has more than 15000 ODI runs to his name, and the run machine did not look rusty at all.

 

No.. this is not a debate to ascertain it he is the best player that ever happened to the game... he may not be.. infact.. he is not...

This is also not a forum for discussion whether he should retire or continue to play..

Neither is this a place where we discuss if he should play defensively or aggressively, let his instincts rule his mind or not...

 

Here, I just pay tribute to someone, who has held the flag for India's batting for the last 18 years, and continues to do so. I pay tribute to the unassuming master, who has to carry with him the burden of 1 billion expectations and a team, which is at best mediocre. I pay tribute to Sachin Tendulkar, for trying to mould his game to what his team might require. More than anything, I pay tribute to Sachin Tendulkar for being capable of lifting the spirits of an entire nation in a matter of 4 minutes, or an over. How can we ever forget the second over that Shoaib Akhtar bowled in the 2003 world cup match against India, and the way the little master creamed him for 17 runs... I still remember the way adrenaline pumped after that, and the way India acheived the target in that match... and the way he lifted the flaggling spirits of his team and its fans...

 

I pay tribute to Sachin, for achieving yet another record...which was not exactly a new record.... for once he crossed 12000 ODI runs.. every one that he scored was a record.... Once he crossed 30 centuries... every one he scored was a record...

 

I pay tribute to Sachin, for his quest to better himself, to keep his motivation levels high even after achieving almost everything a cricketer would dream of.

 

No, I do not say that he is the best batsman, or GOD in cricket. He is not, but the little guy has to live with it that we want him to be the best batsman in the world. He carries our expectations, he fails, but again carries them in the next match. For mere mortals it is easy, Sehwag may not carry the same burden of expectations again, Ganguly may not have to do it, but Sachin needs to.. every time he steps out.. we need him to score, and more than anything, we want him to score. He fails, but we again want him to score. And again and again. He gives us the feeling of superiority in a sport where we are mediocre, and I pay Tribute to him for this feeling.

In a nation where we do not really excel in any sport, he provides us a ray of hope sometimes, and I pay tribute to him for that.

 

Well played Sachin...