Farewell Sachin

On 16th November 2013 ,a certain Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar retired, ending a glorious career almost spanning a quarter of a century! There was an astonishing anticipation for the test match at Mumbai against West Indies once Sachin announced that it would be his last, and as events transpired it was almost the fairytale ending he and everyone in india hoped for, India won the game convincingly against an under-par West Indies and Sachin scored a stroke-filled 74, which was not far from a career being encapsulated in  an innings. He played his trademark shots which included the elegant cover drive, his cut against the spinners and a glorious straight drive to bring up his 50 . He did leave his best for last , by delivering a splendid and emotional speech which brought everyone in the ground and fans at their homes to tears.

But the question is ,Why so much hype around Sachin? What is so special about the man?

Everyone is aware of his mind boggling statistics, but I feel that the reason why he has such an emotional connect with the fans especially in India is because of his stupendous character he has displayed throughout his illustrious career.

In his debut series at the tender age of 16 ,he showed the world that he was a special player when after being hit on the mouth by a Waqar Younis delivery, he came back after receiving treatment and scored a gritty 57 against a formidable pakistani bowling line-up before being dismissed by Imran khan on a green wicket in Sialkot, thus setting up a platform for him to rise in international cricket. Sachin was always much loved amongst the fans because he controlled his emotions and stayed away from controversies, at many points in his career many questions were raised about him, be it by the a section of the supporters asking for his retirement, or by other players, like in the 2008 monkey gate issue where the some Australian players were upset that Sachin took Harbhajan's side. Surely he would have been upset by these questions and allegations, but he never showed it and resorted to the best reaction-silence. Many bowlers too have tried to get under  his skin, but after a while i think they realized that they would receive more of a "reaction" from his wax statue .

There was nothing more he loved than to play  cricket , it was clearly evident in his child like enthusiasm he had on the field. As VVS Laxman pointed out in an interview, Sachin  was always the one who started the celebrations after win, because of the pure joy an indian win gave him. Even in his last test, every time Pragyan Ojha came on to bowl he would run up to Ojha, take his cap and give it to the umpire,a tradition he followed with the great leg spinner Anil Kumble as he felt it gave the bowler some added luck, and boy! The tradition did work as Ojha finished with 10 wickets in the test match.

 Sachin will always be remembered as an inspirational human being who not only had the immense talent but also had the determination and devotion to the game which allowed him to enter the record book and into the hearts of millions.

 Sachiiiiiiin Sachin forever.

-AM