Journey Of a Sachin Fanatic

World Cup 1996: (Beginner)

This journey started somewhere in the 1996 WC when my dad introduced me to this 5 feet odd batsman and said “look how be bats”. I began liking him but it was more of an acquired taste.

Sharjah 1998: (Fanatic)

The real fanatism came in 1998 during the sharjah series.His innings of 143 in that sand storm is etched in my memory like most sachin fans.There was a time when I was only bothered about his 100.I didnt care if India wins or not.All I wanted was a tendulkar 100!

From 1998 to 2006, I was a sachin fanatic to the point of being a sadist for his competition/haters.I was an alter ego of my present self.There was a time when my only worry in life was sachins form 😀

I could keep watching sachin videos whole day without getting bored.

I am one of those who switched off tv when sachin got out.Done that umpteen times and i am proud of it.
I had many books with photos of sachin (and other cricketers too, but sachin almost 60%) pasted. Used to cut his photos from newspapers, magazines and pasted it in my books.

2004 Slump: (The Sadist)

I used to think the whole world hates sachin during 2004 aus series.All critics bashed him for bad form.Some even wanted him to retire.and then when he got 200 in sydney, i remember I saw the full match highlights for 5-6 times.I used to hate dravid when he got credit for 2003-04 pak win.

2007 WC defeat and rise of Dhoni: (The Hater)

I think it was the 2007 WC ouster when for the first time I was extremely disappointed.(Besides the WC 2003 final of course)That was the same year India won the T20 WC under Dhoni and then obviously Dhoni went on to captain India to the WC 2011 win.

His retirement was on the cards though a bit late. But I am surprised why he retired ODIs before tests. Contrary to other batsmen, sachin has always been stronger in ODIs. The best time to retire was wc 2011 victory but I dont know why he continued further. He could have made 100 100 by playing only tests too.

And finally, let me say this is a huge loss for India especially in ODIs.The excitement to see indian batting open will never be the same.Sachin used to motivate me,he still motivates me.I am lucky to be born in his era.

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42 Comments
  1. sputnik 11 years ago

    hmm after all the Sachin bashing it turns out that Baba was a Sachin fanatic 😉

    • Baba Ji 11 years ago

      its a very sad day for all sachin fans but we need to move on. But yes to find someone like sachin will be next to impossible.Lets hope the likes of Kohli and co can still keep interest alive among Indian cricket fans.

  2. Reddemon 11 years ago

    In India cricket was like a religion and Sachin was considered as its God. Indians lost a religion today since the God himself retired

  3. Baba Ji 11 years ago

    My fav sachin knocks: (it has my personal emotional investment in them 😀 )

    143 Australia – Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium 22 April 1998

    Possibly the greatest individual knock I have ever seen in my life. Jitni tareef karo utna kam hai.

    134 Australia – Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium 24 April 1998

    This one is close to the 143 ,being really special. The six that he hit of kasprowiz was just extraordinary,it even left tony grieg orgasmic .just look at this. his timing,footwork. extraordinary

    41 off 26 balls (Dhaka vs Pakistan) 1998:

    I know that ganguly top scored in this match (124) but I went crazy over the innings of sachins 41 off 26 balls in this! wow what a quickfire innings this was! He was total fearless. He hit azhar mahmood 4 4s in an over. Then saqlain was introduced within 10 overs. sachin comes down the track and hits him for a six!

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=My8z0XRa2LQ

    124* vs Zimbabwe – 1998 more popularly known as the “Olonga Rape” 😀

    Some critics wrote him off as he got out cheaply to olonga in the previous match. this was the final and boy did sachin showed whos the boss. some of the sixes he hit are sensational here.

    98 off 75 balls WC 2003 vs Pak

    The best batsman in the world batted like the best batsman in the world. nothing more to say.

    37 vs Australia in Group match wordl cup 2003:

    This is one innings which many sachin fans also might not remember. It was the first group match between Ind-Aus and Ind were beaten comprehensively. Mcgrath and lee were at their best and indian wickets were falling cheaply. No one had any clue except the great sachin, He was a classact in the 30 odd runs that he made and unfortunately had no support from any end. He hit some real class shots to some top class aussie bowling.Watch 6.12. sachin played a purely defensive shot to Mcgrath and it went for four!

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=u-MSgZYNjBY

    241 vs Aus SCG 2003-2004:

    Sachin was completely written off. He had to score in this. What I liked about this innings was the way he controlled his temperament. He didnt hit a single shot on the offside for the entire innings of 200+ that he played!

  4. Serenzy 11 years ago

    Good to See this ‘Side’ of You Baba! 😀

    Nice, Short & Chweeeeeeeeeet Post!
    🙂

  5. Serenzy 11 years ago

    That 97 vs Pak was Too Good!

    One More Innings of his I Liked was against WI where he Made 140-Odd.

    I Vividly Remember that Innings bcz he had made it Under Huge Pressure & Criticism Flowing in from all Sides for his Retirement!

    I also Cherish the Way he Won Us the CB Series[Tri- Series btwn Aus,SL,Ind in Australia in 2009] where Ponting had Boasted that the 3rd Match won’t be reqd in a Best-of-3 Final btwn Ind and Aus.

    SRT Made it Sure, that the 3rd Final din’t Happen 😉

  6. Aditya007 11 years ago

    Really SAd and emotional Moment for everyOne, because Sachin & Cricket are Correlation of each other!
    I’m not ready for ODI retirement really!

  7. Rajeev 11 years ago

    Its a sad sad day for me….For last 23 years,I was invested in him emotionally….This retirement was expected but it pains ,neverthless…

  8. Suprabh 11 years ago

    For me, my interest in Cricket developed only and only because of Sachin. Hence, for me, its end of ODI cricket today. I will watch Test cricket as long as he plays.

  9. Suprabh 11 years ago

    Here’s a relatively forgotten innings from Sachin. He came very close to hitting a double century in ODI in 1999 itself

    • Baba Ji 11 years ago

      yes I remember this innings quite well. I think dravid and him held a highest wicket partnership record for a long time by this match. it was over 300 runs! Sachin came close to beating the Saeed Anwar record of 194. Another Indian who lost out on 200 was Dhoni when he made 184* vs SL.

      • Suprabh 11 years ago

        and Ganguly when he made 183

        • Baba Ji 11 years ago

          ganguly was out on 183 in that WC match against SL. while sachin an dhoni were not out till end. the overs had finished.

  10. Baba Ji 11 years ago

    Also would like to mention that sachin-ganguly legendary opening partnership. These two by themselves were worth the money. They also had a world record opening partnership of 252 runs for a really long time. There was a time when ganguly was catching up with sachin in the number of hundreds.

  11. Baba Ji 11 years ago

    Ian Chappels fav sachin innings:

  12. Baba Ji 11 years ago

    Richie Benaud on sachin

    Bradman on sachin

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=YbgYwluUkZE

    • sputnik 9 years ago

      Commentator Richie Benaud has died. He was one of my favorite commentators. Loved his dry and subtle style of commentating. RIP

      Richie Benaud dies

      Richie Benaud, the former Australia captain, journalist and legendary broadcaster, has died in Sydney aged 84. He had fought a long battle with skin cancer and had also suffered from the after-effects of a serious car accident near his Coogee home in late 2013.

      A legspinner and aggressive batsman, Benaud’s 248 wickets made him Australia’s leading Test bowler of all time when he retired in 1964, having also never lost a series in which he was captain.

      His captaincy achievements included the return of the Ashes to Australia after their loss for seven years in 1958-59, a key role in the epic 1960-61 home series against the West Indies that featured the first tied Test in Brisbane, and the conjuring of a miraculous victory over England at Manchester in 1961.

      But Benaud would have arguably as much impact on the game as a broadcaster in England and Australia, a trade he moved into having worked as a police reporter before his playing retirement. His spare, dry style and ability to add to the images on screen rather than talking over the top of them was distinctive.

      He also played a key role in the establishment of World Series Cricket as a key organiser of the breakaway competition for Kerry Packer and then the host of Channel Nine’s coverage in 1977. It was a role he would hold for most of the next 45 years.

      Link

  13. Ashish singh 11 years ago

    Mr.Tendulkar who unite whole india on behalf of ‘CRICKET’ religion, to enjoy sachin batting people forget their cast, religion. He is responsible for cricket craze whatever in india today.ab sayad hum yeh nahi puchenge ‘sachin batting kar raha hai kya’.CRICKET has lost his Golden Boy. Saluate you sir and best of luck for your future

  14. mate 11 years ago

    The end of an era in cricket. Sachin is always being my favourite batsman along with Brian Lara. Don’t know how much loss Indian team have to face in current scanario after his retirement, but his contribution to Indian team is more than the collective contribution of the remaining team. Salute to The Master.

  15. sputnik 11 years ago

    Tony Greig dies of lung cancer

    Tony Greig, the former England captain and well-known television commentator, has died after being diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year. He was 66.

    Greig had been initially diagnosed with bronchitis in May but his condition did not improve and tests following the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka revealed that he had a lesion on his right lung. On his return to Australia from the tournament, he had “a lot of fluid” drained from the lung, and further testing revealed he had cancer. An integral part of Channel Nine’s commentary team, Greig was not on duty at any of the Tests during the Australian summer.

    He played 58 Tests for England, and led them in 14, during a five-year career that ended in 1977, when Greig joined Kerry Packer and was one of the key players in World Series Cricket. Greig scored 3599 runs at an average of 40 and took 141 wickets at 32 apiece.

    https://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/current/story/598930.html

  16. Baba Ji 11 years ago

    sachin returns to cricket with 3 fours in a row in first over at 12/2 finishing the day at 71 not out

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=SDhUSHgk248

  17. Reddemon 11 years ago

    300 runs partnership b/w pujara and vijay and pujara is slowly inching towards his next 200.

    Clarke to bowlers : I want this partnership broken anyhow
    bowlers : Sir, if we break this partnership than Sachin will come to the crease.
    Clarke : Ohh.. Better let them play

    • Alia Bhatt fan 11 years ago

      LOL 😀 i think we got potential replacements for dravid, laxman and sachin. great batting from pujara and vijay.

      • Reddemon 11 years ago

        Its too early to say that. Let them perform at foreign pitches like Sachin dravid and laxman.

  18. Baba 10 years ago

    brilliant video posted by roblinda on sachins retirement.he is australian who is cricket fanatic, and if you are one you have to be a sachin fanatic too. but quite often he pisses indians/asians off with his brutal comments. He has some great exclusive videos in his channel.

    always wanted to make this kind of tribute video for him but it takes too much time and you need to have lot of match clips.a guy who doesnt know tendulkar at all should watch it. i guarantee even he will say he is one of the best if not the best just on the strength of this clip

  19. Baba 10 years ago

    *rare* video when sachin owned mcgrath, 3 sixes and 2 fours . ICC knockout trophy 2001

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=de2WJZmPD0Y

  20. shezad 10 years ago

    baba jee yeh video bhi dekhna ( surely ” phir se dekhna )

    its about all the things, the crowd, the first ball of shoahib akhtar to tendulkar , and the silence…

    • Baba 10 years ago

      i have seen this match live on tv 😀 shoaib akhtar had the ability to bowl some unplayable deliveries among his usual wayward bowling. i enjoyed his bowling best in 1999 WC. he was young and really fired up in pace. he was bowling better than even wasim akram and waqar in the whole WC series. the best contest of bowling from 1999 wc from what i remember is the group match between SA and Pak where pollock, wasim and shoaib did some extraordinary swing bowling in the first 10 overs. shoaib was the best with both swing and pace.

      from 26:56
      https://youtube.com/watch?v=C5Fet_gNjtA

      • sputnik 10 years ago

        I watched this match live too. Sachin getting bowled first ball to a yorker was so unexpected and shocking. Shoaib did announce his arrival on the big stage with these two deliveries. Sachin had that unlucky run out in the 2nd innings too. India was such a one man team then. Sachin would get out and the others would hardly put up a fight. It was so depressing and heart breaking.

        Agree that Shoaib was at his best in the 1999 WC. He was the star of that WC when it came to bowling. He would occasionally give a match winning performance but he was never the star the way he was in that WC. And he could never repeat his performance against India. He got thrashed a lot whether it was tests or that 2003 WC match.

        • Baba 10 years ago

          check the delivery by wasim to gary kirsten at 30:12.it bounced at leg stump and swung viciously from the off stump! In the first innings , pollock also bowled similar swing bowling to wajatullah wasti of pak. but pollock deliveries are not in this highlights package . it was the best bowling contest of the entire wc 1999.

  21. shezad 10 years ago

    in 99 wc pakistan had the best team , tehy even beat australia in the pool match, but don’t know what happen in final

    no doubt in his young time shohiab akhtar was a phenomenal bowler

    the best thing in the video ( of sachin ) is the noise and the silence
    is it in mumbai?

    • Baba 10 years ago

      india beat them in wc 1999 too 😀 there were rumours that pak had fixed the final match. also some of its players were caught partying late night before the match

  22. sputnik 9 years ago

    Chappell offered me Dravid’s captaincy in 2007 – Tendulkar

    Sachin Tendulkar has alleged that Greg Chappell, who was India’s coach between 2005 and 2007, suggested that he take over the captaincy from Rahul Dravid months before the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

    “Just months before the World Cup, Chappell had come to see me at home and, to my dismay, suggested that I should take over the captaincy from Rahul Dravid,” Tendulkar writes in his autobiography Playing It My Way, which will be released on November 6. “Anjali [Tendulkar’s wife], who was sitting with me, was equally shocked to hear him say that ‘together, we could control Indian cricket for years’, and that he would help me in taking over the reins of the side.

    “I was surprised to hear the coach not showing the slightest amount of respect for the captain, with cricket’s biggest tournament just months away. He stayed for a couple of hours, trying to convince me, before finally leaving.”

    Tendulkar is scathing in his criticism of Chappell, describing him as a “ringmaster who imposed his ideas on the players without showing any signs of being concerned about whether they felt comfortable or not”.

    “I suggested to the BCCI that the best option would be to keep Greg back in India and not send him with the team to the World Cup. That is not what happened, of course, and the 2007 campaign ended in disaster.”

    India were eliminated in the group stage of that World Cup, after losing games to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. “I don’t think I would be far off the mark if I said that most of us felt that Indian cricket was going nowhere under Chappell.”

    Tendulkar writes that several senior players were relieved to see Chappell go, “which was hardly surprising because, for reasons hard to comprehend, he had not treated them fairly”.

    He also terms Chappell’s attitude towards Sourav Ganguly as “astonishing”. “Chappell is on record as saying that he may have got the job because of Sourav but that did not mean he was going to do favours to Sourav for the rest of his life. Frankly, Sourav is one of the best cricketers India has produced and he did not need favours from Chappell to be part of the team”.

    Tendulkar also says that Chappell wanted to drop more senior players from the team. “Chappell seemed intent on dropping all the older players and in the process damaged the harmony of the side. On one occasion, he asked VVS Laxman to consider opening the batting. Laxman politely turned him down, saying he had tried opening in the first half of his career because he was confused, but now he was settled in the middle order and Greg should consider him as a middle-order batsman.

    “Greg’s response stunned us all. He told Laxman he should be careful, because making a comeback at 32 might not be easy. In fact, I later found out that Greg had spoken to the BCCI about the need to remove the senior players, no doubt hoping to refresh the team.”

    Tendulkar also writes that Chappell had a tendency to take the limelight when India played well, but not otherwise. “I also remember that every time India won, Greg could be seen leading the team to the hotel or into the team bus, but every time India lost he would thrust the players in front. In general John and Gary always preferred to stay in the background, but Greg liked to be prominent in the media.”

    Tendulkar revealed how disappointed the players were after the shock first round exit during the 2007 World Cup and how he was hurt when people questioned the commitment of the Indian players. “After we returned to India, the media followed me back home and it hurt when I heard my own people doubting the commitment of the players. The media had every right to criticise us for failing, but to say we were not focused on the job was not fair.

    “We had failed to fulfill the expectations of the fans, but that did not mean we should be labeled traitors. At times the reaction was surprisingly hostile and some of the players were worried about their safety. Headlines like ‘Endulkar’ hurt deeply. After eighteen years in international cricket, it was tough to see things come to this and retirement crossed my mind. My family and friends like Sanjay Nayak did all they could to cheer me up and after a week I decided to do something about it. I started to do some running, to try to sweat the World Cup out of my head.”

    Link

    • hithere 9 years ago

      Captains are selected by board? If team is not doing well Coach has even less leverage.

      • saurabh sharma 9 years ago

        By knowing the kind of favors Chappell enjoyed, it can be easily concluded that Chappell will be having at least some saying in the Captaincy.

        Sachin complained about Chappell and then also Board didn’t listen to Sachin’s complaints against Chappell.. You can see he had some extra power than normal coach.

    • Baba 9 years ago

      why is he saying all this now and not when it mattered?

      • saurabh sharma 9 years ago

        He is not saying.. He has just written an autobiography and autobiography supposed to reveal all the things happened.

        He complained to board about coach but he didn’t say any thing in the media because he don’t like controversies..

        Even he didn’t mention these things to Dravid also and that is to not to create further divide in Indian Cricket Team

  23. sputnik 9 years ago

    ‘It is never a pleasant thing to be called a liar’ – Tendulkar

    Sachin Tendulkar has revealed the Indian team was ready to abandon their tour of Australia in 2007-08 and accept the consequences, following a three-match ban imposed by match referee Mike Procter on Harbhajan Singh because of an altercation with Andrew Symonds during the Sydney Test.

    Writing about the incident known as Monkeygate in his autobiography Playing It My Way, Tendulkar says, like he did during the inquiry, that “Harbhajan Singh had not racially abused” Symonds and that the issue “almost caused the tour to be called off.”

    “I must reiterate we were very serious about the boycott … and we were fully prepared to accept the consequences of walking out on the tour, knowing that such an action might have resulted in the ICC banning the Indian team,” Tendulkar writes. The Indians, who lost the controversial Sydney Test, were due to travel to Canberra for a tour game but decided, “to lodge an appeal against the decision and in a gesture of protest also decided not to travel to Canberra … It was a time for stern words and strong action.”

    India were ready to leave the tour because they did not agree with Procter’s verdict, “and felt that the hearing in Sydney [after the Test] had been something of a farce.” Tendulkar took exception to the words used by Procter in his statement: “I believe one group is telling the truth.”

    He writes, “That he banned Bhajji for three months seemed to show up which group in his opinion was lying. It is never a pleasant thing to be called a liar and I was extremely angry.” Tendulkar, who was with Harbhajan at the crease when the altercation took place, describes the incident:

    “Bhajji had gone past 50 when it all started. For a number of overs he had been telling me that Andrew Symonds was trying to get him riled. I asked Bhajji not to rise to it but to continue batting the way he was. I knew only too well that by retaliating he would just play into the Australians’ hands. The best thing to do is to ignore such provocation. That’s easy enough to say, but of course it’s not always so easy to keep your cool at moments of intense pressure.

    “Bhajji was doing his best and was actually trying to be civil with some of the Australian players, including Brett Lee, when all hell broke loose. Bhajji had playfully tapped Lee on the back after completing a run and Symonds at mid off took exception to this. He apparently did not want an opposition player meddling with Lee and once again hurled abuse at Bhajji. Bhajji is an impulsive and passionate individual and it was only a matter of time before he would retaliate, which he soon did.”

    Tendulkar says the skirmish began, “because Andrew Symonds had been continually trying to provoke Bhajj and it was inevitable that the two would have an altercation at some point. While walking up to Bhajji to try to calm things down, I heard him say ‘Teri maa ki’ (Your mother . . .) to Symonds. It is an expression we often use in north India to vent our anger and to me it was all part of the game.”

    He writes he was, “surprised to see umpire Mark Benson go up to Bhajji and speak to him. While the umpire was talking to Bhajji, some of the Australian players started to warn him of the dire consequences of his words, presumably to rattle him and disturb his concentration. The ploy paid off when a few overs later Bhajji was out for 63.”

    At that stage Tendulkar said he thought the “matter had ended” with Harbhajan being dismissed, but was surprised a formal complaint had been lodged with the allegation of Harbhajan having called Symonds a “monkey” – a racial insult. “What surprised me most was the haste with which the Australians had lodged their complaint.” Tendulkar said he found out later that during Australia’s tour of India in October 2007, following an incident in Mumbai, the two boards had instructed their captains to report any incident with “racial elements” to the match referee. “Even so, I still believe that the matter would not have been blown so out of proportion if Ponting had discussed it with the captain Anil Kumble, Harbhajan and the Indian team management before reporting the incident to Mike Procter, the match referee. In turn, Mike Procter could also have handled the matter with a little more sensitivity.”

    After the incident, Tendulkar writes the Sydney Test “assumed a completely different character” and describes the Indians fighting to save the match in the face of a spate of controversial umpiring decisions and what he calls, “rather unsportsmanlike conduct” by some of the Australians.

    “By the fifth day we were batting to save the game. Mind you, there is little doubt in my mind that we would have drawn had it not been for what seemed to us to be mistakes by the umpires and some rather unsportsmanlike conduct by a few of the Australian players. Rahul Dravid was given out caught behind off Symonds for 38 by umpire Bucknor when his bat seemed to be a fair distance away from the ball. The wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist was standing up to the stumps at the time and was in the best position to see if the ball had touched Rahul’s bat. Yet he who prided himself on walking off if he nicked the ball appealed for the caught-behind and to our disbelief we saw the umpire raise the finger. It was a shocking decision. Some of us actually wondered if Rahul had been given out lbw.”

    Following Dravid’s dismissal, Ganguly was given out when, “Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting decided to appeal for what we thought was a grassed catch at slip. Finally, umpire Bucknor gave Dhoni out leg-before when to us the ball would clearly have missed the stumps. It seemed that every decision that could go against us had done so.”

    Despite the nature of the defeat, Tendulkar says he made it a point to, “go out and congratulate the Australians, regardless of all the controversy and disappointment.” His gesture was reciprocated in Perth, when after India’s historic victory, “Brett Lee and Adam Gilchrist also came to our dressing room to congratulate us and it was a gesture that was much appreciated.” The team had arrived in Perth, “with a sense of purpose. We all felt hurt by what had transpired in Sydney and the best way to vent our anger was on the cricket field. And that is what we did.”

    Link

  24. sputnik 9 years ago

    Tendulkar skirts fixing in autobiography

    Sachin Tendulkar has not touched upon the match-fixing scandal that rocked Indian cricket in the 1990s in his autobiography because he felt it would be “unwise” to comment on subjects that he was not fully aware of.

    “I think whatever things I knew 100% I have revealed because I back up those things. But the things I am not aware of fully, it would be unwise to comment on those,” Tendulkar was quoted as saying by PTI on the eve of the launch of his book, Playing It My Way. “I should have some evidence, I should know something in detail to talk about it because then it makes sense and it will be appreciated by people. But if I just start talking then it will not have any value.”

    The scandal had eventually led to a life ban for former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin and bans of shorter duration for Ajay Sharma, Ajay Jadeja and Manoj Prabhakar, all of whom were Tendulkar’s team-mates in the 1990s.

    When asked whether he felt some players had under-performed deliberately during that phase, Tendulkar said: “No, I mean the guys fail, but who doesn’t fail in life, everyone fails. It would be unfair to just pinpoint someone and say that he was under-performing, didn’t try his best, I can’t. I have played the sport for 24 years and failures do happen.”

    Tendulkar was also questioned about the perception that he rarely took a stand on major issues in cricket. “If you see in my book, issues on which people believed I should have taken a stand, the only things which I was 100% sure of I stood for that in my book,” he said. “If you have read some of the articles I have expressed myself whole-heartedly but on things which were not first-hand information, it is unwise to do that, it is a loose statement and I didn’t want to fire loose statements.”

    Link

    • Baba 9 years ago

      sputnik you used to say that sachin had mentioned about azhar fixing match in one of his interviews but see how he has done a U turn now

  25. peter decosta 9 years ago

    Salute to Sachin for his great career.. he is really the GOD of cricket and we are missing him..

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