Geoffrey Boycott, oneof the keenest observersof the gametoday and previouslya record holder forthe highest number of runs in Testcricket, once said that he has witnessedonly three batsmen whopossessed genius: Garfield Sobers,Viv Richards and Brian Lara.
However, in his book, Boycottrated Sachin Tendulkar, alongwith Lara, as the best batsman hehas seen since Sobers andRichards. Tendulkar’s sculpturedstroke-play, precise footwork, fullrange of shots, remarkable concentration,perfect technique,unwavering focus, and amazinghand-eye coordination made himthe most complete batsman whodisplayed no weakness againstany type of bowling.
Harold Pinter, Nobel Prize-winningauthor and cricket enthusiast,wrote about his boyhood heroand ace English opening batsmanSir Len Hutton that his bat waspart of his nervous system; thesame statement can be madeabout Tendulkar and Lara dominatedthe cricketing world formore than two decades but battedtogether for the same team onlyonce: they opened the innings forInternational XI against PakistanXI in a charity match, in aid of2005 Earthquake Relief Fund, atthe Oval in July 2006. One feelsprivileged to have witnessed thesetwo maestros play together in arain-curtailed ten overs a sidegame which Pakistan (124/4) wonin the last over --thanks toShahid Afridi’s blitzkrieg (41 runsoff 12 balls) in response to MSDhoni’s fireworks (35 runs off 13balls).
However, the highlight of thematch was 72 runs opening partnershipbetween Lara (32 off 21deliveries) and Tendulkar (50 notout in 26 balls). More than 20,000lucky spectators who watched itwere reminded of Wisden’s verdictnine years earlier (when Tendulkar as named one of thefive cricketers of the year in1997) about the two immortals:"He (Tendulkar) is a focused technician,who offers a counterpointto Brian Lara’s more eye-catchingdestruction, fuelled on flair andego."
As a 16-year-old boy wonder,Tendulkar made his Test debutagainst Pakistan at Karachi in1989 facing the might of ImranKhan, Wasim Akram and WaqarYounis. He scored his first hundredat the age of 17, a match savingunbeaten innings of 119against England at Old Trafford in1990, and had notched up 16 Testcenturies when he turned 25. Hismost amazing innings cameagainst Australia on a lightning fastpitch at Perth in 1992;although India lost the matchbadly, Tendulkar stroked his wayto 114 and impressed Sir DonBradman who told his wife thatTendulkar reminded him of himself.
Tendulkar played his mostimpressive and memorableinnings against Australia --undoubtedly the best team in hisera. If his centuries at Perth andSydney in 1992 confirmed his battingprowess against fast bowling,Tendulkar’s unbeaten 155 againstShane Warne at Chennai in 1998established his mastery over thebest spinner in the world. His Testrecord against arch-rivalsPakistan was the least impressiveas he scored only two centuries in18 Tests. It is a pity that Pakistanand India, due to political tensions,did not play any Test seriesduring 1989-1999 and there wasno Test contest betweenTendulkar and the two Ws --Wasim and Waqar -- who werealso at their peak during thisdecade.
Tendulkar’s most heroic andsuperhuman yet tragic inningswas played against Pakistan whenhe scored 136 in the fourthinnings at Chennai in 1999. Set tochase 271, India had collapsed to82-5 when Tendulkar, who hadbeen dismissed for a duck bySaqlain Mushtaq in the firstinnings, played, despite his backinjury, the finest innings of hiscareer and took India to within 17runs of victory when Saqlain gothim out and quickly polished offthe tail as Pakistan won the matchby 13 runs.
On the other hand, Pakistanwould never forget one of his bestinnings in One-day Internationals-- 98 off 75 balls -- at Centurionin South Africa during 2003 WorldCup when Sachin completelydemoralised Pakistan’s bowlingattack with his massive hitting andPakistan soon crashed out of theWorld Cup.
Tendulkar was the beau idealof India’s youth, the greatestsporting icon of his country, andthe embodiment and emblem ofhis nation’s hopes and dreams. In1998, Indian poet C P Surendranaptly wrote: "Batsmen walk outinto the middle alone. NotTendulkar. Every time Tendulkarwalks to the crease, a wholenation, tatters and all, marcheswith him to the battle arena. Apauper people pleading for relief,remission from the lifelong anxietyof being Indian, by joining inspirit their visored saviour."
Tendulkar, although the most worshippedplayer of his generation,had his share of detractorswho point out that he neverscored a triple century, did notwin sufficient matches despite hiscenturies, lingered on at least twoyears after his "best-by" date,never faced Waqar and Wasim attheir peak in Test matches in1990s, had a lower batting averagein Tests than his contemporaryand competitor JacquesKallis, scored no century in lasttwo years of his career and averagedslightly below 30 in his last25 innings. His critics accusedhim of turning into an "accountant,obsessing about records,instead of being an artist".
However, as a record-breaker,Tendulkar is sui generis; his statusas the most prolific run-scorer inall formats of the game and hisrecord number of centuries andTests will endure for long. Sachinbecame the richest cricketer of hisgeneration (Forbes placed hisannual income at US $ 22 millionin June 2013) but he will beremembered for his modesty andmagnificence.
At the end of his phenomenaljourney, he had 200 (his final tallyof test matches) reasons to smile.Watching Tendulkar deliver hisstirring farewell speech and thenwalk off into the sunset in styleperchedon the shoulders of histeam-mates while enjoying themobile guard of honour in front ofhis home crowd -- one could nothelp but utter Shakespeare’sfamous line: ‘Here was a Caesar!When comes such another?’
Ammar Ali Qureshi tweets atAmmarAliQureshi