HOW CAN we forget a man who has created such cricket records, famous for his courageous cover drive, the extraordinary square cuts, outstanding pull shot over midwicket/square leg and his sky kissing sixes? He has scored the highest number of century in the both Test and One-Day cricket a dream of other cricket stars. He is none other than little master and master blaster Sachin Tendulkar. This man always hits the cover page of newspapers and the magazines not for controversies but for achievements. He is a genuine and undisputed cricket icon and an inspiration for the youth.

 

Sachin Tendulkar entered into the cricket world 19 years ago in 1989 against archrival Pakistan and faced the fiery pace of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. He was part of the national team for the England tour and has not looked back ever since and now his name itself generates respect in the heart of the world famous bowlers. Apart from his exciting cricket career he has been blessed with a unique quality. He bats, bowls and throw the balls with the right hand but writes with the left hand that is an exceptional feature and the word ambidextrous is synonymous with Sachin Tendulkar. He has tremendous power in his arms and can really hit the ball. He plays each of his shots wonderfully and has also employed the reverse sweep to good effect. Some of his shots are hit with so much power that the ball simply rockets to the fence as if he was trying to dismiss the ball from his presence. On the other hand, some of his shots are neatly timed and well placed.

 

It is right that some time this cool man comes under some controversies such as ball tampering and showing displeasure in the Pakistan tour when the Indian vice captain Rahul Dravid declared the innings when he was six runs away from his double century. Media and some cricket experts have criticized him from time to time when he is out of form. Some cricket guru suggested he retire because his cricket career is about to finish but every time Sachin did not speak but his bat spoke and shut the mouth of critics Even in the recent triangular series, in which apart from India and Australia the third team was Sri Lanka Sachin Tendulkar was second highest scorer and the hero of first and second final. That is the reason Indians says that cricket is our religion and Sachin Tendulkar is our god.

 

Despite the fact that a number of records have been written in his name, he always tries to improve and perform at his best. One of the best qualities of the little master is that he always learns from his past mistakes and next time it seems he is completely errorless on the pitch while bowling or batting. Recently, after falling at 97 he said that if I should take the advice of my son Arjun who told me that as you reach at 96-94 just hit the ball for six and in this way you may complete your century. He is a man who born with a strong will and never gives up. He always makes an effort to perform better and better. Whenever he fails with the bat, he tries to compensate with his outstanding leg spin, off spin and flighted ball to attract the batsmen to go for big one and make a mistake.

 

He has achieved a lot but still he is thinks that he has made lots of mistakes and if he had not made such mistake he could contribute further to Indian cricket and his individual record would certainly be better. He is the undisputed king of cricket still the thirst for runs does not die. Recently, a number of times our little master has become victim of the nervous nineties and missed numerous centuries. It is fact that he has already made 42 centuries that is a big achievement but people’s desire never dies and consequently he consistently tries to achieve every target. One of the exciting things about Sachin Tendulkar is that he never sits silently and tries hard to concentrate on the given assignment. In this regard he said, ’’To be honest, I don’t think about all these things when I’m going in to bat, because when you go out to bat you’ve to just watch the ball to hit for sky sixes. You must think about the game and not anything else. I try to work on that,’’ and that is the reason he is a top class batsman of the world.