SACHINISM: The New Religion (ODI 200*)

February 24, 2010, this really forced me into posting an entry in my blog, although a very delayed one.Stayed awake whole night to frame this write-up. Just a seem less Wednesday and another of a IND vs SA ODI match would it have been, until something extraordinary didn’t happen. A relatively cool day at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium in Gwalior, a boundary so short that may be termed as a nightmare for a fielding side and a pitch, the batsmen would be licking their lips, looking at… looked like the perfect ingredients for a big total to be piled up. And by the looks of the strong world class batting line-up of the men in blue, confidence seaming out, post - a win in the nail-biting Jaipur ODI, and the fans flocking the stadium in force to support Team INDIA, the story seemed alike.

Meanwhile, returning after answering the Numerical Methods mid semester exam, tired and exhausted, in a mindset to jump into bed, I received the exhilarating news that India were in a strong position, although at the loss of Sehwag’s wicket, and Sachin, all set to smash his 46th ODI ton. Had my roomie’s desktop turned on with the live score updates from the internet, we read Sachin get pass the 100 mark after a conservative stroll through the nervous 90’s. Just couldn’t waste more time as we bulleted to the common room for further live action. With literally no chairs to spare, guyz were sitting on one another’s laps and some, even on the floor, we managed to squeeze in our butts as we sat to watch the dazzling show.

It was easy to watch the cricket ball cross over the fence, one bounce or no bounce, every second of third ball. No matter who the bowler was, the odds were stacked against him. Post his century, it became a pleasure to watch as the ball rocketed to the fence off Sachin’s blade so frequently, just flabbergasted us all. Meanwhile a overshadowed Kathik half-century was reached keeping the scoreboard ticking at a fairly good pace. It appeared as if Tendulkar would reach 200 by the time karthik would get to his ton, a fair exaggeration it seemed at that moment. But it was no longer Karthik fell on 79 to Parnell and Yusuf Pathan joined the master blaster at the 22 yards strip. This man has arms of steel; a gleaming display of powerful shots, many of them clearing the rope as he played his cameo of 36 before falling prey to a slow and low full toss by van der Merwe to the disappointment of many. Dhoni came to join in.

In the meantime, Sachin inched towards the apex of the record charts. First to come, was his own previous best, 186*. Every one applauded this skilful technician of the game as he overpowered his personal record. Next most noticed mark was the World Record itself, 194 by Saeed Anwar(PAK) and lately ( not so renounced ) 194* by Charles Coventry ( ZIM ). The common room was crammed with guyz ready to watch history being written. Tendulkar now on 193, all eyes were glued to the TV set to watch the next ball. Parnell to Tendulkar, 137.1 kph, fullish on the pads,Sachin flicks it away behind short fine and the crowd erupts as he scampers back for the second. 2 runs, he's reached the record, the highest score in ODIs, Yet another feather in the master's cap. And another one waiting just five runs away, Boucher comes forward and shakes his hand but Tendulkar's held his celebration for a while later.guyz cheered “ SACHIN SACHIN” all the way…

As this grand act was being put up, Dhoni rocketed his way to his 50. Must have witnessed for the first time, Dhoni trying to accelerate the scoring by smashing the ball hard, out of the park, and still not getting the appreciation it would have deserved in normal circumstances, instead ended getting hurled by some of the craziest abuses. But it was obvious; everyone awaited the Little Master to reach the magical figure of 200. A full hearted effort by Amla in the deep off a hard hit stroke by Dhoni, and Tendulkar took strike. On 199 -Heartbeats stopped- Langeveldt to Tendulkar, 137.4 kph, streered behind point to run a single to reach the first double-hundred in ODIs, takes off his helmet and waves to the crowd, which is on its feet, so are his team-mates in the dressing room, a fan's blowing a conch, Tendulkar soaked all the adulation and a brief moment followed, a moment to be cherished all lifetime! The scene infront of the TV screen - no words to describe. The guyz erupted into joy, dancing, expressing their emotion as they paid tribute to the fantabulous man – SACHIN – the best ever.

Truly, a tale to remember: clueless South African bowlers, electrified audience and a triumphant SACHIN.






Chosen Quotes said on the occassion:

Shane Warne – “ I’m Glad I’m not bowling to him today.”


Aamer Sohail – “I think if you ask Saeed Anwar, he would say he's happy that Tendulkar broke his record.”


Sunil Gavaskar – “There is a little boy in Tendulkar who wants to keep playing. That spirit keeps him going. It's absolutely incredible how he keeps going.”

Lalit Modi – “Sachin - the greatest ever player ever - without any doubt… I salute Sachin... World's greatest sportsman.”

Sangakkara – “What an innings it was. He had come close to achieving it twice.”

Javed Miandad - "He is my favourite player. I had said that one day he would go on to break all batting records and now you see him scoring runs and runs."

Bapu Nadkarni – “Whatever record is seen to be impossible to achieve, he makes it possible. No wonder Sir Donald Bradman saw himself in the way Sachin bats."

Dhoni – “It's always good to be on the other side, watching him score 200 runs. When he is tired and can't play the big shots, he was very clever to use the pace of the bowler and it's very difficult for the bowlers as they don't know where exactly to bowl."


Sanjay Manjrekar -"No one deserved the record more."

And finally Sachin himself – “Feels good that I lasted 50 overs. I'd like to bat another full 50 overs. I don't play for records, I play for enjoyment and play with lots of passion. That's how cricket started. I didn't start playing cricket to break all the records; it's happened along the way. The dream was to play for India and do my best. I don't think any record is unbreakable. Records are made to be broken. I hope that if this record is broken, it's done by an Indian."