Tendlya, Where Are You?

Sachin Tendulkar, where are you? I am not talking about the person who is scratching his way to 30s and 40s in 100-odd balls and then gets out in a rather tame manner, I am talking about that person who used to bully his way against any bowler in the world in any sort of condition.

From the time I saw Sachin take to Abdul Qadir in Pakistan, I've been a fan of the Little Master. The way he danced down the track to the wily Pakistani was a treat to watch. Here was a kid who was being talked about a genuis and a would-be master and who was going ahead and proving everyone right. Slowly, but surely, he was becoming a one-man batting army of the Indian team. When we had "seniors" struggling in the Australian pitches, we had this puny-looking giant take on the likes of Craig McDermott, Bruce Ried, Mike Whitney, not to say anything about a blond debutant called Shane Warne, and succeed. In what was then the bounciest and paciest track in Perth, we had this fellow flay the bowling attack. Later on, in the World Cup, he showed how it is going to be one stage where he would be the lead actor always.

As this became routine, my viewing pattern also changed. I was afflicted with this psychological problem where I wanted to see Tendulkar bat, but was too afraid to watch when he finally came to bat because of the fear of him getting out and the Indian innings folding up. This feeling was further enhanced when he first opened the innings for India in a one-dayer. I was taking a bath when India came out to bat and my brother almost broke down the door, yelling that Sachin was opening as Sidhu had a stiff neck (or something similar). I wiped off whatever was left in my body - dirt, soap, water, everything - and rushed in front of the TV. There was going to be only about an hour for me to watch before we had to go to school, me and my brother. What followed that day is a legend when he flayed the New Zealand bowling led by Danny Morrison, who had in the previous match claimed a hat-trick and had boasted that he had mastered reverse swing.

This pattern continued throughout the 90s, reaching its peak during the series against Australia in India and the subsequent one-day series in Sharjah, where he overcame not just Aussie bowling but also the elements in one match. He left Shane Warne with nightmares (and probably kept him straight) for a few months. Then, in 1999, Pakistan came to India, and Sachin failed to win India a match. The match was all but won when he got out, and Indians showed their true "class" and managed to lose from a winning position. Though Sachin couldn't have hardly faulted for the defeat, that was probably the first time there were questions raised about his ability to win matches for India. Sharjah 1998 was still rather fresh in the memory, and all such notions were swept away, but the damage had been done. That was also the period which led to Sachin taking a rest from the game owing to persistent back problems.

From the time he came back, he has not been the same. Something wasn't right either with the physical body or with the mental portion, but he had taken a decision to curb some of the attacking shots which had made Tendulkar who he was. He deliberately stopped playing the hook and lofted drive and even cut down on the pull. This resulted in the rather comical dismissal of getting hit on the head and being adjudged LBW. Now, I am not too sure about that particular ball from McGrath hitting the stumps, but I am also a very strong believer in people padding up or generally not offering shots to balls headed anywhere close to stumps to be given out. He also could be easily tied up by anyone who could bowl into the rough outside the leg stump. How else do you explain someone of Tendulkar's caliber being tied by a bowler like Ashley Giles?

Tendulkar felt, or so I think, that he needed to be the father figure in the team because of his seniority and that he should not be giving away his wicket cheaply. The Sachin of 90s never felt he would get out, it was the supreme confidence of the man which resulted in so many match-winning innings. In the new millenium, he was looking extremely jaded. From a feared batsman, he was soon becoming merely a respected one. From a destroyer, he was trying to become an accumulator. He was trying to do what Rahul Dravid was already doing in such a successful manner.

It was also during this time that slowly but surely, Indian batting started revolving around Rahul Dravid. Dravid's success and failure were deciding the team's fortune more than anyone else. The normally reticent Tendulkar seemed to have withdrawn to that fact. He was no longer wishing to take centerstage in bashing up bowlers. He did briefly take his original avataar during the World Cup of 2003, but that was only a temporary phase before he assumed his grafter role again. He even had the ignominy of being left on 194 just because he was batting too slowly against the team's wishes. Now, when did Sachin bat slowly while approaching a century in the 1990s? He was known to reach the landmarks with a flurry of boundaries. Now, he was eating up over after maiden over to crawl his way there.

For quite some time now, the longevity of Sachin has been an excuse brandished by many in supporting the little master, including Sachin himself. I would like to point out that Brian Lara is only about 2-3 years younger than him in the international arena. Inzamam too is around that age in international cricket. Ricky Ponting seems to be achieving much more in a shorter duration. As these players seem to have gotten better with age, for Sachin the reverse seems to be true. It has been a long time since Sachin took to a bowler who has boasted about his abilities. I have forgotten the last time Sachin took apart a bowling in a test match. There were glimpses of his booming drives during the recently concluded series in South Africa, but that is all there is now, mere glimpses of all those array of shots. Serious questions are being asked to whether he is the greatest batsman of his generation, let alone of all time. Brian Lara still strikes terror, Ricky Ponting tears any attack apart, what will Sachin do? Will we ever get to see the Little Master making mincemeat of the bowlers? Will we get to see Sachin bring down some big egos and close some loud mouths? I would love to see it once again. I want to see Tendlya again.