When Sachin Tendulkar reached his fifty in the second ODI against South Africa, he went past another milestone in his glorius career. Tendulkar became the first batsman to accumulate 15,000 runs in ODIs - he was the first to 10,000 runs as well - and that didn't come as a surprise considering the productivity of his long career. But this post is not about the way he scored those runs.. This post is exclusively dedicated for his knock against Southafrica on 29th june at belfast. It was Sizzling Sachin at his best!!! Everytime sachin walks out to bat he is carrying the expectations of millions of people and people expect him to bat like a superman!!! Before i write about his last innings here are some stats.
In the 189 ODI innings he has played when India has won, Tendulkar has scored 9061 runs at an average of 56.98, with a strike-rate of 89.72, all figures higher than his overall average. He averages 47.96 in 36 finals (of tournaments involving three teams or more), though the fact that he has scored only four hundreds, and that only 13 of those matches have resulted in wins, might come as a disappointment. Incidentally, he averages 89.10 at a strike-rate of nearly 100 when the team has won in a final.
This statistics just shows that his performances have helped india win a great no of games and the tag that he is not a match winner should be put to rest!!! There are many people who still question his credibility as a match winner and also he doesn't play well in big match situations, But even though these things might be true to some extent, some thought should be given to the fact that India has heavily relied upon him for the last 13 years and only after 2004-05, they started to win games on a consistent basis even when sachin doesn't perform. so considering this fact, Indian team has failed a lot of times to finish off the games after sachin has set it up for them.
An example of this is how India threw away the test match at chepauk with just 17 runs needed and 4 wkts in hand when tendulkar got out. That was one hell of a innings where he battled extreme heat, severe back pain and off course world class bowling!!! and there are many more instances where the Indian team has crumbled after sachin had got out and this post will not be enough to mention all that!!! So back to the main point of this post, His innings of 93 against the Southafricans.
To start of with the wicket was too paced and not a batting paradise. The bowling he was facing was hostile, even though Shaun Pollock his nemesis was missing (Pollock is the most successful bowler against sachin in onedayers and has dismissed him 9 times) The attack comprised of Ntini,Nel,Langeveldt,Hall, and kallis along with rookie off spinner Thandi Tshabalala!!! even though a one dimensional attack, but this attack is a handy one considering the conditions :)
To start off Ntini started with 2 steeping bouncers and they were well watched by the little master. Then started the carnage!! A punishing Pull of Ntini to start with and then couple of wristy strokes of Langeveldt on the leg side. After that anything short was pulled with disdain as Ntini and Nel felt the heat and he mixed it up with some gorgeous stroke through the off side and a straight drive 2 cap it all!!! Well, the array of shorts suggested that he is feeling great and confident about himself and he proved to everyone that he is far from being over. The way he pierced the off side field was too good, in short, the boundaries he hit and the way he played!! His shots left me searching for words and i must admit that after a long time we have been treated to a Sachin special. That's the main reason for writing this post. His game was astonishing, breath taking,awesome,sensational,mind blowing,impressive,magnificent and what not?? a treat to the core. All Southafrica could do was to watch in awe as the little master took the game single handedly until the mini collapse. It was a pity that he got out on 93, playing a casual stroke to Thandi Tshabalala!!!!
HATS OFF TO SACHIN. THE SHINING STAR OF INDIAN CRICKET. KEEP GOING SACHIN:):):)
Cheers,
Venkat.
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