Happy Birthday Sachin

Sachin Tendulkar, Cricketing legend and India’s favorite sportsperson turns 38 today. With almost all batting records in his kitty he’s by far the most complete batsman of the modern era. I first watched sachin during the 1992 cricket world cup. I vividly remember watching a kid hit the ball hard, really hard.Little did I know that he would go on to be the greatest sporting icon of India. Navjot singh sidhu shared an incident on a prime time sports show which best describes the legend of Sachin Tendulkar.

He said “I was talking to a group of senior citizens from my village, when an old man asked what I did for a living. I said I play cricket. The old man didn’t know what I was talking about. I explained a bit, as he got better understanding with a sense of eureka the old man gushed “oh sachinwala khel” (oh sachin’s game)”. It seems the old man had never seen cricket and for him Sachin was cricket, that’s what sachin has become a synonym to the sport itself.

It’s needless to talk about his records and in a way I am not really interested in that. The joy and happiness that he has provided over the last 2 decades is unfathomable. Personally I have always admired his composure and humilty. With life changing dramatically in his teens he could have easily slipped into a world of his own, however sachin always remained sachin. Have you ever heard any paper refer him as “Sir” Sachin or Mr.Tendulkar. For us he’s jus sachin, he’s our god yet he’s one of us. people’s god, One who brought smiles to our faces and lit our boring days with some outstanding cricket.

He’s one person no parent would twice to ask their kids to idolise, you think you and I would ever ask someone to look upto a Harbhajan, Symnonds or a shoaib Akhtar, yes they are good players but would you want your kid to become like them? I guess this is where scahin is so special, we need icons like him to look upto, someone who’s hardworking, humble and a fierce competitor.

Everything that could be said about his Cricket has been written about a million times. I have nothing new to add neither am I a Cricket analyst to write about his technique and skill, I’m just a fan of his who is happy and thankful for the entertainment he has provided over the decades.

Just want to wish him well and hope he will continue to add more smiles to our lives. Happy Birthday Sachin.

Lighting Bolt

Here’s Usian Bolt, the fastest athlete in the world, breaking his own world record. He became an over night hero by winning the Olympic Gold by a daylight gap and setting a new speed record. In this race, he does the same, winning with ridiculous ease. Watch it. [ Do not miss his " lighting bolt" pose towards the end ]

 

 

Before you start wondering, why is a Cricket fanatic talking about Bolt out of nowhere. Here are few reasons.

a) Bolt wanted to be Cricketer as a kid.

b) Bowling was his first choice, he was a huge fan of  Curlty Ambrose and Waqar Younis.

c) As of batsman he is big supporter of Sachin Tendulkar, Chris Gayle ( also a Jamaican ) and Matthew Hayden.

 

Crickets loss is Athletics gain, a big big big gain. Hats off to Usain Bolt.

 

Cricketing battles to watch out for

With the countdown to ICC cricket world cup in its final lap, there is frenzy in the Indian media and public. This will be the last world cup for many of the games stalwarts, that gives us every reason to go insane. These Cricketers have conquered almost all Cricketing records in their playing careers and set virtually unreachable benchmarks. By the way, they aren’t finished yet, they still pose threat to their own records. Both the leading run getter and leading wicket taker will play their last big tournament ( It will be interesting to watch at what stage these two giants will come face-to-face ). That makes it super special for every Cricket lover go totally berserk.

Cricket is team sport however, with these legends gracing the game the stakes are much higher. Here are few mouth watering bat versus ball must watch battles.

 

1. Sachin vs Shoaib – The best batsman in the world against the Rawalpindi express. These men have already provided many a memorable contests but this one is supposed to be the biggest showdown between the greats.

 

 

2. Ponting vs Bhajji – Their rivalry dates back to 2001. Bhajji repeatedly claimed Punter’s wicket with ridiculous ease. Over the decade Bhajji consistently terrorized Ponting with his spin or at times lack of it. Of course, Ponting did succeed few times however, it looks like Bhajji might have the last laugh yet again.

 

 

3. Kallis vs Muralitharan – Everyone’s asking the same question. Can Kallis get through Murali magic?

 

 

4. Sehwag vs Steyn – The South African has invariably come out top but, this is sub-continent, hoping for a better show from Sehwag

 

 

5. Gayle vs Lee – With Lee aspiring to end his career on a high, Will the maverick West Indian gate-crash his farewell party? Lets wait and watch.

 

 

 

What match-ups are you looking forward to this WC?

 

Rafa and Roger – True Icons

This will be only the 1st grand slam  final in last 6 years which wouldn’t feature either Rafa or Roger, the last time this happened was way back in 2005, again it was the Australian open. It just goes to show the might of these men at top level tennis. Before you think this is going to be yet another post on Roger Vs Rafa story. No, this is a Roger & Rafa story.

We have already read and seen a lot of their tennis and on-field achievements however, what goes relatively unnoticed are their off-filed activities especially Rafa-Roger bonding. It’s rare..hmmm… in fact I have never heard about any 2 top players ( rivals ) offer lift on their charter planes or take them for a drive in their home town or have friendly laughter or joke around. Every time I watch their joint interview or even solo I’m amazed at their humility. It doesn’t look fake or something which is made up for the media. that would simply never last this long. They both come out as great ambassadors not just for the game but also their nation and more importantly youth power. Their bonding and contribution to society reminds me of the story of  legendary athlete Jesse Owens and Luz long. Different times, different world yet the heart remains same. A triumph of humanity over silverware.

Rafa & Roger have continuously participated in social activities ever since they reached the top. You can see it in their vibrant faces, they clearly believe in giving something back to the people ( especially the less fortunate ones ). When Roger was asked how hard is to convince to Rafa to do a charity game. Roger said ” A simple phone call will do, he doesn’t need any coaxing, all I do is tell him about the event and he agrees immediately”. Here is a funny promo video shoot they did for a recent Charity game.

 

These two gentlemen are true greats not just for the number for slams they won but for the millions of hearts they conquered and their serious contribution towards social betterment. Great players, great men, great icons. A big thumbs up to our beloved Rafa & Roger.