The Man to Watch, The Man to Worship

I was 8, back in 1996, when I saw a rather lean, short boy battling with an authority that was unprecedented to me, in any aspect of life. He went on to become the highest run scorer of the world cup in 1996. Fifteen years have gone by, and Cricket has become an integral part of my life over time.

I have seen, understood, and lived the game. I have seen the game changing its skin. I have seen the wickets all over the world betraying the bowlers in the recent years. I have seen 250 dropping from a formidable target to one of the easiest ones to chase. I have witnessed drastic changes in the average economy rate of a bowler. I have seen an evanescence of genuine fast bowlers from the world of Cricket. However, what, most remarkably, have I not seen is any weakening of the authority that the short - but no more lean and no more a boy - man exercises while batting.

The man I am talking about is, of course, none other than Sachin Tendulkar - the finest Cricket has ever seen. Today, he is 37 and will soon turn 38. He is no more a young man, no more someone who would dance down the track to someone of Shane Warne's calibre and feature in some of his worst nightmares. Rarely does he take the aerial route anymore, even rarely does he hook the ball as he once did to play what was perhaps the shot of the decade to Andrew Caddick. The third man doesn't worry anymore about a rocket that travels straight above his head for a six. Sachin doesn't pull too many deliveries either, nor does he play his back foot drives - the ones that used to be as skillfully crafted as Victoria Terminus in the early days of the master. He has had to cut down on many lethal weapons in his grand armour as time grew against him.

Yet, he has the straight drive - impeccable and heavenly. He also has the paddle sweep - a shot that he invented in a middle of a match. I hope the cover drive is still alive; even half of what it used to be would qualify as the best today. And, of course, he has the unique ability to flick almost any delivery that is pitched up or on length.

The master has defeated time to produce another subliminal cricketing year in 2010. He has batted with unmatchable class all over the world against the best of the bowlers. Talking only of the world cups, he has been the highest run scorer in two out of the five world cups he has played. He also holds the records of scoring the most number of runs in a single world cup and scoring the highest number of runs in the history of world cup cricket at a staggering average of 57.94. He owns every possible record worth owning in the history of the game. But the World Cup is one trophy that every cricketer dreams of, and so does Sachin Tendulkar. This may be his last chance to achieve this elusive glory and I'm sure he is geared up, being the superhuman he is.

Sachin Tendulkar, as always, tops my list of the men to watch.