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| Sunday, 8 August 2004 |
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Fans faced with Tendulkar's human side NEW DELHI, Saturday (Reuters) He has been described as India's immortal warrior and a gladiator who fights on when everyone else has failed. But passionate Indian cricket fans are now having to accept the hitherto inconceivable - Sachin Tendulkar is only human. Regarded as the world's best batsman and the greatest one-day player ever, Tendulkar is accorded a god-like status in his cricket-crazy country. When he made his debut as a curly-haired 16-year-old in 1989, pundits predicted he would break every batting record. He has spent the best part of the last 15 years proving them right. But experts now feel that his magic, which was not only about how many runs he scored but how he scored them, is waning. Tendulkar, now 31, agrees his batting has changed. He has abandoned his fierce cuts and vicious pull shots for a more watchful approach, now relying on flicks and perfectly placed on-drives. He is content with milking the bowling rather than pulverising it. The Bombay batsman says it is a sign of maturity. His fans say the new approach is simply not Tendulkar. KEY MATCHES But what really disappointed his ardent followers back home was his failure to lead India to victory in two key matches in the Asia Cup one-day tournament last week. Tendulkar scored 78 against Pakistan but his dismissal 26 runs short of the bonus-point target of 240 put India in dire straits before they scampered through with one ball to spare. In the final against Sri Lanka, chasing a modest 229 for victory, Tendulkar held up one end but failed to dominate the bowling and India stumbled to a 25-run defeat after his dismissal for a 100-ball 74. The blame for the defeat should perhaps have fallen on the rest of the batting line-up for failing to support him. But Tendulkar bore the brunt of the media's ire because winning despite the odds had become second nature to him."It was sad to see Sachin struggle to score quickly. He's still the greatest but we suddenly had to accept he may be past his prime," Saket Girotra, a 26-year-old doctor and an ardent Tendulkar fan, told Reuters. "He's coming along in age, the decline is natural I guess. Somehow we always expect Tendulkar to play Superman. Will we ever see him at his best again?" Questions about his inability to produce a defining match-winning test innings have been raised in the past. Very conscious of his place in cricket history, Tendulkar has said he wants to shed that tag. |
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