When he looks up to the sky!

Some time in the history, a nation was swept by a teenager who had never shaved till that time. The match also marked debut of one of the finest proponent of reverse swinging yorkers, who made the teenager taste his own blood in his very first outing. 

 

Twenty one years on, the fast bowler has taken second stint at coaching his national team, while his counterpart is still batting in national colors and leaving behind heaps of runs as he marches ahead. 

 

When a batsman scores a ton, it is accompanied by a few good shots, few breathtaking ones and it is generally played in a certain context of the game. When Sachin scores a ton, the Sachin ton becomes a context and the match is played there on.

So instead of a match in Sydney or Headingly in which India was playing either Australia or England and a Laxman or Rahul scored a ton; it becomes WhenSachin had scored his 23 ^rd or 18^th ton and India was playing Australia or England, we had won the match.

 

Sachin’s ton is not just about a mere 100 runs or 200 in case of Gwalior or a few near perfect cricket shots to the fence or over the fence. It is about the joy to a nation of a billion people. The sense of pride a cricket fan gets when he talks about a Sachin ton is reminiscent of the Raymond’s ad where the Dad is proud to see his son become a gentleman with an offer letter. 

 

It was only apt that so much was talked about the match winning hundred against England after the 26/11 attacks. It was a not-so-made-up story in the days of sensationalized journalism.

I was witness to one of the test matches in Nagpur, where the Indian opener had scored a maiden hundred and just got out. As he started for the long walk back, the crowd applauded in appreciation but as he neared the pavilion, the applause got bigger and bigger. A kid asked me why they were clapping like this, I told him it was in anticipation that the master was coming to the crease. 

 

A friend from Mumbai always tells, my paisa wasool moment of any match is the reception to Sachin. Even if it rains the whole day after that, I don’t regret going to the stadium!

The Sachin bond with any Indian is stronger than any linguistic/regional/religion can have over an entire nation. If any other individual who can be compared to have a similar impact on the psyche ofa nation is none other than the father of the nation. 

 

It’s a testimony to his humility that even after reaching the pinnacle; he still looks up towards the sky. Sky is indeed the limit for HIM! 

 

P.S. Who says reiterating the facts is plagarism- hadu
P.P.S. The blog was originally posted at http://harshbadbad.blogspot.com