Friday, November 03, 2006

Trivia


1.Tendulkar has been seen taking his Ferrari 360 Modena for late-night drives in Mumbai. (Gifted by Fiat through Michael Schumacher, the car became notorious when Tendulkar was given customs exemption; Fiat paid the dues to end the controversy.)
2.During India's 1999-2000 tour to Australia, he was declared out LBW after ducking and being hit by bouncer that kept low, which lead commentators to coin the term "shoulder before wicket
3.Sachin Tendulkar was the first batsman to have been declared run out by a third umpire in 1992 against South Africa in South Africa.
4.Tendulkar is ambidexterous. He writes with his left hand but bats & bowls right-handed.
5.During his early days as a schoolboy cricketer he went to the MRF pace academy to train as a pace bowler but was sent back home.
6.Owns a restaurant, Tendulkar's in Colaba, Mumbai. Tendulkar's is one of the India's very few personality-themed restaurants.

Sachin in Ads


His first ad campaign

Sachin Tendulkar shot his first ad for Band-Aid which was a Johnson and Johnson product. Remember the ad where he plays cricket with the children in the backyard and when one of the kids gets hurt trying to catch the ball Doctor Sachin offers him a Band-Aid.The first ad he shot with a cricketer The first time Sachin ever shot an ad with a cricketer was for Boost at the age of Seventeen. Sachin shot the ad with Kapil Dev. More ads followSachin's biggest ad campaign in his early years was for International brand Gillette.He also endorsed Action shoes. The Pepsi ad with Vinod Kambli and Azharuddin was perhaps the most famous and widely remembered one in his early years.

The contract with World Tel

Sachin Tendulkar became a multimillionaire almost overnight after he signed a multi million dollar deal with Mark Mascerenhas' Connecticut based production company World Tel. International Management Group (IMG) had also bid for Sachin Tendulkar but Mark Mascerenhas and World Tel outbid them. Although there was no official disclosure on the amount that was paid to him, sources say that the five year contract starting 1996 fetched him close to $10mn (about 40 crore rupees). The contract with World Tel meant that Sachin would be promoted like a brand name and be used to endorse a number of internationally renowned products. Thus Sachin became a cult figure and he endorsed a number of ads notable ones among them being the Pepsi ad which was a fitting riposte to the Coca Cola ad and that started off the Cola war between the two Cola giants. Coca Cola was promoted as the official drink of the World Cup, Pepsi then came out with the ad featuring Sachin Tendulkar along with a host of other cricketers including Allan Donald, Kambli and Azharuddin. The ad said 'Nothing official about it'.

He also endorsed products like Visa, Philips and MRF tyres. In 1998 he was signed by giant international sportswear firm Adidas for yet another multi million dollar deal. In 1998 Sachin also endorsed Colgate Total and it also marked the beginning of the toothpaste war with Hindustan Lever as they had already signed up stars like Saurav Ganguly and Ajay Jadeja to promote Close Up.Sachin was generous in getting the Bombay Ranji Trophy team a contract with Today's Pens after their contract with Reebok had expired. There were rumours going around then that Reebok were keen on renewing the contract with Mumbai but Sachin did not want a rival sportswear firm to sponsor his state team as he would then have had to wear the Reebok Logo and he had already signed the contract with Addidas.

Humble Sachin

During a shoot for Pepsi, with ad director Pralhad Kakkad, Sachin refused to shoot unless the director changed the script. The ad in question here is the one in which Sachin is hitting the ball with a stump along with the jingle that goes 'ae Sachin aaya re bhaiyya'. This was the modified version of the ad. The original ad showed bowlers bowling to him and Sachin hitting the bowlers all over the park with a Fly Swatter. Sachin refused to shoot the ad saying "The commercial would indicate that I am bigger than the game." The ad was then changed and shown as Sachin practicing and hitting the ball with a stump.

SAchin In TVS Victor

Tendulkar acknowledges that "TVS Motor for reposing faith, trust and understanding in (their) relationship. This gesture only strengthens my resolve and commitment to TVS Motor for the future.''

Friday, October 27, 2006

Anjali & Tendulkar - Partnership made in heaven?

If you thought Anjali Tendulkar, the young and lovely wife of Master Blaster Sachin is lucky, then you really have no idea what it's to be the wife of Sachin Tendulkar. "He hasn't spent Diwali at home since we got married. But it really doesn't matter that it's Diwali... any time he spends at home is great!"

It's the same patient trait coupled with great compatibility that makes Anjali Sachin's sweetheart. Once in a BBC interview when asked about his dream women, Sachin answered ‘my wife' without batting an eyelid. Anjali's ability to juggle her career - she is a practising paediatrician working at the JJ Hospital in Mumbai; her family - two children and a high profile husband is what makes her the ideal woman for the Little Master.
Incidentally, Anjali can never enjoy a game of cricket like most of us do. "I become nervous when he bats. So I prefer watching recordings of his match." Believe it or not, there are several hardships being a celebrity wife. She had to wait almost till evening to wish Sachin on his 30th birthday. "We can only call up the Trinidad Hilton hotel where Sachin is staying in the evening, as by that time Sachin would be awake, to wish him his 30th birthday".


Daughter of industrialist Ashok Mehta and his British wife, Anjali is four years elder to Sachin. But the age difference did not deter Sachin from proposing to her. The two met through common friends and before they knew it, they decided to tie the knot. "Anjali manages everything in the house and I am really lucky to have her as a life partner, because when I go on the cricket ground I don't have to think of anything else because I know she would handle everything to perfection," Sachin said in an interview.
Even though Sachin hates to talk about his family, he never fails t
o give them their due. Once after a tremendous felicitation in Mumbai's Wankhade Stadium, Sachin sheepishly returned to the dias on realizing that he forgotten to mention his wife. "We've shared so many things together, which n
obody else knows about but which are so important to me. I feel ashamed to have omitted her name and have come back to thank her because I`d like to go back home today!" The couple is such sticklers to privacy and prefers being so low-key that so far no journalist has ever succeeded in doing an interview of his wife about their marriage. It is rumoured that he even refused to appear on the Simi Garewal show in which several personalities discussed their relationships and marriage. One wonders, if their marriage was made in heaven?

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Richie Rich of Indian Sports

Sachin is the Richie Rich of sports in India. Sachin Tendulkar may be criticised for not winning matches more often for India, but no one can accuse him of lacking business acumen. He is a cricketer and a brand all rolled into one. "You've got to create heroes and you've got to pay them," said Mark Mascarenhas back in 1996 after he made Sachin India's first multimillionaire sportsperson. It is no accident that Sachin endorses top brands like Visa, Action Shoes, Adidas, Pepsi, Colgate, Boost, Philips, MRF and Fiat. He has captured the imagination of marketers like no other contemporary Indian sportsman.
However, opinion is divided on Sachin's awesome presence off the field in ads. Some believe Sachin lacks discernment in accepting advertisements, while others say he has every right to make hay while the sun shines. At any rate, he makes for a study in brand endorsement. His meteoric rise as a brand ambassador has been helped by the surfeit of cricket on television, the almost frenzied fan following for the game, and the man himself. Can you ever imagine Tiger Woods endorsing biscuits, or Michael Jordan selling tyres? Sachin does all this - and with aplomb.
His Rs 30-crore, five-year contract with WorldTel in 1995 was nothing short of a coup. In 2001, he again signed a five-year contract worth Rs 100 crore with WorldTel, giving the sports management company the right to handle all his commercial endorsements and marketing activities. While figures are not available for the various products that Sachin endorses, rough estimates reveal he charges about Rs 1.5 crore per endorsement. But endorsements are not the only source of moolah for him. For pocket change, the Master Blaster gets a match fee of about Rs 1.25 lakh for Tests, and Rs 90,000 for one-day internationals. He has also made the most of the stiff competition between sports channels.
Ten Sports has the rights of all matches to be played in Sharjah, Sri Lanka and Morocco. SET Max enjoys the telecast rights for the next two World Cups, while DD Sports now has the rights to all international matches to be played in India. That leaves ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) out in the cold as far as matches featuring India are concerned. So what does ESS do? Rope in Sachin as the channel's brand ambassador to sustain viewer interest. Game, set and match to Sachin once again. Having said that, the curly-haired, chubby picture of Sachin domineering advertising hoardings and television sets also brings him under the microscope. But nobody would mind as long as he also makes runs when India needs him the most - out there in the middle.

Prayers for His Recovery

India's star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, afflicted by injuries and inconsistent form, has turned to Hindu religious rituals to help overcome the crisis. Priests traced the trouble to "sarpa dosha" or evil snake effects in the planetary alignments of the 33-year-old. To correct the evil, Tendulkar, draped in white silk, and his wife Anjali began two days of prayers at the Subramanya temple complex in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
"The master blaster's loss of form and injury problems were traced to adverse planetary positions for which corrective rituals are taking place," the daily said. The rituals would continue early Monday.
Recovering from a shoulder surgery a year after being treated for a tennis elbow, he missed the recent one-day series at home against England and will also sit out of the five one-dayers in the West Indies later this month.
He was, however, confident of being fit for the four Test matches against the West Indies starting on June 2.
"I hope to be back in the Indian team soon," Tendulkar said after the temple visit.
The recent dip in form -- he averaged just over 20 in his last 11 Tests -- and the spate of injuries raised fears Tendulkar's career may be coming to an end.
He was even jeered off the field in his home city of Mumbai in March after making one and 34 in the final Test against England which the tourists won to square the series 1-1.
Tendulkar, who has scored a record 35 Test and 39 one-day centuries during a remarkable 16-year career, has a fanatical fan base in India and across the cricket world.
His 10,469 Test runs put him in fourth place behind West Indian captain Brian Lara and Australians Allan Border and Steve Waugh in the all-time scorers' list.
Tendulkar the world's leading one-day batsman, with 14,146 runs in 362 matches.
Despite his troubles, Tendulkar signed a marketing deal with international advertising major Saatchi and Saatchi reportedly worth 40 million dollars over the next three years.

Praises on Sachin

1) First and foremost, Tendulkar is an entertainer and that for me is as important as any fact or figure.... For sheer entertainment he will keep cricket alive -Barry Richards
2) He is a genius. He has a shot for every ball. The only way to stop him is to keep him off strike. - Wes Hall ( former WestIndian cricketer and coach )
3) He is someone sent from up there to play cricket and go back -Ravi Shastri
4) He is a genius. He has a shot for every ball. The only way to stop him is to keep him off strike. - Wes Hall ( former WestIndian cricketer and coach )
5) Sachin's a batting genius, on his day he can tear any attack in the world apart. - Wasim Akram ( former Pakistan fast bowler)
6) Everytime I see him he gets better, his concentration reminds me of Sunny. Ian Botham ( former English cricketer )
7) Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal. - Brian Lara
8) I'd pay to see him. - Sir Vivian Richards
9) His wicket will be the biggest prize sought after by every bowler around the world. That has always been the case for batsmen who hold the mantle of 'best in the world' - Geoffrey Boycott 10) I did produce a beauty to get Sachin out, but the whole thing was a nightmare. - Sohib Akhtar (Pakistan speedstar)
11) I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, .... - Don Bradman
12) I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. - Shane Warne
13) Playing in the same team as Sachin is a huge honour. His balance of mind,.....and, above all, his technical brilliance make him my all-time hero. - Rahul Dravid (Indian Captain)

Personal life


Sachin Tendulkar married Anjali Mehta, the paediatrician daughter of Gujarati industrialist Anand Mehta, in 1995, some years after they were introduced by mutual friends. They have two children, Sara (born October 1997) and Arjun (born 23 September, 2000). It's said that Sachin named his daughter Sara after the Sahara Cup victory over Pakistan in Toronto, one of his firsts after becoming the captain of the Indian cricket team.
Marriage and fatherhood have reinforced the social values instilled by his parents; Tendulkar now sponsors 200 under-privileged children every year through Apnalaya, a Mumbai-based NGO associated with his mother-in-law, Annabel Mehta.
He is reluctant to speak about this, or other charitable activities, choosing to preserve the sanctity of his personal life despite the overwhelming media interest in him. Tendulkar has been seen taking his Ferrari 360 Modena for late-night drives in Mumbai. (Gifted by Fiat through Michael Schumacher, the car became notorious when Tendulkar was given customs exemption; Fiat paid the dues to end the controversy.)
Sachin's favorites
Favorite food:All sea food, especially fish cooked by his mother, steak. (by the way he also enjoys devouring bowlers of the opposition!)
Hobbies :Driving and listening to music especially Dire Straits, Sting, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Phil Collins and Eagles.
Other Cricketers admired:Wasim Akram, Sunil Gavaskar, Jonty Rhodes, Shane Warne, Sanath Jayasuriya and Brian LaraTeam Mates AdmiredAnil Kumble, Vinod Kambli, Javagal Srinath.
Other sportsmen admired:Diego Maradona, John McEnroe and Boris Becker
In his spare time :he attends toHis family and his personal stereoHe likes batting with Vinod Kambli
One dream that will always remain unfulfilled:Playing against the West Indies pace attack of Holding, Marshall, Garner and Roberts.
Favorite cricket grounds:Sydney Cricket Ground and Wankhede Stadium.
Most memorable match:Beating Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the 1992 World Cup.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

The Little Big Man


Do you ever wonder how many television sets he's sold, how many wives have been told "shut up, he's batting", how many prayers are intoned in every language and faith when he comes to the crease? Do you ever wonder when last a man evoked such unreasonable passions? Begin this journey if you will in a child's bedroom. Ranvir Banerjee is 13, lives in Hyderabad, genuflects when Sachin Tendulkar bats, weeps when he's out and won't watch him at the stadium because the last time he did Sachin was out for a low score, so there's some bad karma at work here. Forget his poster that reads "The Only God", forget the underwear with His Holiness' face on it, one answer the boy gives reveals best this obsession, this aura of invincibility Sachin is seen to wear. Is Sachin better than Donald Bradman (when clearly he is not), merits this reply: "A 100 per cent. There couldn't have been anyone better, he's perfect."
This perception is not reflective of a child's worship; it speaks of a national affliction. Why? It's hard to say. Maybe it's the absence of heroes that enhances his appeal. Only the film actor draws similar obeisance, but he provides fantasy; with Sachin there's no need to let the imagination slip, his art is real.
We'd had majestic cricketers before too, some cited even as better than him. Yet with Sunil Gavaskar (his face on underwear!) you got the immaculate craftsman, a lesson in science. With Sachin we got the smell of something more foreign.
The phenomenon.
That unlikely confluence of an uncommon man and changing times.
It was the age that caught first attention for there is nothing that excites like the prodigy. It is beauty in all its newness, it is flamboyance that understands no shackles. For the young this was marvellous. They read stories about a nightwatchman hearing noises on the roof at midnight and finding it was a restless Sachin practising. God, a kid just like them, a worthy carrier finally of their teenage dreams.
Grown-ups are startled too, for to a sporting land where the men lacked adequate resolve this boy brought a strange assurance. Waqar Younis made his mouth bleed on his first Test tour, a baptism we flinched from but he, 16, didn't. He felt fear, he once admitted, but fear only that that his first Test, where he scored 15, would be his last.
There was another thing too: he was not big and strapping, no young Jacques Kallis who surely lunches on raw crocodile liver. And so the contrast, between this choir boy with the reedy voice and his authority on the pitch, made for dazzling theatre. You had to be moved. One umpire tells a story that twice he did not give a young Sachin out LBW, because he so enjoyed watching him play.
But youth vanishes, replaced by stubble, and with it the romance seems to slip. But Sachin seemed to hold us in his thrall by reason of style. In an aggressive time his art was suitably violent. In an era of power, he was cricket's poster-boy of destruction. This was an age of not holding back, and he defined it by launching into shots that defied conventional imagination (how could we say he took a risk when our definition of the word never met his). His cricket, all magical mayhem, fit his times.
It was important, for though he was artful too, we'd seen it before; this sending of Kasprowicz to the moon, and Warne to the sun was mesmerising. As the ball soared we soared too. Men would not dare go for a pee for fear of missing something. Stunned, Greg Chappell once said, "I'd like to watch him bat with one stump." If, in these '90s, Sachin played like Gavaskar he would not have been a phenomenon.
There was one last thing. A young new-age hero needed his medium and in tv he found it. In a distracted world of the '90s, our lives cluttered by information, demonstration of genius was important. To spread his gospel further and quicker, Sachin required pictures.
The timing was perfect. In 1993, as England toured, and his batting began to find mature flourish, India embraced Star Sports. Every stroke was explained, every stroke shown, from the sides, in front, on top, behind, the mechanics of his brilliance on continuous display. And through the years as he did it again and again and again, we were there with him.
It wasn't only cricket either. Every day he wandered into our living rooms, selling music machines and drinking Pepsi, transformed into India's pre-eminent corporate pitchman. He had no personal style, no obvious charm, if anything there was a blandness to him. It was a sensible, and perhaps purposely constructed, image. Always neatly dressed, no earring in the ear, no arrogance, never controversial. An enraptured India had found an icon who was just the perfect contradiction: a freak but a wholesome one.
What is exhausting, scary, is that at 26, we have so much to say of him, and he is not done with cricket yet. How many more bowlers must tremble, captains worry? How many more wives will be told to shut up, "He's batting"?.

Highlights of Tendulkar

Highlights of Tendulkar’s Test career include:
* Rated as the second best batsman of all time (next to Don Bradman) by Wisden [1][3]
* Highest number of Test centuries (35), overtaking Sunil Gavaskar’s record (34) on 10 December 2005 vs Sri Lanka in Delhi.
* Played in the highest number of Cricket Grounds - he has played Test Cricket on 52 different grounds, ahead of Azharuddin (48), Kapil Dev (47), Inzamam-ul-Haq (46) and Wasim Akram (45).
* He is the fastest to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket history. He holds this record along with Brian Lara. Both of them achieved this feat in 195 innings.
* 4th highest tally of runs in Test cricket (10,323)
* Career Average 55.79 - Has the highest average among those who have scored over 10,000 Test runs* Second Indian to make over 10,000 runs in Test matches.
* Has 37 Test wickets (14 Dec 2005)* Second fastest player to reach 9000 runs (Brian Lara made 9000 in 177 innings, Sachin in 179.)

Highlights of Tendulkar’s ODI career include:

* Played more matches than any other cricketer
* Most Man of the Match (50) awards

* Appeared on the most grounds (89 different grounds)
* Most runs (14,146 as of 15th February, 2006)* Most centuries (39)
* Most centuries vs. Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.* First cricketer to cross 10,000-run mark in ODIs
* Only cricketer to cross 14,000-run mark in ODIs
* Only player to have over 100 innings of 50+ runs as of February, 2006
* Over 100 wickets (141 as of 15th February, 2006)
* Highest batting average among batsmen with over 10,000 ODI runs (as of March 17, 2006)
* Highest individual score among Indian batsmen (186* against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999)
* Holds the record for scoring 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year. He has done it six times - 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003.
* In 1998 he made 1,894 ODI runs, still the record for ODI runs by any batsman in any given calendar year.
* In 1998 he hit 9 ODI centuries, the highest by any player in an year.

World Cup
* Most runs (1732 at an average of 59.72) in World Cup Cricket History

* Player Of The Tournament in the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
* 673 runs in 2003 World Cup, highest by any one in a single Cricket World Cup

Miscellaneous
* Sachin Tendulkar is the first batsman to have been declared run out by a third umpire in 1992 against South Africa in South Africa.

* He was the first overseas cricketer to play for Yorkshire CCC in 1992.
* Oddly, Wisden does not include any innings by Tendulkar among its list of 100 greatest Test batting performances.

Chat with Sachin Tendulkar

'A single player cannot win or lose any game'.

Sachin Tendulkar enjoyed himself hugely on the Rediff Chat. There were many, many, many more questions Planet Earth's Greatest Batsman could answer in the 90 minutes he spent on the Rediff Chat.

Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:20)
Hello Room, I am here, to answer your questions... so shoot...
Sachin Tendulkar(Mon Jan 25 1999 20:21)

Srinath: The treatment is going on, and I am hoping to play against Pakistan on the 28th of this month.
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:22)
Shankar: I practise daily between 3 and 5 hours, which includes running, stretching, net practice and fielding practice...
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:23)
Vijay: I try my level best whenever I go out into the field, and it is not always that I come out with flying colours. Sometimes I do fail, but probably it is a natural gift in me. As I have always tried to play my natural game, which has always been very attacking...
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:24)
Nagasubramaniam: yes, my first sixer was during a school match, and Vinod Kambli was bowling to me. I hit a straight sixer off him, that was my first one...
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:24)
Kartik Daswani: We have a very good side, a very balanced side, and Madras has always been a lucky ground for Indians, and I am very confident of our team. I am sure we will perform well.
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:26)
GoBulls: yes, I really do admire Michael Jordan for his fitness, I think he is 36, and to be at the top when somebody is that age really requires a lot of hard work and sacrifice. I really do admire him. My lifelong ambition is to play for as long as possible for India, and to keep winning matches for India. About the six off the final ball, I will try and finish it before the last ball...
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:27)
Vijay: For the time being we are just concentrating on the Pakistani tour, and the World Cup is three months away, so I will take things as they come. For the time being we are just thinking of this series and not of the World Cup.
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:29)
asriv: We only had four days in between, and I am still recovering from the jetlag. Hopefully once we get on to the ground everything will be forgotten except the cricket. About the upcoming series, we look forward to playing good cricket.
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:30)
Bhaushah: In my whole career I must have got out only three or four times to a slow ball. So it's not so bad.
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:31)
Sampath: The number of 4s I have hit? Sorry, I can't count them on my fingers, that's for sure.
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:33)
Deepak: Good question. During the drinks time, or when you see the 12th man running in with the gloves, that is when the captain expresses his mind and gives his opinion which is usually discussed inside the dressing room by the manager and the vice-captain.
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:34)
Pallavi: A very happy birthday in advance to you! Not only Rahul and I, but the whole team will try and score a hundred, as we always do.
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:35)
Kishore: Ups and downs are always there in cricket, so whatever has happened you just got to leave that behind and turn over a new leaf, with a positive frame of mind and go out and give your best.
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:38)
RSinha: A single player cannot win or lose any game, there are 10 other guys, and without their contribution it is just not possible. So the best way is to bat well, which is my job, and if required to come in and roll my arm, get a breakthrough or take a brilliant catch and chip in... This is what I will try and do whether I am a player or a captain
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:39)
SunilK: A Test match is a different ballgame, and requires different planning. We don't have to bat for only 50 overs, we can bat for as long as possible. Whereas in a one-day game we have only 50 overs, so we need to score as many runs as possible in those overs, and that is the only reason for me and Saurav to open in the one-dayers.
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:41)
Chintanshah: My daughter is fine, thank you. She is at a stage where she repeats whatever she hears, including showing six, four, wides, no ball, and out, which she sees on TV! When the Pepsi ad comes on, she keeps watching it, and at the end says 'my papa, my papa!'
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:43)
KPopli: I have tried to achieve that landmark for the last nine years, and I won't give up.
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:44)
KartikDaswani: We have had one of the greatest bowlers in the world, Kapil Dev, and it took 15 years of hard work to reach that level, which is not easy. So we've just got to be patient.
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:45)
Gops: I am a normal human being, and let me be a normal human being. I really appreciate the way they pray for me and wish well for me, which inspires me a lot, motivates me. I just hope they continue to do so
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:47)
Balaji: It is very hard to single out, but there are many batsmen who I admire: Steve Waugh, Brian Lara, Mark Waugh
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:49)
Shekar: Usually we know the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents, so there is not much of planning which is actually required, we have played against them in the recent past which will certainly help us to to analyse things in a better way on the field.
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:51)
vijay2: If you bowl to me, perhaps I should score a double hundred right tomorrow itself :-) But seriously, I will try and do this as quick as I can.
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:51)
Kevin: The last time we played at Sharjah, we won the tournaments, so the last couple of times it was lucky for us. I hope it continues being lucky for us.
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:53)
Roshan: My scoring shots depend on what kind of attack I am playing against, and where the bowlers are trying to get me out. Yes, it certainly won't work on all the wickets, but you have to adapt accordingly and perform in the middle.
Sachin Tendulkar (Mon Jan 25 1999 20:54)
Viv: Yes, sometimes attack is the best form of defence, when you know there is no other way out.

International career of Sachin

Sachin played his first international match against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989, facing the likes of Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Abdul Qadir, and Waqar Younis. He made just 15 runs, being bowled by Waqar Younis, who also made his debut in that match. It was an inauspicious start, but Tendulkar followed it up with his maiden Test fifty a few days later at Faisalabad. His One-day International (ODI) debut on December 18 was equally disappointing, where he was dismissed without scoring a run, again by Waqar Younis. The series was followed by a non-descript tour of New Zealand in which he fell for 88 in a Test match, John Wright, who would later coach India, pouching the catch that prevented Tendulkar from becoming the youngest centurion in Test cricket.
The long anticipated maiden Test century came in England’s tour in 1990 but the other scores were not remarkable. Tendulkar truly came into his own in the 1991-1992 tour of Australia that included a brilliant century on the fast and bouncy track at Perth. He has been Man of the Match 11 times in Test matches and Man of the Series twice, both times in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

His first ODI century came on September 9, 1994 against Australia in Sri Lanka at Colombo. It had taken Tendulkar 79 ODIs to score a century.
Sachin Tendulkar is the only player to score a century while making his Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy debut.
Wisden named Tendulkar one of the Cricketers of the Year in 1997, the first calendar year in which he scored 1,000 Test runs. He repeated the feat in 1999, 2001, and 2002.
Tendulkar also holds the record for scoring 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year. He has done it six times - 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003. In 1998 he made 1,894 ODI runs, still the record for ODI runs by any batsman in any given calendar year.
While not a regular bowler, Tendulkar has 37 wickets in 132 tests

Facts about Sachin Tendulkar


Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, the most famous cricketer ever was born on April 24, 1973 in Mumbai. He had his schooling at Sharadashram Vidyamandir School in Mumbai. He started playing cricket at a very young age. He played his first international match at the age of 16, which was a record at that time.

Sachin's debut match was against Pakistan in a test match on 1989. His one-day international (ODI) debut was on December 18 against Pakistan. His maiden ODI century came on September 9, 1994 against Australia in Sri Lanka at Colombo, just six years after his debut. Starting there, he has so far scored a record 38 ODI centuries.
Sachin now holds the record for having taken most one-day runs (13500+) and centuries (38). He belongs to the group of rare sportsmen and his records might never be broken. Sachin Tendulkar has also captained India for few years.

Profile of Sachin


Name :Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Born : 24th April 1973
City : Mumbai, India
Batting Style : Right Handed
Bowling Style : Right Arm Medium, Leg Break, Off Break
ODI debut : vs Pakistan at Gujranwala, 1989/90
Test Debut : vs Pakistan at Karachi, 1989/90
ODI score : 13600+ (As on April 2005)
ODI Centuries : 38 (As on Jan 2005)
Test Score : 10000+ (As on April 2005)
Test Centuries : 34 (As on Jan 2005)
Sisters : Savita Tendulkar
Wife : Anjali Tendulkar
Daughter : Sarah Tendulkar
Son : Arjun Tendulkar