Page 211 - IPL1

O
f all the stars in India’s firmament, Sachin Tendulkar,
who turned 35 during the DLF Indian Premier League season,
still shines the brightest. Whether one is talking about Test
cricket, or one-day internationals, his place in history has long
been assured. He has the records, and the universal respect of
his peers, for there to be no doubt about that.
Tendulkar had previously played only a few games of Twenty20
in his life – and just one for India, in Johannesburg in 2006 – but
given his success in other formats it was hardly a surprise that
he was asked to lead the Mumbai Indians. And he may have been
itching to prove himself after India won the ICC World Twenty20
without him.
One of the secrets of his success is that he has remained
refreshingly passionate about the game for all his 20 years in
the professional ranks. Every match, he plays to win and to
score runs. Despite missing the first half of the tournament with
a groin strain that became the most famous injury in India, his
cricket in the IPL was no different, especially as it gave him an
opportunity to represent Mumbai, the city where he grew up,
learned his cricket and has always had a home. His commitments
with India have severely restricted his opportunities to play
state cricket for them but his record whenever he has played is
formidable. He acknowledges the debt he owes to the place and
wants to repay it.
Statistically, he is in a realm of his own. After India’s recent
home series with South Africa, he needed 172 runs to displace
Brian Lara as the greatest run-scorer in Tests and another 218
to become the first ever to reach 12,000. He already holds the
record by a distance for run-making in ODIs with more than
16,000 to his name. His combined tally of centuries stands at
over 80, more than 20 clear of his nearest rival, Ricky Ponting. He
has scored more runs at ICC World Cups than anyone.
But his stature can be measured in ways other than mere
cricketing numbers. He is rich beyond measure, and revered by
everyone within the game. He has accepted the burden of fame
with good grace and a cool head. It cannot be easy to bat with
freedom knowing that so many millions hang on your every
performance.
There have been suspicions that this pressure has made him
unduly cautious in Test cricket; that he has not played as many
200
element of truth in this in Tests but certainly not in ODIs, where
match-winning innings as he might have done. There may be an
30 of his 42 hundreds have been in winning causes. Vindication
came, gloriously, in Australia, where he scored consummate Test
centuries in Sydney and Adelaide and then played two match-
turning innings that clinched the CB Series finals for India.
His unbeaten 117 in Sydney was, amazingly, his 17th hundred
against Australia in Tests/ODIs combined.
His legendary status made it all the more infuriating for
Mumbaikars that he was forced to watch his team struggle at
the start of the tournament from the sidelines. Their fortunes
recovered as Sanath Jayasuriya found his touch with the bat,
but it may have been no coincidence that each of Tendulkar’s
first three games back – against Chennai Super Kings on a
much-anticipated night in Mumbai, Kolkata Knight Riders and
Deccan Chargers – were all won as Mumbai made a late bid for
the last four.
Tendulkar’s contribution to those matches was modest, but class
always comes to the fore and he soon settled into the Twenty20
groove. On May 21 at his spiritual home, the Wankhede stadium,
Tendulkar made 65 in just 46 balls as Mumbai Indians embarked
on their pursuit of Kings XI Punjab’s 189 for four. That Mumbai
ended up losing by just one run was hardly Tendulkar’s fault:
when he was fourth out with the score on 159, there were still 18
balls remaining, yet somehow his side contrived to be dismissed
for 188.
A quickfire 18 could not prevent defeat to Delhi Daredevils
three nights later, although Delhi had to wait until the game’s
penultimate ball to achieve their five-wicket win, and his elegant
30 against Rajasthan Royals was merely the prelude for another
last-ball defeat. So there was a degree of catharsis about the
undefeated 40, including a glorious six over cover off his old
ally Anil Kumble, to help Mumbai brush aside Bangalore Royal
Challengers in his side’s last group game. The near-misses made
you wonder what kind of progress Mumbai Indians might have
made if Tendulkar had played in the first half of the tournament,
allowing him possibly to enter the latter stages in better form.
Small and beautifully balanced, Tendulkar remains the wicket
that every bowler prizes. Shane Warne rated him the best he
ever bowled to and few bowlers of the past 20 years would
argue with that view. The IPL did not change that.