That elusive ton

“Men may come and men may go But I go on forever” is a verse which was used by Lord Tennyson in one of his poetry tiltled “The Brooke” while describing the greatness of a river. However, there is one human being in this world who would boldly come forward and announce to the whole world that we, human beings, are as good as rivers. Yes, there is one such special human in this world who has been going on and on and he is quite fastidious when someone asks him to quit.

The man who I am referring to is none other than the great maestro “Sachin Tendulkar”. He was bowled, playing in his first ever test match, for just 15 runs of the bowling of Waqar Younis during the year 1989. Yes, Waqar Younis, the great toe crusher of Pakistan bowled him. But, now where is Waqar Younis? We now know him as one of the retired veterans with his movements limited only within the commentary box.

At the age of 16 he revealed himself to the Indian Cricket test team and now after 22 years of his presence at the highest level people are expecting his 100^th ton so eagerly as though they are expecting their first baby. Sachin did not start his career in a remarkable fashion as some of his erstwhile contemporaries like Mohammad Azharuddin or Sourav Ganguly. They both scored centuries on their debut and now both of them are enjoying their days of retirement. Infact, Ganguly’s career as a test batsman started seven years after Sachin’s debut in Pakistan but he could not come anywhere near the longevity of the latter.

Sachin is a sensation which cricket has created. There seems to be no end in him. Throughout his span in international cricket till now, many new records have been created and many have been destroyed. He has been playing even during those days when there existed a rest day in cricket. He was in the Indian team even when the “third umpire” system was first introduced. Infact he was the first cricketer to be given run out via tv monitor which happened during India’s tour of South Africa. When he started playing cricket , it was Kris Srikkanth who had held the record of highest number of runs in ODIs for India. Now, Sachin, having more than 18000 runs under his belt in ODIs, is not only the highest run getter in India but also the highest run getter in the entire world.

Many cricketers, either due to the pressure of international cricket or due to their inability to keep up their form in par with their growing age have been quitting the game midway. But, what seems to amaze all of us is the way Sachin is conducting himself when it comes to handling the pressure of the game, carrying loads of expectations from the spectators.  People expect him to do some great thing every time he takes the guard and he tries to fulfill expectations atleast 6 out of 10 times which in itself is a great achievement. Sachin has all the qualities which the present generation of cricketers should embellish. Hardly one or two occasions have we seen him losing his temper on or off the field. Never we had or will be seeing him giving a mouthful to any of the fellow cricketers of his own team or his rival team.

Due to all such admirable qualities, he is still playing the game with the same love that he had for it two decades ago.  His aggression lies not in sledging but in showing even good balls where the boundaries are. That’s why I feel he has scored most number of his test hundreds and runs against Australia, a team which plays the game with most aggression.

Such an awesome cricketer, who, at the age of 19, marveled the cricketing world by scoring centuries at Sydney and Perth, is now struggling to get a single ton for almost eight months now. It is something which could not be understood by a fan like me because still his form is excellent and he has not lost the rhythm or touch which is even now unmatched by a long way when you take into account the talent of the current bunch of cricketers. So, what stops him from scoring a hundred? I would definitely blame it on the cricket fans like us.

 It is definitely because of some of his fans or should I say fanatics who are putting under immense pressure seeking his ton every time he enters the cricket field. So, to fulfill the desires of his fans, he puts the importance of scoring hundred utmost in his mind and so whenever he is in the cricket field his fluency in scoring runs is disturbed and finally he is disappointing everyone of his fans which is what is happening lately.

So, I would appeal to each and everyone of his fans to maintain their cool and see the game without bothering the great man by rooting for his hundred. If Sachin is not bothered by them, I am sure the ever eluding hundred is not far away.