Thanks for the Memories -Master

It is a decade now since we started to admire the beauty and excitement that sachin gives us when he bats.Whenever pedestrians shout at him that he no longer belongs there,he comes out stronger with that exclusive authority of his.He is unparalled and too good a champion to write off.He knows about the game more than anybody else in the planet and of course sometimes make us wonder "Is he human or what?".He is definitely human but what differenciated him is his enormous passion to be the best and his incredible intensity to remain at the top.

The joy, entertainment,pleasure,ecstacy he gives us during his stay in the field is priceless.It was not like ,when he was born,the nurse came and gave him."Here it is ,your 80 odd centuries", he earned every bit of it.He did not take the giant step,instead he starved,worked hard,put his life into cricket at the age when we would have been obsessed with cartoons .At 14,his usual day included getting up,going for practice,have lunch at the ground,go back to practice and return for dinner and sleep in the dining table.As my favourite sports writer Nirmal Shekar beautifully points out
"Long before India nF1 teams,Vishwanathan Anand,Indian Stock market boom,Lakshmi Mittal,Sachin was the one who we were proud of...."

I still remember the his first century that i saw on TV as a kid and i got the same feeling this sunday.I have had my transformation from a kid to a man(like millions of his fans)and ironically we expect him to be the same forever for all these years.Still he manages to provide us the same excitement and joy that he gave us a decade ago.Chidren who were born ,when we started appreciating his genius are old enough to get their driving licenses today.

And his greatness lies in the fact that when my grandmother who can't differenciate Cricket and Tennis asked me after seeing Tendulkar's speech "Is he still Playing?"
Being a cricket lover for all these years when I analyse the glorious Indian victory and not as a sachin fan, ,the difference between the teams is the presence of the master.Let us have it here

Of the 5 times we met Australia this series ,we won 3

1)In the 160 run chase ,Schin gave a crucial opening stand making 40,negotiating the initial burst of Brett Lee and Co

2)In the first final,we all know we won because of Sachin alone as he batted all the 50 overs

3)In the second final,he held the innings together for a major part and once he was out,the usual thing happened as if it was 10 years ago...

So,watch it out guys,India have not won a triseries final since Natwest Series just because Sachin has not scored in any of those finals and now we have beaten the world champions just because the master have come to the party this time around....

Wake up Cricket lovers,we still depend on Sachin to deliver at critical times....
And I can say it is a real previlage to remember the sweet memories that he has given me over all these years for nearly one third of my life...Thanks for the memories ,Master