Sach fine moments...

Of course this is going to be Tendulkar.

I belong to that era where worshiping cricketers was deemed normal behaviour. Unlike most of my generation though, I chose Dravid as my God. But, I don't belong to the class of Dravid-worshipers who spend their free time discovering motives to hate Tendulkar. I love him. I adore him. As any sane cricket lover would.

I was part of the generation that switched off it's television sets when he got out. It's certainly something you could understand only if you've experienced it. The despair that crept in when he got out can't be explained in words.

Whether you liked him or not, he gave us innumerable memories. Here are a few 'Sach' moments that I will cherish all my life.

• I am sure you guessed this. Desert Storm, of course. 22nd April 1998. India have one win in the league matches. New Zealand, the 3rd team have one win. India had to better New Zealand's net run rate to qualify for the final against Australia. Australia batted first. Mark Waugh made a fine 80 and Bevan sank a few hearts with a century. One dashing opener, 2 days short of turning 25 (and already a senior player in the squad) did everything he could to heal all broken hearts. India needed 285 for a win and 254 to qualify for the final. A desert storm struck in between with Tendulkar in Godly form. He took a particular liking to Kasprowicz, who went missing for a long time after this tournament. The target was revised to 276 and 237 to qualify for the final. After playing a blinder, Tendulkar finished at 142 edging behind to Gilchrist off Fleming (he walked). The second highest score was 35. When he got out, India were 242-5, in the final, needing 34 of 18 to win, they made 8. He would make another century in the final and win the tournament for India, if it was Kasprowicz who suffered this game, it would be Warne in the next. For some reason, the century that helped India get to the final stays in memory more than the one that won the cup.

• Another moment I will hold, not because it was very significant, but because it was probably the first time a cricket match made me cry. India vs Sri Lanka in the 96 World Cup in Delhi. Tendulkar struck a wonderful 137 of 137 balls with support from Azhar. Jayasuriya made the total a small matter and Sri Lanka won with 8 balls to spare. Sanath Jayasuriya won the Man of the Match and it was an age when I did not completely understand the concept of MoM awards. I cried because Tendulkar did not get it.

• He made 50 of 52 in this game. India made 250. If twitter had been available back then, this day would have been the birthday of the #NehraisGod hashtag. But… the most lasting memory of this game was that one six Sachin Tendulkar hit off Andrew Caddick. Two days before the match, Caddick made the mistake of suggesting that his team was not really thinking of any one batsman, and that Sachin Tendulkar was “just another batsman”. Tendulkar duly obliged and gracefully launched Caddick into orbit. I doubt if even Lacuna, Inc. can erase this memory from my head.

• A contest you wouldn't have imagined likely. Tendulkar vs Olonga. With both teams in the final already, the last league game was just a formality. Both teams tested their reserves and Olonga shone. He picked the top 4 and was the talk of the cricket-watching fraternity. The final, where Olonga carried a huge burden of pressure, ended up giving away 50 runs in the 6 overs he bowled. India won by 10 wickets chasing down 196 in 30 overs. Tendulkar and Ganguly walked back with 124* (92) and 63*(90). It was brutal!
• Tendulkar vs Steyn. The best bowler in the business against the might of the best test team of the time. Centurion. Steyn was breathing fire. Nobody could face the heat. Sehwag went first, with a mis-timed drive to Smith. Few could stand the menacing Steyn and Tendulkar scored a century in which every run was hard earned. He was beaten by Steyn on many occasions. Pujara got a delivery from hell, Dhoni’s feet were cemented. Only Tendulkar could face him. The cricket was intense, and even an Indian fan couldn't help but admire the beauties that Steyn kept churning. And Tendulkar withstood all of it.

• This list is not going to be complete without that upper cut off Akhtar in the 2003 World Cup, is it? 9 runs of the 1^st over from Akram; Sehwag and Tendulkar steal a single off an Akhtar wide. I will copy this text from the cricinfo article on what followed, because it is beautiful and I don’t possess the skill to translate my excitement and love for it

Facing a handsome target, Tendulkar shed his pent-up anxiety with three strokes in Shoaib's opening over to jumpstart a classic innings. The first of them - reaching out (were he not so pumped up, he would have surely let it pass for a wide), at once cutting and tipping, very high over the square third-man boundary - would become an icon, for cricketing merit; its sheer thrill, and nationalist symbolism, a sort of belated rebuff to the Miandad six.

The second stroke was his lovely trademark - back in the crease and with swirling wrists diverting a reasonable delivery to square leg. But the third shot - the third shot.

A little trot across to off stump, block, down the ground to the on, four. No back-lift, no follow-through: none needed. I have never seen such a concisely expressed cricket stroke. He simply met the ball and the entire execution began there and finished there. And by now the crowd, the most vividly alive of the tournament, had gone quite wild. Visually it was like a cinematic special effect: everything moved in a blur - flags, roars, horns, waves, the ball, Shoaib - and amid it Sachin and his pure stroke appeared magically frozen.

• The mother of all heartbreaks! The 136 in Chennai. Battling a back pain, against Pakistan; in (probably) his favourite ground. A duck in the first innings followed by an immortal knock in the 2^nd. Put up a brilliant 136 run partnership with Mongia and got out with India needing 17 runs and 3 wickets in hand. India managed to lose by 12 runs. Sachin refused to come out and collect his Man of the Match award.
• Gwalior. 200. The 1st time. No one will ever look up to the skies anymore. I'll miss that too.

• Probably among his most fluid centuries was the one in Chennai against England immediately after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. A 100 in a successful chase in the 4th innings, is indeed, special!
• The 116 in Melbourne was lovely to watch. Wickets falling around him like bowling pins. Only he stood a midst the storm. The team made 212. Australia won by 180 runs.
• And then, this.

• And finally...

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Thank you for everything! Thank your being part of a lovely generation of cricketers. Thank you for being part of a wonderful game. Thank you for leaving and making cricket 'just another game'.