'COMETH THE HOUR, COMETH THE CHAMPION'

It was one of those days when history was rewritten. Someone great achieved greater heights, with never-captured fortes, with all grit and sheer grace and brilliance oozing out of an old but yet ever-so-young warrior whose presence has sent quivers down the spine of any other warrior around the world.

All of Rome was not built in a day. So is this warrior who has creamed through the most hostile and inclement surroundings over many years and has lasted a couple of decades (still running) as the greatest in his field. Even with many accomplishments, this batsman still has not lost the hunger to learn, achieve, and get better by the day and hates to lose.

Oh…I gave you the hint. Yes, I am talking about Sachin Tendulkar,standing with a head held high on '20 NOT OUT', India’s very own and famous son. This introduction may have bamboozled you about who it was.

Once, Steve Waugh said, “We won Vs. 10 but lost vs. one man – Sachin”. Michael Kasprowicz said once,” Don’t bowl him bad balls, he hits the good ones for fours”. Andy Flower said “There are 2 kinds of batsmen in the world. One is Sachin Tendulkar and two, all the others”.Matthew Hayden said"I have seen God. He bats at no.4 for India in Tests".

He not only outscores people but out-quotes them too. Good things come in small packages – these were his own words on air and they are so apt. “People throw stones at you and you convert them into milestones “ were his words too after becoming the highest run getter in Tests.

No religious cricket follower can forget his pyrotechnic vs Australia at Sharjah getting back-to-back tons, or his knocks vs. Pakistan at Chennai or his show of form in World Cup ’03.

Who can debate his determination and dedication to the game and India? In 1999, during the World Cup, he lost his father. The next game, India lost. He immediately flew back to England and made sure that India won the game with a ton vs. Kenya.

Look at his disciplined approach to the game. Has he ever been pulled up for on-field misconduct? This is unlike others contemporary greats, who have had on-field spats and have been pulled up. This is far beyond 'commendable' for he has also been the victim of so many bad umpiring decisions.

Stands at the Wankhede in his name, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, a wax statue at Tussauds’ are feathers in his cap. With all this, his nonchalance and humility are the important things that sing laurels about him.

Waqar, Wasim, Warne, Flintoff, Kasprowicz , Pollock, Murali, McGrath, Lee, Gillespie, Vaas, Gough, Vettori, and the loop goes on….still counting. These are big names with the ball and even today he sends a chill down their spine – he just goes amok.

Fine paddle-sweeps, fleet footed Vs Warne (at Sharjah esp.) Wait and Upper cut Vs. Ntini and Lee, glorious straight drives and cover drives are a few leaves out of his guide to batting.

Hybridizing the strength in defence of Gavaskar and the explosiveness of Vivian Richards into one being, is just a far cry but this is the success secret of the ‘small man playing big shots’.

Besides this, he is a favourite ad boy today, featuring in various ads like Pepsi with Big B, SRK, Boost, Reynolds, MRF , Adidas and many more such household hits.

The ‘Bombay Bomber’ who never likes to end up in the losing side, wherever and in whatever he is playing is also a bull in the nets. He has long sessions and very famously in his childhood, the artiste of this fairytale journey, Guru Ramakant Achrekar used to keep a coin on top of the stump. The one who made him out got the coin, else, it belonged to Sachin.

The ‘Bombay cha Raja’ has his favourite hunting ground at Chepauk, Chennai where mostly any bowling attack turns out to be a damp squib.

A trickster with the ball, he has a golden touch of breaking partnerships. He has all deliveries up his sleeve, arm ball, googly, off-break, leg-break, and medium pace. An unventured area is only wicket keeping and very soon one may see him don the keeping gloves.

Finesse and consistency of stroke play have increased with his maturity cropping up and increasing manifold. With the Maestro continuing for two decades, he has also captured hearts worldwide and is an internationally acclaimed and welcome demi-God.

The phenomenon of Halley’s Comet happens every 76 years, but no one knows when the next Sachin phenomenon is going to grip the world.

He has taken brand ‘Cricket’ to new heights and has revived the art of batting when it looked to be on its wane. He is still the same tousle headed chirpy cricketer who looks to learn more despite twenty solid years of experience in the sport.

He is one of the standout performers in the history of sporting and is by far the biggest thing to happen in cricket till date. Even the great Don Bradman has acknowledged Sachin as the best after him and said that their batting styles resembled. Sachin is the only cricketer from the Modern Era to feature in Bradman’s All Time XI.

Dhoni and Sehwag have wished that this fairytale story continues till 2015. All this is not impossible for the Master for he has scaled big daunting opponents and has come through every big challenge thrown across to him, silencing the critics every time, making his bat do the talking.

Let us all wish him for his future. May he go on forever with no troubles and worries.