Sachin @20

"At the fall of the second wicket, that familiar traitorous roar goes round the stadium, at which point Tendulkar walks his slow walk out, golden in the sun, bat tucked under the elbow. The gloves he will only begin to wear when he approaches the infield, to busy himself against distraction from the opposition. Before Tendulkar has even taken guard, you know that his quest is equilibrium."

I am a small drop in the huge ocean of Sachin's fans. But those who know me well, would know that he is the one who gives me happiness beyond anything else in this world. When I feel down, when I feel lost, I always turn to Cricket. And if that doesnt help, then I turn to the Little Master. I have known Sachin Tendulkar, since the time i have known Cricket, and its tough imagining how life would be without him. people have loved him, hated him, but I have just adored him, worshipped him, not just for the player he is, but more for the person he is. Even with so much publicity, you could hardly hear Sachin getting into any controversy, leaving aside the Ferrari case. That makes him stand in a league of his own, where he has handled so much so easily, without ever complaining. And still, its Sachin who everyone focusses on, even after 2o years.

So at this occasion of Sachin's 20 years in International Cricket, I will just pick up a few memorable lines about this man...Thanks to Cricinfo for these:

"Memory obscures telling details in the dizzying rise thereafter. Everybody remembers the 326 not out in the 664-run gig with Kambli. Few remember the 346 not out in the following game, the trophy final. Everyone knows the centuries on debut in the Ranji Trophy and Irani Trophy at 15 and 16. Few know that he got them in the face of a collapse in the first instance and virtually out of partners in the second. Everyone knows his nose was bloodied by Waqar Younis in that first Test series, upon which he waved away assistance. Few remember that he struck the next ball for four."

"If the strokes are flowing, spectators feel something beyond pleasure. They feel something like gratitude. The silence that greets his dismissal is about the loudest sound in sport. With Tendulkar the discussion is not how he got out, but why. Susceptible to left-arm spin? To the inswinger? To the big occasion? The issue is not about whether it was good or not, but where does it rank? A Tendulkar innings is never over when it is over. It is simply a basis for negotiation. He might be behind headphones or helmet, but outside people are talking, shouting, fighting, conceding, bargaining, waiting. He is a national habit."

"Given conditions, given his fitness, his state of mind, he might put away a certain shot altogether, and one thinks it is a part of his game that has died, till he pulls it out again when the time is right, sometimes years afterwards. Let alone a career, in the space of a single session he can, according to the state of the rough or the wind or the rhythm of a particular bowler, go from predatorial to dead bat or vice versa."