When Sachin Tendulkar takes the field at the Oval in the fourthTest against England he will join an elite club – that made upby Indians who have played a 100 Tests

Anand Vasu05-Sep-2002When Sachin Tendulkar takes the field at the Oval in the fourthTest against England he will join an elite club – that made upby Indians who have played a 100 Tests. There are currently threeother members – Kapil Dev, the greatest all-rounder India hasproduced, and two batsmen who dominated the bowling completely attheir peak, the stylish Dilip Vengsarkar (116 Tests) and thepeerless Sunil Gavaskar (125 Tests).And yet, it is already amply clear that Tendulkar will go pastthese greats, not just in terms of Test matches for India butalso in achievements on the field. Perhaps statistics are not thebest way to judge a cricketer of Tendulkar’s prodigious talent.However, a quick look at the numbers is revealing.Kapil Dev being an all-rounder, it’s difficult to make a head-tohead analysis, but the other two Mumbai batsmen can certainly beviewed through the same prism. After 99 Tests, Vengsarkar hadscored 6356 runs at an average of 45.72 with 17 centuries.Gavaskar did better with 8479 runs at 52.33 with 30 tons.And now have a look at Tendulkar at the end of 99 Tests – 8351runs have flowed off his broad bat at an average of 57.99 and SirDon Bradman’s tally of 29 tons has been surpassed. On reachingthe mark at Headingley, Tendulkar was humble enough to say,”Statistically, I have passed Don Bradman, but I can’t becompared with him. He’s not a normal person. You can only dreamof scoring a hundred every three innings.” Quite a characteristicstatement from the man; modest to the core, he still strives hardto attain perfection despite his many achievements down theyears.Being Tendulkar is no walk in the park. Make no mistake aboutthat. While fans hear mostly of the millions he makes insponsorship and the adulation he sparks off, few understand howstressful life can be for India’s favourite son. Unable to go outanywhere in public without being mobbed, Tendulkar has in thepast resorted to wearing disguises when going out for a drive. Ifhe wants to take his son Arjun to a movie or meet at his daughterSara’s teacher at school it would be nigh impossible.It is the kind of adulation that could have destroyed lesser men.The list of minor geniuses who have fallen prey to such heroworship would be too long to enumerate. Tendulkar, though, likethe Don before him has taken it all in his stride – he remainscricket’s finest ambassador both on and off the field.This ability to absorb pressure stood Tendulkar in good steadthis year. After the West Indies series and during the early partof the England series, Tendulkar was under the microscope forwhat according to some experts was a perceived lack of form. EvenSunil Gavaskar, one of Tendulkar’s greatest supporters, began towonder whether Tendulkar was had fallen prey to under-performingabroad.A fallacious argument from the beginning, it fell apart at theseams after Tendulkar’s second innings 92 at Nottingham and thebig hundred at Headingley. In fact in the calendar year,Tendulkar has rattled off 932 runs at an average of 58.25 in the10 Tests that he has played ahead of the Oval Test – thisincludes three hundreds and as many fifties. Now, exactly howdoes that constitute a lean patch? Most batsmen don’t do as wellat the peak of their powers.With another Test against England, two more against West Indiesand New Zealand later this year, 2002 might, ironically, work outto be a bumper year for Tendulkar. A look at the list of mostruns scored in a year by Indians tells a tale. In 1979, whenIndia played a record 17 Tests, Gavaskar made 1407 runs andGundappa Viswanath added 1388 runs to their tally whileVengsarkar managed 1044 runs in the same year. Another Indian toscore 1000 Test runs in a calendar year was Mohinder Amarnath,who in fact remains the fastest to the landmark. Tendulkar, mightnot have emulated Amarnath yet , but he has managed the feat morethan once.And he will again this year. It might be too early to predictit, but this might even be Tendulkar’s most productive year andhe could go past Gavaskar’s record of 1407 runs, despite playingtwo Tests less.It is interesting, however, that experts, mediamen and fans fromall over the have expended so much time and energy wondering whyTendulkar is doing so badly off late. Bishan Bedi, outspoken asever, said, “It must be hoped that this lean patch will makeTendulkar pick himself up, brush away a few cobwebs in histechnique and concentrate on playing like Tendulkar. No oneelse.”Why, even the great Sir Viv Richards joined the debate andopined, “I have seen this problem with Sachin these days, andespecially in Antigua; he doesn’t look as relaxed as he used toat the crease. That I feel, in my mind, is because, maybe, he isgetting close to some milestones. The freedom he used to playwith is not there anymore.”Perhaps, then, it is just a matter of how Tendulkar is playingrather than how well he is playing that has caused this alarm.It’s no secret that the little man has worked hard on tighteningup his technique and scoring runs, rather than dazzling everyonewith his formidable array of strokes. Take note though, thatthese strokes have merely been shelved for the moment notforever.In the course for his 193 at Leeds, Tendulkar began slowly yetfirmly, lifted his pitch to a more frenetic yet no less solidmiddle essay, and ended in an explosive crescendo that left youbreathless. Offering almost no chances until India were firmly inthe driver’s seat, he straight-drove with pedigree, pulled withthe power normally associated with four-wheel drives, and ranbetween the wickets like a hare with its tail on fire. Amatchwinning innings abroad, just when the team needed it most.Isn’t that what the critics said Tendulkar never did?