Sachin

phoenix1 — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 19:05:37 +0530

One of my earliest cricketing memory was to see a guy called Richard Hadlee being interviewed on TV on the ocassion of his retirement.I did not know who he was and i couldnt care less.The year was 1990,i was 9 years old & i spent most of my free time playing cricket than watching it on TV.And i hardly knew about any famous cricket player.However,all that was soon about to change.And the kid who changed my life forever happened to go by the name of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

It was still the age of Deadly DD.Doordarshan for the uninitiated.And satellite television was still a pipe dream,a science fiction kind of fantasy for the common man of india.The indian cricket team was playing in Sharjah (yeah,there was a time when India used to play there,& Dawood Ebrahim was JUST a very good friend of the Bollywood filmstars).As used to be the norm in Sharjah,India were in big big trouble against its archrivals pakistan.The batting was in tatters & there was no hope in hell that they would make a match of it.And then a little kid,all of 16 sweet years,with lovely curling hair,just about 5 feet tall,and with the innocent smile of a one year old boy,started scoring in boundaries.He was full of confidence,had a great technique, and stood up to be counted.India did make a match of that contest,but on a personal note,it was the start of a love affair that was to go on for many many years to come.As i came to learn that day,his name was Sachin and he hasnt left my heart since that day.

To be Continued.......