Free CounterTendulkar:
Many things have been said about Tendulkar’s 20 odd years in Cricket. I always felt, Tendulkar is a better One-Day batsman than a Test Match Player.
Let’s see his One Day Statistics.
He never scored a single run in 80’s in One Dayers. Only inning that he played in 80’s , he registered a duck.
In fact first 2 one day innings that he played, he got out without scoring a run.
But Mumbai Media and Marathi people were ruling BCCI during 90’s and hence he kept on getting his chances. Finally he proved few knocks with 30 odds and 50 here and there but never a match winning knock till 1994.
It was 1994 in Colombo against Australia in Singer Cup when he registered his first century and match winning knock. Australia was a strong team at that time with the attack consists of McGrath, Warne and McDermott. However, Key thing was his 100 came when India was batting first. In the Final, though, when India was chasing only 98 runs against Sri Lanka he got out for a duck and Azhar played a match winning knock of 45 runs.
Same Year, 1994, Wills World Series actually established Tendulkar as the Star Cricketer. This was the first series where he got Man of the Series award. He scored a century against New Zealand (again batting first) and couple of fifties.
At Sub-continent pitches, Tendulkar was a run machine and kept scoring almost every game when India was batting first while failing when India was chasing. He scored one more hundred against West Indies, @ Jaipur (again batting first).
In his best of form, India went to New-zealand for a one day tournament but again Tendulkar failed to register even half century there.
Coming back to dry sub continent pitch of Sharjah, and to his best opponent (Sri Lanka), Tendulkar scored his first match winning hundred while chasing a target. (Target was very low 202 for a batting pitch where Prabhakar also scored half century).
In the same Pepsi Asia Cup, chasing only 230 runs against Sri Lanka, Tendulkar scored an average 43, chasing while Azhar again played match winning knock alongside Sidhu. (Sidhu and Azhar both scored 90 odd runs).
1996 World Cup was life changing incident for Tendulkar. Before World cup, he was being compared with likes of Lara, Jayasurya, Mark Waugh, Azhar, Inzamam for world’s best batsman. But his consistency in 1996 world cup and dominance awarded him best ever player.
Tendulkar scored 2 magnificent hundred but one was against Kenya and other one was against Sri Lanka (his favorite Opponent). But his best inning was in Mumbai against Australia scoring 90 runs. However, India lost in Tendulkar’s best inning with 2 overs to spare and only 16 odd runs. India was chasing under lights and Tendulkar crumble in a pressure getting out @ 90’s Stumped by Healy. Mark Waugh scored a century in that game, also, he took prize wicket of Tendulkar and Whats more, Mark Waugh was top scorer in Tendulkar’s best ever World cup performance.
India after knocked out in Semi-Final of World cup went to Singapore, and even though Tendulkar scored a hundred against Pakistan (again batting first), India lost and couldn’t even qualified for Finals.
Early April, 1996, India, Pakistan and South Africa went to Sharjah. After failing for first two games scoring 1 and 2 runs, Tendulkar scores 100 against Pakistan (of course batting first). But again as usual in Finals against South Africa, chasing 250+ total, Tendulkar ran himself out after scoring 50 odd runs.
India went to England in summer of 1996, Tendulkar registered mediocre performance of scoring 30, 6 and 1 run in 3 one dayers.
