first ever ball to sachin by shoiab akthar

exclusive!!!

sachin is so close to his family......

Here are some interesting stories for all the god’s fan….
1.Sachin was given a pair of pads by his cricket hero Sunil Gavaskar when he was a schoolboy – and he made his Test debut for India against Pakistan aged just 16-years old in 1989 wearing those very pads…..

2.Like loads of other cricketers, Sachin is pretty superstitious – he’ll always put on his left pad before his right whenever he’s getting padded up……

3.“He hasn’t spent Diwali at home since we got married. But it really doesn’t matter that it’s Diwali… any time he spends at home is great!” – Anjali, his wife, told once…
Once in a BBC interview when asked about his dream women, Sachin answered ‘my wife’ without batting an eyelid.

4.”He scored a fantastic 148 in Shane Warne’s debut Test in Sydney and then followed it up with another century at Perth, one of the toughest pitches in the world, where Indians have traditionally struggled. The value of his hundred increased because all the other Indian batsmen struggled.
His weakness is the fact that he is so talented. His adrenaline pumps strongly when he walks out to bat with the noise of the crowds. You can’t hear yourself think with that noise.
I would pay $1000 to watch Sachin bat.
To score a 148 at Sydney – and that too when you are 18 — was out of the ordinary though the wicket was a lot like the ones you encounter in India, flat with lots of runs for the taking…….”
The above facts are told by Allan Border.

5.The entire cricket world is convinced of one thing : Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is the world’s best batsman. Not just for his extraordinary skill, not just for his ability to tear even the most formidable of bowling attacks to shreds; but also for a rare never-say-die spirit, an insatiable hunger for runs and victory, a desire to dominate the opponent ; commitment, dedication …

These are what the little champion has built his reputation on. ..

6.Tendulkar was a person who would never show any disrespect to the national flag..He respects the national flag most and had even sought permission to use the tricolour on his helmet……
It’s not the riches or the records but the love for the game that keeps the world’s richest cricketer going day after day. It is his hard work, determination, temperament & dedication for the country that keeps him charged….

7.Tendulkar, now in his eighteenth year in international cricket says, ”I still play… because I still love the game.” ”I would like to clarify this. It’s not about records. It’s all about loving the game and enjoying being out there in the middle. That is extremely special to me and far bigger than breaking records or creating new ones.”

”Creating records happens after you’ve gone on the cricket field, but you’ve got to find a reason to go on the cricket field, and for me the reason is very clear.”

”From the age of three I’ve loved this sport and I’ve never thought about scoring the most number of centuries or runs in international cricket. Everyone enjoys breaking records, I’m enjoying it too, but that is not the reason for playing cricket.”

“Whatever level you reach, getting better never stops”-Sachin.
Tendulkar said ”When I started playing, I always wanted to be regarded as one of the best and the idea was that when I stopped playing, people would remember my name. Being regarded as one of the best players is always a good feeling, and that drives you, it refuels you completely. You want to be on top of your game all the time and push yourself harder and harder. There’s a huge responsibility and it is a great challenge. I love that,” he added…..

8.Some quotes by GOD himself……
My big sister gave it to me after returning from a trip to Kashmir, which is known for its high-quality willows. It wasn’t the best bat, but it was like a piece of gold to me. I used to imagine myself batting for India, hitting fours and sixes, the people cheering.
I used that bat until it broke ..

I was the only one supporting John McEnroe — everyone used to call me “Mac” because I styled myself on him. I made my father buy me the same headbands and sweatbands and even grew my hair long. You wouldn’t believe the pictures of me from that time. I was also extremely naughty. Very, very difficult to handle. …I had a nanny who used to run after me virtually 24 hours a day, because I never wanted to go home

My father, who died in 1999, was never a cricket fan, not at all. He was a writer and a poet: he taught Marathi, my mother tongue, at the local university. But he understood exactly how to get the best out of me. He always encouraged me and told my mother that he had full faith in me. It was probably reverse psychology, but as I got older I felt like I could not misuse that trust. He warned me against taking short cuts and told me to just keep playing, despite the ups and downs. My parents taught me that it is important to live every day of your life with grace and honour.When it came to choosing between cricket and going to university, he said: “You can play cricket, I know that is your first love, so go for it.”
Of course, my parents were extremely happy when I became the youngest player to play for India, at 16. ..

Cricket is something very, very special to me. It has never been about owning this or that car and the other things that come with this life.. An obsession with money or worldly matters was always thumbed down. My only dream was to wear the Indian cap and the Indian colours. In that respect, my childhood dreams have come true…..

Having children brings back all my old childhood memories, wonderful years. Now, every minute is measured and calculated. I still dream — without dreams, life is flat, you stagnate. I don’t go to the temple every morning, but I do pray. I thank God for everything he has given me, because life has been very good to me.

9.Chappell should remember how Tendulkar has achieved his greatness and carried the weight of expectations of a billion people since the age of 16, Jadeja said. He added “When tendulkar enters the field, the crowd says-SACHIN! SACHIN! This is something what every cricketer wants”..

Sachin Tendulkar, the brightest star in the world of cricket has achieved his greatest prices with his intellectual and skilful cricketing brains..
SACHIN dreamt a world of superstars and great triumph and he achieved it..

At the age of 10 he walked to the field at 6 am with a cricket bag bigger than him for the practice. At the age of 11 he moved with his paternal uncle to get trained in cricket by the most renowned coach Ramakanth Achrekar. ..

10.Billions of hearts weep…..on the day when Sachin (GOD) retire.
Indians wish that day never comes. It would be one of the most disappointing days of our life. Ever since Indians started watching cricket, it was Sachin, Sachin & only Sachin who made them feel cricket so special. Sachin is only responsible for making cricket a religion in India. They haven’t experienced watching cricket without Sachin. Whether he was injured/rested, there was always a ray of hope that he comes back to team soon. But after retirement, he will never be backing………..If anyone wants to achieve anything in life, Sachin is the best example for them.
I feel most people find it hard to digest that Sachin will no more be a part of Indian cricket…….on that day, isn’t it?
JUST imagine that day, when Sachin plays his last game. He comes to bat for the last time, and everybody in the stadium claps & the chants of SACHIN!!! came for the last time after he gets out, while walking back to the pavilion, the entire crowd gives him a stand awaition. Many of them will be in tears, millions of eyes wet watching their hero play for the last time. An era ends. The end of a legend came……..The bond between every generation breaks. Would you miss Sachin a lot? I think most of people would say “YES”. The saddest day of Indian cricket- when genius retires…LOVE YOU SACHIN!!!

11.From the early 90s to the early years of the new millennium represented the decade of Brian Lara, Richardson, Martin Crowe, Steve and Mark Waugh, Mathew Hayden, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Gary Kirsten and Rahul Dravid. But there can be any doubt that the No.1 batsman in the world for a decade now has been Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar. .
But figures, however important they may be, are something that Tendulkar’s achievement should not be measured by. He should be judged by the manner of his batting & that is what Bradman did.

Symbolized by Sir Bradman naming him in his dream team of all time. The team in which Tendulkar is the only Indian player.
He has scored runs on slow pitches of the subcontinent, fast tracks of West Indies, bouncy wickets in Australia and South Africa and in whirling conditions in New Zealand and England.

The thought of having Tendulkar as an opponent gives bowlers bad dreams. No batsman has inflicted such psychological damage to bowlers at any time in the world like Tendulkar did to Shane Warne!!!(Warne said Tendulkar is my nightmare).
His technique is so well organized that he is able to encounter any delivery with ease and comfort, giving the impression of having all the time in the world to play the stroke, the hallmark of the greatest of batsmen.

Sachin’s favorites

Favorite food
All sea food, especially fish cooked by his mother, steak. (by the way he also enjoys devouring bowlers of the opposition!)

Hobbies
Driving and listening to music especially Dire Straits, Sting, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Phil Collins and Eagles.

Other Cricketers admired
Wasim Akram, Sunil Gavaskar, Jonty Rhodes, Shane Warne, Sanath Jayasuriya and Brian Lara

Team Mates Admired
Anil Kumble, Vinod Kambli, Javagal Srinath.

Other sportsmen admired
Diego Maradona, John McEnroe and Boris Becker

In his spare time he attends to
His family and his personal stereo

He likes batting with
Vinod Kambli

One dream that will always remain unfulfilled
Playing against the West Indies pace attack of Holding, Marshall, Garner and Roberts.

Favorite cricket grounds
Sydney Cricket Ground and Wankhede Stadium.

Most memorable match
Beating Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the 1992 World Cup.

Tendulkar’s childhood memories
Submitted by i.srivastava@rediffmail.com

On the first day, Achrekar told Sachin to watch in order to get a feel of what playing with the ‘big boys’ would be like. ‘For the first and so far perhaps the only time in his cricket career, Sachin just stood and watched the others play,’ remembers Ajit….

‘His father was always behind him and his brother Ajit would accompany him to the nets. This was essential for the youngster.’
On the way home from that first session, he told his brother with the same confidence with which he would handle the world’s best bowlers, “I can bat better than any of them.”

Ajit noticed his ‘uncanny ability’ to judge the length of the ball and middle it.

Sachin was studying in the Indian Education Society’s New English School, close to the family home in Bandra (East) where most of his friends also studied. But the school lacked a good cricket ground and coach. On Achrekar’s suggestion, the switch was made and purely for the sake of cricket. Professor Ramesh Tendulkar was first approached by Achrekar with the suggestion; since the coach was by now convinced the boy had potential. But the father turned to Ajit for his opinion because Ajit had cricketing experience and had been guiding Sachin’s entry into serious cricket. Till now Sachin played cricket only during the school vacations. Now he would have to combine studies and cricket. But the final decision was left to Sachin himself – a tough one for someone so young who would miss his school friends. Commuting every day from his home in Bandra (East) to the new school meant a one-hour journey and he would have to change buses. However, it did not take him very long to reach a decision. Cricket was more important than fun and games in the backyard. Sharadashram it would be. It is remarkable that a family so steeped in middle-class values with education coming above all had the courage and foresight to take such a far-reaching decision.

Sachin in his child-like excitement picked out the first bat he saw, one that appeared too big and heavy for his size. Both Ajit and Achrekar tried to dissuade him. But he was firm in his choice and it has always been heavy bats from then on. Today he wields one of the heaviest in the world. (Up to 3lbs 2 ounces).
By now Sachin’s life revolved round cricket and cricket alone. Studies had begun to take a backseat. But there was a four-month hiatus during the monsoon months when the only cricket being played in Mumbai was the Kanga League.

His first big match knock produced 24 runs. This included three stylish boundaries – a square cut, a cover drive and a straight drive. Ajit was struck by the power in his kid brother’s hands since most cricketers of that age did not have the strength to hit boundaries, getting their runs mainly in singles and two’s. But Sachin’s timing was so good that he was able to find the gaps in the field, allowing the ball to race to the boundary.

The first person to predict the big time for Sachin was an umpire by the name of Gondhalekar. He was umpiring the quarterfinals against Don Bosco at Cross Maiden in which Sachin smashed 10 fours in a knock of 50. The umpire called Achrekar and predicted the lad would one day play for the country – a prediction Achrekar brushed aside since this was the boy’s first year in competitive cricket.

Achrekar was keen that Sachin get a place in the Bombay Cricket Association (BCA) nets for under-19 boys which were spread across the city and usually conducted by an ex-Test cricketer.

Ajit took Sachin to the MIG (Middle Income Group) Cricket Club ground, a short walk from their home in Bandra to meet the coach in charge, a man named Dandekar.
But Dandekar was shocked when he heard Sachin was just 12 and bluntly told Ajit his kid brother was too young to get into the under-19 nets.So the summer was spent instead in practice sessions with Achrekar, both in the mornings and afternoons. Sessions intense enough for Sachin to say goodbye to a normal childhood with summer vacations filled with childhood pranks and fun and games.

All through this year of 1985, it was cricket, cricket, and more cricket. The phrase ‘eat cricket, drink cricket, sleep cricket’ began to ring true for Sachin. Even after he broke into international cricket, Sachin was known to talk – cricket, of course! – and walk in his sleep. And the phrase he uttered most often in his sleep? ‘Take two!’ (In Marathi – ‘Don-ge’).

The grind would begin at 7.00 in the morning, a quick breakfast and then at the ground at 7.30. A batting session would be followed by tips from Achrekar who was always on hand to guide his favorite student. Bowling was a fascination with Sachin from the early days and even then he bowled an assortment of medium pace and leg spin. Fielding was also taken seriously. The morning session would be till 10.00, and the afternoon would begin at 3.00 and continue till 7.00.
Just 12, Sachin also played his first match in the Kanga League, scoring five for Young Parsee Cricket Club in the ‘F’ division.

A special batting prize was presented to the precocious youngster, still one year short of his teens. By now he had made quite a name for himself and his school fielded him in both the Giles and Harris Shield tournaments. In fact, his maiden century came in the Harris; the senior of the two.That landmark came against Don Bosco School, Matunga at the Bharat CC ground at Shivaji Park. He was unbeaten on 96 at the end of the first day of the three-day match, coming in after the loss of two wickets. To get over the tension, Sachin decided to spend the night at his parents’ home instead of his uncle’s. But it was a sleepless night. Early on the second day, one of the rival team’s pace bowlers was square cut to the boundary and Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar’s first century entered the record books………Oh my God….

Sachin was chosen for the Mumbai under-15 team for the Vijay Merchant inter-zonal tournament to be played in Pune. By this time, the big names of Mumbai cricket were beginning to take notice of this wonder boy.
It has happened countless times since in newspapers and magazines around the world. But the very first time Sachin’s photograph appeared in the papers was when he scored 123 against Maharashtra in just 140 minutes in the opening game at Baroda.

Now it was back to do duty for Sharadashram in the Harris Shield. In the very first match he registered an amazing score for a boy barely into his teens: 276 against BPM High School, that too in a single day against boys three to four years older than him. Just one rung lower, in the Giles Shield, Sachin had been appointed captain. The first match was against the powerful Balamohan, Ajit’s former team. Sachin confidently predicted he would win not only that match, but the title as well…..

Sharadashram were struggling at 40 for three in reply to Balamohan’s 250 when the captain (Sachin) came in and smashed 159 not out in two hours. The team was on its way. And so was Sachin.

And true to his word, he had led his school to victory, scoring 665 runs with three centuries in the Giles Shield. For the first time, Sharadashram English achieved the Harris/Giles double, largely due to Sachin’s huge scores.

‘Sachin was making runs by the tons. I went to Shivaji Park in Dadar and met him just around lunch. I told him that since he was fielding I would come later in the evening to chat with him,’ Warrier told……’I was quite surprised to see his brother too with him in the evening. I was wondering how he had found the time to call his brother to the ground. I suggested we go to a restaurant and have a cup of tea. They agreed and we walked a short distance from the ground to a small Irani restaurant. It is one of the oldest in that area. As we started chatting I realized that Sachin was keeping mum and Ajit was doing all the talking. Every time I asked a question, Sachin would prompt his brother in Marathi, ‘Tu sang na’ (You tell him). So I told him, since you go to an English medium school you should speak to me in English and not in Marathi. He politely smiled. ……..
‘Sachin is also a good singer.’

Even while scoring a mountain of runs, Sachin did not neglect his bowling and picked up quite a few wickets with his medium pacers.
In October of that year 1987, he was part of the selection trials at the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai (then known as Madras), overseen by Australian fast bowling legend Dennis Lillee. But Lillee was not impressed with his bowling (due to his short height) and told him to concentrate on batting, biggest mistake by an Australian………..
Sachin was not selected for the Academy.

SACHIN’S Domestic Career

At the age of 14 Sachin became the youngest player ever selected for Mumbai in the West Zone Ranji Trophy league.And the legend born………..

he was selected for the Sportstar Trophy for boys under 17. His scores of 158, 97 and 75 also won him the Man of the Series award and took his team (Dattu Phadkar XI) to victory.
In the Giles and Harris shield he had a fantastic run: 21 not out, 125, 207 not out, 326 not out, 172 not out, 346 not out, 0 and 14. The ‘failures’ of 172 not out, 0 and 14 were scored in the Giles Shield. His Harris Shield total of 1, 025 runs came to the staggering average of 1, 025!!!The two triple centuries had come in the Harris Shield, in the semifinals against St. Xavier’s, Fort (326 not out) and in the final against Anjuman-E-Islam (346 not out).

A soldier is not judged by the weapon he carries or the battlefields he conquers, but the character with which he uses his weapons on the battlefield. Sachin plays for a team, and we cannot think of a better saviour of Indian cricket than Sachin. Do not judge him merely by the runs he scores, for he has spawned a generation of fiercely motivated young cricketers that will carry the honour of our team for the next two decades. See his batting style, that style no one batted, bats & can ever bat…………………..

Name : Sachin Tendulkar
Full name : Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Nick name :The Master Blaster, The Little Champion, The Bombay Bomber
Height : 5′4”
Born : 24-04-1973
Birth place: Bombay, India
Test Debut: Pakistan at Karachi, 1st Test, 1989/90
ODI Debut: Pakistan at Gujranwala, 2nd ODI, 1989/90
1st Class Debut: 1988
Major Teams: Mumbai, Yorkshire, India
Known As: Sachin Tendulkar
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Off Break, Leg Break, Right Arm Medium, Leg Break Googly
Marital Status: Married
Wife�s Name: Anjali Tendulkar
Children: Two (One Boy and One Girl)
Girl�s Name: Sarah Tendulkar
Boy�s Name: Arjun Tendulkar

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (born 24 April 1973) is an Indian cricketer. He holds several batting records, including the most Test centuries and the most one-day international centuries, and was rated in 2002 by Wisden as the second greatest Test batsman ever, after Sir Don Bradman[1]. He received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest sporting honour, for 1997-1998, and the civilian award Padma Shri in 1999. Tendulkar was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997.

Early days

Born in Mumbai (then Bombay) into a middle-class family, Sachin Tendulkar was named after his family’s favourite music director Sachin Dev Burman. He went to Sharadashram Vidyamandir School where he started his cricketing career under coach Ramakant Achrekar. While at school, he was involved in a mammoth 664 run partnership in a Harris Shield game with friend and team mate Vinod Kambli. In 1988/1989, he scored 100 not-out in his first first-class match, for Bombay against Gujarat. At 15 years and 232 days he was the youngest to score a century on debut.

International career

Sachin played his first international match against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989, facing the likes of Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Abdul Qadir, and Waqar Younis. He made just 15 runs, being bowled by Waqar Younis, who also made his debut in that match. It was an inauspicious start, but Tendulkar followed it up with his maiden Test fifty a few days later at Faisalabad. His One-day International (ODI) debut on December 18 was equally disappointing, where he was dismissed without scoring a run, again by Waqar Younis. The series was followed by a non-descript tour of New Zealand in which he fell for 88 in a Test match, John Wright, who would later coach India, pouching the catch that prevented Tendulkar from becoming the youngest centurion in Test cricket. The long anticipated maiden Test century came in England’s tour in 1990 but the other scores were not remarkable. Tendulkar truly came into his own in the 1991-1992 tour of Australia that included a brilliant century on the fast and bouncy track at Perth. He has been Man of the Match 11 times in Test matches and Man of the Series twice, both times in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

His first ODI century came on September 9, 1994 against Australia in Sri Lanka at Colombo. It had taken Tendulkar 79 ODIs to score a century.

Sachin Tendulkar is the only player to score a century while making his Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy debut.

Wisden named Tendulkar one of the Cricketers of the Year in 1997, the first calendar year in which he scored 1,000 Test runs. He repeated the feat in 1999, 2001, and 2002.

Tendulkar also holds the record for scoring 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year. He has done it six times – 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003. In 1998 he made 1,894 ODI runs, still the record for ODI runs by any batsman in any given calendar year.

While not a regular bowler, Tendulkar has 37 wickets in 132 tests.

Highlights of Tendulkar’s Test career include:

* Rated as the second best batsman of all time (next to Don Bradman) by Wisden [1][3]
* Highest number of Test centuries (35), overtaking Sunil Gavaskar’s record (34) on 10 December 2005 vs Sri Lanka in Delhi.
* Played in the highest number of Cricket Grounds – he has played Test Cricket on 52 different grounds, ahead of Azharuddin (48), Kapil Dev (47), Inzamam-ul-Haq (46) and Wasim Akram (45).
* He is the fastest to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket history. He holds this record along with Brian Lara. Both of them achieved this feat in 195 innings.
* 4th highest tally of runs in Test cricket (10,668) (updated on Feb 16 2007)
* Career Average 54.71 – Has the highest average among those who have scored over 10,000 Test runs (updated on Feb 16 2007)
* Second Indian to make over 10,000 runs in Test matches.
* Has 37 Test wickets (14 Dec 2005)
* Second fastest player to reach 9000 runs (Brian Lara made 9000 in 177 innings, Sachin in 179.)

Highlights of Tendulkar’s ODI career include:

* Played more matches than any other cricketer, 381 matches. (updated on Feb 16 2007)
* Most Man of the Match (52) awards (updated on Feb 16 2007)
* Appeared on the most grounds (89 different grounds)
* Most runs – 14,783 (updated on Feb 16 2007)
* Most centuries (41) (updated on Feb 16 2007)
* Most centuries vs. Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
* First cricketer to cross 10,000-run mark in ODIs
* Only cricketer to cross 14,000-run mark in ODIs
* Only player to have over 100 innings of 50+ runs as of February, 2006
* Over 100 wickets – 147 (updated on Feb 16 2007)
* Highest batting average among batsmen with over 10,000 ODI runs (updated on Feb 16 2007)
* Highest individual score among Indian batsmen (186* against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999)
* Holds the record for scoring 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year. He has done it six times – 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003.
* In 1998 he made 1,894 ODI runs, still the record for ODI runs by any batsman in any given calendar year.
* In 1998 he hit 9 ODI centuries, the highest by any player in an year.

World Cup

* Most runs (1732 at an average of 59.72) in World Cup Cricket History
* Player Of The Tournament in the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
* 673 runs in 2003 World Cup, highest by any one in a single Cricket World Cup

Miscellaneous

* Sachin Tendulkar is the first batsman to have been declared run out by a third umpire in 1992 against South Africa in South Africa.
* He was the first overseas cricketer to play for Yorkshire CCC in 1992.
* Oddly, Wisden does not include any innings by Tendulkar among its list of 100 greatest Test batting performances.

Criticism and recent performance

The case against Sachin Tendulkar’s recent performances was summed up by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack in its 2005 edition: “Apart from a glorious, nothing-to-lose 55 against Australia on a Mumbai terrortrack, watching Tendulkar became a colder experience: after his humbling 2003, he seemed to reject his bewitching fusion of majesty and human frailty in favour of a mechanical, robotic accumulation.”

The criticism must be seen against the backdrop of Tendulkar’s performance through the years 1994-1999, coinciding with his physical peak, at age 20 through 25. Tendulkar was told to open the batting at Auckland against New Zealand in 1994 [4]. He went on to make 82 runs off 49 balls. This was the beginning of a glorious period, culminating in the Australian tour of 1998-1999, following which Australian spinner Shane Warne ruefully joked that he was having nightmares about his Indian nemesis.

A chronic back problem flared up when Pakistan toured India in 1999, with India losing the historic Test at Chepauk despite a gritty century from Tendulkar himself. Worse was to come as Professor Ramesh Tendulkar, Sachin’s father, died in the middle of the 1999 cricket World Cup. Tendulkar, succeeding Mohammad Azharuddin as captain, then led India on a tour of Australia, where the visitors were comprehensively beaten 3-0 [6] by the newly-crowned world champions. Tendulkar resigned, and Sourav Ganguly took over as captain in 2000.

Tendulkar made 673 runs in 11 matches in the 2003 World Cup, helping India reach the finals. While Australia retained the trophy that it had won in 1999, Tendulkar was given the Man of the Series award.

The drawn series as India toured Australia in 2003-2004 saw Tendulkar making his mark in the last Test of the series, with a double century in Sydney. The series was tied 1-1, with Rahul Dravid taking the Man of the Series award.

Tennis elbow then took its toll on Tendulkar, leaving him out of the side for the first two Tests when Australia toured India in 2005. He played a part in the facesaving Indian victory in Mumbai, though Australia had already taken the series 2-1, with the Chennai Test drawn.

Of late, as Wisden noted, Tendulkar has not been his old aggressive self. Expert opinion is divided on whether this is due to his increasing years or the lingering after-effects of injuries over 17 years at the highest level. On 10 December, 2005, at Feroz Shah Kotla, he delighted fans with a record-breaking 35th Test century, against the Sri Lankans. But doubts were raised once again when he averaged a mere 21 over three Test innings when India toured Pakistan in 2006.

On 6 February 2006, Tendulkar scored his 39th ODI hundred, in a match against Pakistan. Tendulkar now has 16 more ODI tons than the man who is second on the list of ODI century-makers, Sourav Ganguly. He followed with a run-a-ball 42 in the second ODI against Pakistan on February 11, 2006, and then a truly masterly 95 in hostile conditions on 13 February, 2006 in Lahore.

On 19 March 2006, after scoring an unconvincing 1 off 21 balls against England in the first innings of the third Test in his home ground, Wankhede, Tendulkar was booed off the ground by a section of the crowd[7], the first time that he has ever faced such flak. While cheered on when he came for his second innings, Tendulkar was to end the three-Test series without a single half-century to his credit, and news of a shoulder operation raised more questions about his longevity. Geoffrey Boycott was brutal in his assessment: “Sachin Tendulkar is in the worst form of his career…Now that he’s going to sit out for a further two months, I don’t think he can ever come back to regain what he once had.”

Personal life

Sachin Tendulkar married Anjali Mehta, the paediatrician daughter of Gujarati industrialist Anand Mehta, in 1995, some years after they were introduced by mutual friends. They have two children, Sara (born October 1997) and Arjun (born 23 September, 2000). Tendulkar sponsors 200 under-privileged children every year through Apnalaya, a Mumbai-based NGO associated with his mother-in-law, Annabel Mehta. He is reluctant to speak about this, or other charitable activities, choosing to preserve the sanctity of his personal life despite the overwhelming media interest in him. Tendulkar has been seen taking his Ferrari 360 Modena for late-night drives in Mumbai. (Gifted by Fiat through Michael Schumacher, the car became notorious when Tendulkar was given customs exemption; Fiat paid the dues to end the controversy.)

President Pratibha Patil presents Padma Vibhushan award to cricketer Sachin Tendulkar during a function at Rashtrapati Bhawan