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All my life, I have had a dream of playing cricket for India. I
have been living this dream every day for the last 24 years. It's hard
for me to imagine a life without playing cricket because it's all I
have ever done since I was 11 years old. It's been a huge honour to
have represented my country and played all over the world. I look
forward to playing my 200th Test Match on home soil, and then... Farewell, master balster: tributes come pouring in from all over the world
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Let Jwala play till final decision: HC
Federer ousted by Monfils
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All my life, I have had a dream of playing cricket for India. I have been living this dream every day for the last 24 years. It's hard for me to imagine a life without playing cricket because it's all I have ever done since I was 11 years old. It's been a huge honour to have represented my country and played all over the world.
I look forward to playing my 200th Test Match on home soil, and then... Farewell, master balster: tributes come pouring in from all over the world
It's the right decision and he has done it at the right time. I am very happy that he has done it before the start of the series. I will request the people to come for these Two matches...just to show their respect to this great man. It was coming for sure but I didn't have the clue as to when it was coming. But it's his decision and we must respect it. We should remember his playing career as something that always gave us joy and made us proud. He’s the greatest cricketer India has produced, a fantastic role model for all with his demeanour on and off the field. He has set almost all the records in all formats and has had one of the greatest careers. It's always difficult to comprehend how someone like Sachin lives his life. He has always managed his career well, managed to perform under extreme pressure and never had any scandals, which is a credit on him and his family. Sachin Tendulkar is an extraordinary sports icon who will continue to inspire Indians and all sports lovers to achieve excellence in sports. The Ministry...look forward to working with Sachin Tendulkar to promote sports in the country. Tendulkar is the greatest ever cricketer in the world. I don't think anyone can overtake his records and the phenomenal number of runs he has scored. He was also so humble and never responded to criticism, choosing to let his bat do the talking.
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The end of cricket as we’ve known it
Chandigarh, October 10 There are just 10 days more left in the cricketing life of Sachin Tendulkar – only two more Tests. The second Test against West Indies next month is going to be Tendulkar’s last match for India. It’s fitting that Tendulkar’s final professional game is a Test match – even if it’s only against West Indies rather than South Africa, at home rather than at Durban – and not in the Twenty20 format, which can only diminish, even deride the greatest players. As it did to Rahul Dravid – arguably Indian’s greatest modern Test batsman – a few days ago. Tendulkar has been a constant in the lives of millions upon millions of people in the cricketing world; his imprint on the Indian consciousness is indelible. The following of sport is varied; sport might be the preoccupation of the rich and the privileged, but it also energises and delights the not so privileged. It can, thus, be safely said that Tendulkar cuts across social classes and regions. In 2011, 53 percent of the Indian population was born in the year 1987 or later; 71 percent was born in 1967 or later. India has a young population, and it can be safely said that Tendulkar has touched a vast majority of them in some way or the other. In 1987, Sunil Gavaskar played his last Test match. His exit was met with near-panic and lamentation – he had been the pillar of Indian batting for 16 years. The cry rose – After Gavaskar, who? The answer came a few months later, when Tendulkar made 326 in a school match in Mumbai in February 1988. By the end of that year, Tendulkar had played for Mumbai; by the end of 1989, he was in the Indian team. The first sight of Tendulkar in international cricket, in the days of grainy TV coverage, was full of unimaginable delights. Tendulkar at 16 was already a finished product. He was a complete batsman. His batting was fearless and exhilarating. Millions of Indians – and foreigners – felt a rare thrill when he attacked Abdul Qadir in a match in Peshawar on December 16, 1989; Columbus might have felt the same thrill when he spotted the land he thought was India, in 1492; or Wordsworth when he spotted daffodils waving in the wind on a hill. Tendulkar incited hyperbole from the start. Incredibly, almost all the hyperbolic forecasts made about him at 16 actually came true. An artist
Tendulkar was an artist who sweated blood to excel at his sport. All sports writers have their favourite stories of Tendulkar’s dedication; mine is of Leicester in 2007 when, during a practice match he’d skipped, he got Dinesh Kartik to send down short, fast balls to him from a bowling machine in the indoor nets. It was quiet with no one around, and Tendulkar set up a ferocious examination for himself; each of those yellow practice balls rose to his chest or chin, and Tendulkar methodically pulled and defended them. The stuff that goes into the making of a genius is breathtaking. Tendulkar is a sportsperson. Sportspersons often do more – though less important – work to build a nation’s morale than a general or a diplomat. Yet, they remain mere sportspersons. There is danger, thus, in overstating Tendulkar’s importance in Indian history’s unstable, changing last 25 years. Tendulkar’s arrival coincided with the boom in cable TV; Tendulkar was the first cricketing great who was fully monetised. In a way, Tendulkar became part of the great marketing game, as testified by the image of him holding a shoe in one hand and a cola can in the other after completing his 100th international century last year. That diminished him a bit in his final couple of years as an India player. It must also be recorded, with regret, that he opted to play for Reliance but not for India immediately after the triumph of the 2011 World Cup. It also must be said that Tendulkar has never been recorded to be rude or impolite to anyone. This is an incredible achievement in 25 years of public life. Tendulkar’s cricketing genius forces us to endow him with greater faculties off the field than he has given evidence of. The fact is that despite touching 40, he’s still just a boy in love with cricket. But yes, he’s universally known to be a kind and gentle individual, even compassionate. This, and his persona, unsullied by scandal, gives him great power to do good for the people through social causes. After the great man goes, his genius faces the danger of being reduced to just the number of runs or centuries he made. That would be a great injustice, for the strokes that he played were gilded, a sight for the gods. |
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Yuvraj powers India to 6-wkt win
Rajkot, October 10 Yuvraj forged an unbeaten 102-run stand with skipper MS Dhoni, who played a second-fiddle, as India chased down a huge 202-run target with two balls to spare. Yuvraj carried his sublime form, with which he forced his way into the team, into the game as he plundered eight fours and five sixes in his 35-ball knock. Batting like a man-possessed, Yuvraj reached his 50 with a straight six off paceman James Faulkner while Dhoni (24 off 21) finished the match with a four and couple of runs off Shane Watson. Aaron Finch had powered Australia to a challenging 201 for seven with his blistering 89-run knock off 52-ball as visiting batsmen made merry on a flat wicket after being invited to bat at SCA stadium. Finch plundered 15 boundaries, including a six, as he anchored the Australian innings while debutant Nic Maddinson (34) and Glenn Maxwell (27) also played more than handful knocks for their side. Had it not been for some exceptional bowling by pace duo of R Vinay Kumar (3/26) and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (3/25), who shared six wickets between them, India would have been in more deep trouble. An off-colour R Ashwin and Ishant Sharma bled 93 runs in six wicket-less overs between them and that cost India dearly. However, India batsmen made up for the poor first half with some excellent batting even though the start was not that good as Rohit Sharma (8) exited early and Suresh Raina (19) could not build on to a good start. Earlier, Finch provided a blazing start to his side with debutant Nic Maddinson as Australia raced to 50 in just 4.1 overs. Maddinson showed no signs of nerves as he punished the bowlers to make a 16-ball 34. — PTI Scoreboard India
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Let Jwala play till final decision: HC
New Delhi, October 10 Jwala was expected to participate in the Denmark Open from October 15-20 and French Open from October 22-27. Justice VK Jain passed the order on a petition filed by Jwala challenging the life ban recommended by BAI’s disciplinary committee on October 7 following which her selection for the Denmark Open was withdrawn yesterday. Jwala was to pair with Ashwini Ponnappa in the Open’s doubles matches. BAI had recommended the ban on the charge that Jwala had tried to stop some players of her franchise, Krrish Delhi Smashers, from playing a match against Banga Beats in the Indian Badminton League in August this year. Arguing for Jwala, her counsel Gopal Jain contended that BAI was misusing its authority to treat a sports woman in this manner. On the other hand, senior counsel Shanti Bhushan, appearing for BAI, argued that her non-selection was purely based on her performance which was not up to the mark of late. However, if she admitted her mistake and tendered an apology, she would be allowed to play, BAI said.
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Shanghai, October 10 After dropping the first set, the 17-time grand slam title winner Federer was on the brink of going out in straight sets at 3-5 down in the second, and later 3-5 down in the tie-break before winning four straight points. Monfils then broke the Swiss former world number one in the fourth game of the decider. It was Monfils's second win over Federer in eight meetings, and leaves the Swiss battling to reach the end-of-season ATP World Tour Finals for the 12th consecutive year. "It's a good win for me. I feel a bit sorry for him because I know he's running for London. But it's tennis. He's going to have more opportunity (in) those weeks coming up," Monfils said. Monfils will play top seed and defending champion Djokovic in the quarterfinals after the Serb defeated Fabio Fognini 6-3 6-3, while Nadal beat Carlos Berlocq 6-1 7-6(5). Juan Martin del Potro went through after Tommy Haas withdrew due to injury, while Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Japan's Kei Nishikori 7-6(5) 6-0. — Reuters
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