Much ado about NOTHING
The nerve-wrecking wait of 9 months is not over yet. He made his last international 100 against South Africa in World Cup 2011. The spectators will have to wait for another inning (who knows, even how many) to witness 100th century of all-time great batsmen Sachin Tendulkar as Boxing Day test match could not bring any good news for Sachin and for India.
“If cricket is a religion, then Sachin is a god”, his fans say. Sachin Tendulkar has a long list of world records, such as;
- Most Man-of-the-Match awards in ODIs
- Most ODI runs (18,111)
- Most runs in World Cups
- Most ODI hundreds (47)
- Most test runs (15,183)
- Most test hundreds (51)
- First person in history to make Double Century (200*) in ODIs
- The only player with more than 100 scores of 50-plus in Tests
- The only player with more than 150 scores of 50-plus in ODIs
- Played Highest number of ODIs (453)
- Played Highest number of tests (184)
But, irony, the god gets nervous every time he crosses the haunting figure of 90. It gives him an edge to others that he holds the world record for highest number of dismissals in the
90s (a total of 28 times. 10 times in Tests & 18 times in ODIs) across all forms of international cricket.
Nervous 90s in Test Matches
94 vs West Indies at Wankhede (Nov 2011)
91 vs England at The Oval (Aug 2011)
98 vs Australia at Mohali (2010)
97 vs South Africa at Mumbai (2000)
96 vs Sri Lanka at Bangalore (1994)
94 vs Pakistan at Mohali (2005)
92 vs West Indies at Barbados (1997)
92 vs England at Trent Bridge (1994)
91 vs England at Trent Bridge (2007)
90 vs England at Bangalore (2001)
Nervous 90s in ODIs
90 Vs Australia, Mumbai (Feb 27, 1996)
91 Vs Australia, Brisbane (Mar 4, 2008)
91 Vs England, Sharjah (Dec 11, 1997)
99 Vs England, Brisbane (Aug 24, 2007)
94 Vs England, The Oval (Sep 5, 2007)
95 Vs Pakistan, Dhaka (Jan 14, 1998)
93 Vs Pakistan, Hobart (Jan 21, 2000)
98 Vs Pakistan, Centurion (Mar 1, 2003)
95 Vs Pakistan, Lahore (Feb 13, 2006)
99 Vs Pakistan, Mohlai (Nov 15, 2007)
97 Vs Pakistan, Gwalior (Nov 2007)
93 Vs South Africa, Nagpur (Mar 19, 2000)
99 Vs South Africa, Belfast (Jun 26, 2007)
93 Vs South Africa, Belfast (Jun 29, 2007)
93 Vs Srilanka, Dhaka ( Jun 1, 2000)
97 Vs Srilanka, Johannesburg (Mar 10, 2003)
93 vs Srilanka, Nagpur (Oct 25, 2005)
96 Vs Srilanka, Cuttack (Dec 21, 2009)
 Great Sachin struggles only when he reaches near a century. Psychology says that we get nervous while doing something that is most important to us. And for Sachin, century is the most important thing in cricket, even more than winning a match. The question is; should a player like Sachin get tensed when he is about to reach magical figure of 100? Should a century really matter for a player of his caliber as his primary job is to earn victory for his country? Sachin is known as the best batsman who is neither a fighter nor a match winner like Inzamam, Abdul Razzaq, Miandad, Afridi or Hussy.
Winning a match is Sachin’s job instead of making centuries however Sachin does not handle pressure when he is in 90s because of his fans. Sachin’s fans are emotionally attached with him. They do not really mind if he does not earn a victory for them but they do not like it if he does not make a hundred. He was trapped by average bowlers in 90s twice after the world cup. He has had five half-centuries since then. And it took him 6 months to say that it (century of 100s) was just a number. “I know everyone is talking and thinking about my 100th century. I want to be relaxed and let cricket decide its own course. I am not rushing into anything, just concentrating on my normal game”, Nervous Sachin says.
He was under pressure for making 100th century when he was about to reach the milestone at his home ground. He was surrounded by the statements of his fans, writers and the media like;
Fans’ pressure…
“Today he will score. It was his dream to win the World Cup at home. Now that is fulfilled, he should get his hundredth at home, too. He deserves it.” His words are strong but there’s a note of anxiety in his voice.
“We want six, we want six,” Wankhede shrieks as Rampaul runs in to deliver the final ball of his fourth over.
Dramatized situation
And when he got out; they dramatized the situation as;
“Why did he play that? Why?” Bhalekar screams next to me as he stands, sits down again and then covers his face in disbelief. Tendulkar looks up to the heavens immediately, then, walking back cranes his neck to watch the replay on big screen. He raises his bat slightly, stares at it, almost blaming it for deceiving him. Gautam stands there, stunned. This isn’t Tendulkar’s day.”
The question is; why they say it was not his day. He played a real good knock. But he was sad on not being able to complete 100 instead of being satisfied on playing a good inning and helping team stand against a good total.
Writers’ pressure
http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-west-indies-2011/content/story/542090.html
Public pressure
His fans were unhappy… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oloUK3CcTdg
They were planning to win a match and having first clean sweep against West Indies but the people of India, including the team members forgot to win as they were sad on the demise of Sachin’s 100th Hundred.
Ian Chappell’s suggestion
Sachin should follow Ian Chappel’s suggestion. He says “Just for once Tendulkar should try forgetting his fans and play in his preferred style.
Sachin Tendulkar should learn handling pressure of his fans and the opponent when the team is under pressure. He should start putting efforts for winning matches to improve his records. Centuries will come to his way…
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