My son Raghu called me at 4.45 PM yesterday while I was on my way back from a meeting with the Indonesian Ambassador to India to inform me that Sachin has scored his 100th Century against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup Cricket match . He was naturally happy that his hero whom he met personally at Indore in 1989 made his greatest record of his life time . Frankly , I was not expecting this news at all . Most of us who have been following Sachin Tendulkar ‘s recent lack luster performance in Australia and his previous match against Sri Lanka where he was the only Indian player out scoring below 10 runs , were reconciled to rule this out altogether. Many of us even forgot the 99 centuries he scored during his career in test/one day matches . Some of us were prepared for a long wait hoping he does not retire from 1st class cricket till he achieves this land mark.
Finally , when it came , it was a great relief not only for the little master but for all the cricket lovers all over the world. Sachin went through a year of pain and anxiety , silently facing severe criticism , and at times even experts indirectly suggesting he quit and redeem his honor . Recently , when Rahul Dravid announced his retirement , many people asked why not Sachin also follow him .
Sachin Tendulkar , a cult figure in cricket with no parallel to name , was rather lonely at the top for some time now . According to him , he never played for personal records but records just came to him . But , there was this CHASM , chasing him even in his dreams – the 100th 100 in cricket ! . I feel this even affected his style to some extent as evidenced by his body language in recent times .
No one will doubt Sachin Tendulkar’s commitment to the game and his priority for the nation’s glory above personal gains and individual records . His happiness knew no bounds when India won the World Cup under Dhoni’s leadership. It is therefore rather ironical that India lost the same match to young Bangla Desh’s superior team work when Sachin created the world record !
Finally , I am personally happy for Sachin and he has set a world record which will be much above any cricketing mortal’s reach to breach for many many years to come ! . May be we will have to wait for a Sachin Tendulkar reincarnation to achieve this feat !