PIT---------CH FALL

What is the essence of a good, masaladar,entertaining Bollywood movie? The answer is very simple.It should have some catchy lines ala Salim-Javed script of the mid 70s, few melodious tunes with some "Monica Oh My Darling" kind of numbers, Romance, a Gabbar Singh or Mogambo like villain with some heart pumping brutal fight sequence involving a handsome Raja Harischandra like hero and last but not the least a Rekha or Hema Malini or even a Katrina Kaif. But if someone removes one of these factors for example taking Rakhi Sawant as the leading lady , I can bet that he is in the process of making his black money into white. Preparing a Cricket pitch also involves various factors. As Shashi Kapoor said "Mere paas Maa hai", I must say that Indian cricket pitches these days are missing their "Maa".

Comparisons most of the times dont reflect the truth but sometimes they are very much instructive.Over the past 5 years if we look at test records in Australia only 2 tests have been drawn out of 27 tests, in South Africa 29 tests have been played and only 3 tests did not end decisively whereas Sri Lanka hosted 22 tests with 4 tests going the full distance. In the same period till the end of the Sri Lanka series this year out of 26 test matches 11 ended without any result which is a massive 42%.If we consider the fact that after advent of T20 & ODI, the mindset of the cricketers towards the mantra of playing test cricket changed, yielding higher percentage of matches ending with a result, than it was back in the 70s, 80s or even early 90s, then this statistic is a big worry for the indian cricket fans as well as the future of test cricket in India.

There is nothing nailbiting, heart pumping as the exciting draw. The Oval 1979 when India ended at 429 for 8 chasing 438 or Old Trafford 2005 when last wicket pair of Australia survived the England's barrage of reverse swing or Cardiff 2009 which was just the reverse of Old Trafford. Sadly as an Indian cricket fan these 11 drawn games have been some of the worst games i have witnessed. With all those mindless exhibition of batting ,the bowlers have been murdered in a Talibani way.For example Ahamedabad 2009 where as many as 7 hundreds, 1598 runs were scored over the 5 days whereas only 21 wickets fell. Batsmen like Mahela jayawardena,Rahul Dravid, Prasanna Jayawardena etc lodged in there for bed, breakfast, lunch and dinner. But even when teams mercifully shook hands after the match, the pitch was good enough for another 10 days of cricket.

There is no problem about the surface being batsmen friendly as long as it deteriorates over the course of the game for example Chennai tie test 1986 or Chennai 2001 when India defeated the Aussies by 2 wickets with a nailbiting finish.People often talk about declining crowd in test matches. Back in the 70s and 80s despite some dull draws people went into the ground to watch test cricket but the difference is that back then people had much less scope for any entertainment. Most of the houses did not have any TV. So in that scenario you take whatever you get. But nowdays with so many forums of entertainment available, people wont take any mediocrity.

With the emergence of the T20 format & IPL, cricket is being treated like prostitute where test cricket is just a 200 Rs hook-up customer in a damp old room with a bulb.Authorities must realise that cricket is not just hit and giggles. Its high time that the board officials from the BCCI address this problem.

THE TENDLYA FROM BANDRA

Well 1989 was an eventful year both in indian & world politics.Just a week before 15th November,1989 Berlin Wall was demolished and Germany reunited, Rajiv Gandhi lost his first ever parliament election, V. P. Singh emerged as the hero of the Indian middle class, Nelson Mandela was still behind the bars in Robben Island, Harsha Bhogle didn't have hair;The world saw glimpses of a curly haired 16 year old genius at National Stadium , Karachi.

For the past twenty years that curly haired genius is still giving hope and joy to the 1 billion Indians and people from other countries too. He may not possess his trademark curly hair these days but the child- like enthusiasm, passion for cricket and foremost the hunger of getting runs is still there which is the most admirable thing. With 88 international hundreds, 30065 international runs, highest run getter and century maker in both form of the game and many more records, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar's feats have been remarkable to say the least. But there is more into it when someone speaks or writes about Sachin Tendulkar.

If somebody analyses the journey of this genius, it is nothing short of romanticism. From the days of Sivaji Park to Mumbai Ranji Nets to Playing for India at the age of 16 to the man completing his 20th year at the highest level, one would get the feeling that it is not only about a romantic journey that is typically associated with poetry rather with the romantic part, there is the grit, fight, discipline which is the essence of a blockbuster bollywood movie and indeed Sachin's journey is quite at par with box office hits made at the tinsel town.

The most amazing part of his personality is his grit, determination, discipline, work ethic. Other than cricket he teaches everybody these things that is ought to be learnt in practical life if someone wants to prosper . It is always fantastic to hear him saying how he prepares for a game, his focus & concentration while facing bowlers. There is a marathi word "Kharoos" often said in maidans of Mumbai which means mental toughness . Sachin Tendulkar is the prime example of that "Kharoos" mentality.One such incident was when Sachin was hit on his nose by a Waqer Younis bouncer in his 4th test at Sialkot. He was bleeding and Navjyot Sidhu who was batting at the other end came up to him and the little kid said to him"Main khelega".That shows his mental toughness,courage and love for the country as India was struggling at 35 for 4 to save that test.That day itself promised that this kid was there to stay and serve Indian cricket for a long long time. If we research about world of sports there has always been numerous number of young prodigies hogging the limelight in the newspapers , TV channels and everywhere but very few make the cut because it is very easy to get distracted at that age but Sachin Tendulkar didn't and that sets him apart from the others. Other than the liitle master- blaster credit must be given to his coach Ramakant Achrekar and his family specially his elder brother Ajit Tendulkar without whose influence we may not have got the genius.

On the personal front, I started following him in 1991 India's tour to Australia where he scored that mindboggling 114 at WACA, Perth which is still according to me his best ever test knock, closely behind is the hundred he got in Chennai last year against England. With so many runs, hundreds it is hard to pick my favourite Sachin Tendulkar moment but if at all I have to pick one that should be the innings of the desert storm in Sharjah. This is the journey of the little Tendlya of Sahitya Sahabas,Bandra East to the man of good hopes for India Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. As for me I will see God when I die but till then I will see Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.