Early Life of Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin was born on 24th April 1973 to a Marathi novelist, Mr. Ramesh Tendulkar, and an insurance professional Mrs. Rajni Tendulkar; he was nicknamed as Tendlya and Little Master. He did his schooling from the Sharadashram Vidyamandir High School. While in school, Sachin attended the M.R.F. Pace Foundation so as to train himself to be a fast bowler. However, as per the suggestion of Dennis Lillee, the fast bowler from Australia, he concentrated on batting. As a child, he used to practice for a long stretch of time.
Named after his family's favorite music director, Sachin Dev Burman, Tendulkar wasn't a particularly gifted student, but he'd always shown himself to be a standout athlete. He was 11 years old when he was given his first cricket bat, and his talent in the sport was immediately apparent. At the age of 14, he scored 326 out of a world-record stand of 664 in a school match. As his accomplishments grew, he became a sort of cult figure among Bombay schoolboys. After high school, Tendulkar enrolled at Kirti College, where his father also taught. The fact that he decided to go to the school where his father worked came as no surprise. Tendulkar's family is very close, and years after he'd achieved stardom and cricket fame, he continued to live next door to his parents.
The International Career Starts
Raj Singh Dungarpur is often given the credit for selecting Tendulkar for his first tour with the Indian team to Pakistan in 1989 and that too at a time when the Mumbai batsman had played just a solitary cricketing season. The Indian selection committee had been eyeing up Tendulkar and wanted him to tour the West Indies in 1988 itself but they did not choose him as they did not wish him to be exposed to the fearsome fast bowlers from the Caribbean Isles at that stage of his career.
Tendulkar played his first test in Karachi during November 1989 and at that time he was only 16 years and 223 days old. That match was also memorable as the debut match of Waqar Younis. Even though Sachin made just 15 runs the innings was noticeable for the way he was able to handle the fast bowling of the Pakistanis. During the final and fourth test of the series at Sialkot, Younis hit him on the nose with a bouncer. However, Sachin showed immense gumption with his willingness to carry on and refuse any medical help.
During that same series a 20 over exhibition match was organized at Peshawar and Sachin scored a fantastic 53 from just 18 balls and took apart Abdul Qadir, the legendary leggie. In one over from Qadir, Sachin smashed 27 runs. Krishnamachari Srikkanth, then the captain of the Indian team, calls it one of the better innings he has seen. Tendulkar finished the series with an average of 35.83 and 215 runs.
Tendulkar's performance through the years 1994–1999 coincided with his physical peak, in his early twenties. On the day of the Hindu festival Holi, Tendulkar was told to open the batting at Auckland against New Zealand in 1994. He went on to make 82 runs off 49 balls. He scored his first ODI century on September 9, 1994 against Australia in Sri Lanka at Colombo. It had taken him 79 ODIs to score a century.
In 1996 against Pakistan in Sharjah, Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin was going through a lean patch. Tendulkar and Navjot Singh Sidhu both made centuries to set a record partnership for the second wicket. After getting out, Tendulkar found Azharuddin in two minds to bat out. Tendulkar boosted Azharuddin to bat and Azharuddin subsequently unleashed 29 runs in mere 10 balls. It enabled India post a score in excess of 300 runs for the first time. India went on to win that match.
The International Career Starts
Raj Singh Dungarpur is often given the credit for selecting Tendulkar for his first tour with the Indian team to Pakistan in 1989 and that too at a time when the Mumbai batsman had played just a solitary cricketing season. The Indian selection committee had been eyeing up Tendulkar and wanted him to tour the West Indies in 1988 itself but they did not choose him as they did not wish him to be exposed to the fearsome fast bowlers from the Caribbean Isles at that stage of his career.
Tendulkar played his first test in Karachi during November 1989 and at that time he was only 16 years and 223 days old. That match was also memorable as the debut match of Waqar Younis. Even though Sachin made just 15 runs the innings was noticeable for the way he was able to handle the fast bowling of the Pakistanis. During the final and fourth test of the series at Sialkot, Younis hit him on the nose with a bouncer. However, Sachin showed immense gumption with his willingness to carry on and refuse any medical help.
During that same series a 20 over exhibition match was organized at Peshawar and Sachin scored a fantastic 53 from just 18 balls and took apart Abdul Qadir, the legendary leggie. In one over from Qadir, Sachin smashed 27 runs. Krishnamachari Srikkanth, then the captain of the Indian team, calls it one of the better innings he has seen. Tendulkar finished the series with an average of 35.83 and 215 runs.
Tendulkar's performance through the years 1994–1999 coincided with his physical peak, in his early twenties. On the day of the Hindu festival Holi, Tendulkar was told to open the batting at Auckland against New Zealand in 1994. He went on to make 82 runs off 49 balls. He scored his first ODI century on September 9, 1994 against Australia in Sri Lanka at Colombo. It had taken him 79 ODIs to score a century.
In 1996 against Pakistan in Sharjah, Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin was going through a lean patch. Tendulkar and Navjot Singh Sidhu both made centuries to set a record partnership for the second wicket. After getting out, Tendulkar found Azharuddin in two minds to bat out. Tendulkar boosted Azharuddin to bat and Azharuddin subsequently unleashed 29 runs in mere 10 balls. It enabled India post a score in excess of 300 runs for the first time. India went on to win that match.
Tendulkar's rise continued when he was the leading run scorer at the 1996 Cricket World Cup, topping the batting averages whilst scoring two centuries. He was the only Indian batsman to perform in the infamous semi-final of that World Cup. When Tendulkar's wicket fell, the Indian batting lineup collapsed and India conceded defeat after the crowd began angry demonstrations. This was the beginning of a period at the top of the batting world, culminating in the Australian tour of India in early 1998, with Tendulkar scoring three consecutive centuries. These were characterized by a premeditated plan to target Australian spinners Shane Warne and Gavin Robertson, to whom he regularly charged down the pitch to drive over the infield. This technique worked as India beat Australia. The test match success was followed by two scintillating knocks in Sharjah where he scored two consecutive centuries in a must-win game and then in finals against Australia tormenting Shane Warne once again. Following the series Warne ruefully joked that he was having nightmares about his Indian nemesis. He also had a role with the ball in that series, including a 5 wicket haul in an ODI. Set 310 runs to win, Australia were cruising comfortably at 3 for 203 in the 31st over when Tendulkar turned the match for India taking wickets of Michael Bevan, Steve Waugh, Darren Lehmann, Tom Moody and Damien Martyn for just 32 runs in 10 overs.
Tendulkar single-handedly won the ICC 1998 quarterfinal at Dhaka to pave way for India's entry into the semifinals, when he took 4 Australian wickets after scoring 141 runs in just 128 balls.
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. The worst was yet to come as Professor Ramesh Tendulkar, Tendulkar's father, died in the middle of the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Tendulkar flew back to India to attend the final rituals of his father, missing the match against Zimbabwe. However, he returned with a bang to the World cup scoring a century (unbeaten 140 off 101 balls) in his very next match against Kenya in Bristol. He dedicated this century to his father.
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