Grew up watching Sachin bat
Cricket, first love for me and billions around the world!
I was 3 when my grandad switched on our LG television CRT box and introduced me to the world of cricket. Like most love stories it’s impossible to explain how and why I fell in love with the men in blue. But I am sure that a curly haired boy with a bat in hand had a lot to do about it.
I wasn’t alone though. Just one among the crores of ’90s kids who back then had no idea that a lot of their life is going to revolve around the simple question:
‘When is India playing next?’
Exactly like how it was for my grandad and many before him. I also know today that after 2 decades of devotion to the game that this love for the game played with leather balls and English willow bats will last in many generations across centuries to come.
In the early 2000s, the number of centuries, wickets and wins by the Indian men brought so much elation to the young boy in me that even decades later they remain clearly etched among my favourite childhood memories. The Eden test match where the mighty Aussies were blown away after they had enforced the follow-on on India by masterclass performances from Laxman, the Wall and Bhajji reminded the nation of the never dying Indian spirit to fight and work through all odds. Another such game was the victory over England in Lord’s in the Natwest final where Dada took off his shirt in elation after a historic chase of England’s massive score of 325 led by Kaif and Yuvraj. The same Yuvi, 5 years later went on to gift Indian cricket yet another favourite memory by smashing 6 sixes in an over in the first edition of the T20 World Cup that India eventually went on to win beating Pakistan in a nail-biting final.
It was not just all highs though. India came really close to a World Cup title in 2003 having played exceptional cricket all throughout the tournament but lost to the Aussies in the final. The final was on a Sunday and I clearly remember going to church and praying as hard as an 8 year old could to help India chase down the target of 360 that Gilchrist, Hayden, Ponting and Martyn had set for us. But it was not to be. When Bollywood taught us happy fairy tale endings cricket kept reminding us that life is no fairy tale.
Sehwag, Gambhir, Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman, Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Kumble and Zaheer are not just former Indian cricketers but emotions in their own rights for me and many. But Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar transcended beyond anything India had ever seen before to be a significant part of who we grew up to be. His struggles, his rises, his sixes, his humility and the massive number of runs he has enmassed between those 22 yards is unparalleled to any the cricket world had ever seen. When he walked away from the game after 24 years of dominance, whole of the nation died a little. We were all startled at the idea of no more screams of “Sachin… Sachin…” in the stadiums when the men in blue walk out to bat.
The game has changed across the decades. T20s came in, IPL was born and cricket has evolved to become and involve multitudes of people from all corners of India. Dhoni, Kohli, Rohit and Bumrah who were young boys when Sachin wore his first India cap have today all gone on to become legends.
Many of us were not around when Kapil Dev won the ’83 World Cup. But when Dhoni finished it off in style with the most iconic six in the history of Indian cricket and Kohli carried Sachin on his shoulders, 1.2 billion of us knew it was a memory that we will all take to our graves.
“I have seen God, he bats at no. 4 for India.” — Matthew Hayden
Amidst all the noise, struggles and challenges in our lives today, we millennials stand tall and face whatever googlie life has to throw at us because we were brought up watching Sachin bat!
