As dust settles on the excitement of heart-stopping match that we just had...A match many called a final before the final...A match that is going to lead India to another match of importance of epic proportions...Many would say Sachin crossed 18000 runs...Many more would again start the argument on whether he is the greatest batsman ever...An impossibly high number of people will totally outnumber a select few saying no cricketer is bigger than the game (including the very man who people call GOD..Remember the Pepsi commercial he asked to change years back because he looked bigger than the game in it?)...Make no mistake about it...I am one of the biggest fans of the most worshiped cricketer in India...I have each and every special inning of his, on video, downloaded and watch it many times over...
But there is a bigger question that we all need to ask ourselves...Is the greatness of one man bigger than the game itself...??When Sachin scores a hundred against South Africa and everyone else throws it away...People (media included) scramble to find words to demean the Indian batting lineup...To speak of how the great man played and how everyone else fettered the advantage and India lost the match...There is a Harsha Bhogle blog floating on what we need to give back to Sachin...The very next match...Yuvraj scores a century and again the indian batting lineup collapses like a pack of cards...Yes media again goes out with its business of criticizing the celebrated Indian batting lineup with clinical precision...But this time there was a difference...Not a single article was written about how well Yuvraj played...Is Yuvraj's hundred any less important Sachins?
The point I am trying to make here is not to contest the fact that Sachin is one of the greatest cricketers to have ever graced the game...It is not even about the statistical brilliance or the brilliance of the man that makes batting look like an art form...Not even about the billion hearts who want him to succeed each times he goes out to bat on those 22 yards...It is about the other 10...Yes there is something special about the man...But does that mean that no one else can be special?Does that mean that a Yuvraj 100 is any less important to India winning a game?If at all anything...The South Africa game is an eye opener to most of us who call Sachin a one man team!Sachin can get us to a point from where we can win because of his individual brilliance...But if the other 10 dont contribute...we cant win...
Yes Sachin played brilliantly against SA and it was an exhibition of batsmanship...but Sehwag and Gambhir played from the other side too...If we appreciate...at the end of todays match, Yuvraj has scored 341 runs in this world cup and has taken 11 wickets (Only the third player in WC history to do so) and has won 4 Man of the match awards out of the 7 matches India has played...Zaheer has single handedly spearheaded the fragile Indian bowling brilliantly...There are other players who have performed brilliantly in the period Sachin has been in top gear...But we choose to overlook them to the brilliance of one man...Then is there an incentive for them to perform???(People would argue about Crores but put yourself in their boots guys...Yes..Crores do matter..but being appreciated equally as your peers for your performance matters too!)I know I am not going to be a very popular guy for writing this article...Many would argue Sachin has risen above everyone...Yes there is something about the man that no one else has...His work ethic...his temperament...his focus...But there are others who have it too...Have we ever spoken about Rahul Dravid??Sachin scored 186* V/s NZL (His best until he hit 200) Rahul Dravid was at the other end scoring 152...Ganguly Scored 183 V/s SL (His best) Rahul Dravid was at the other end with 145...His 180 when Laxman Scored the epic 281...and tonnes of other instances!Has Rahul Dravid been idolized as much as Sachin??Yes sachin is much more flamboyant than Dravid...but hey...isnt it about winning games for India??Has Rahul Dravid won any less games??Is his work ethic or his batsmanship any less??
Another food for thought...Sachin has been around for 21 years on the international circuit...Yet india never became the No.1 Test side or never looked like winning the world cup (Barring 2003-Even then the final proved one man can get you to the final but can win it all on his own)..All these dreams were achieved(or look like being achieved) now because there is something that this team has that no other India team has had...the attitude to carry a win...Yes Sachins performance has been paramount in the years that got India to this stage...But there have been others who have performed amazingly well for India in the same period (Sehwag in test matches has been murderous, Gambhir has been equally effective with his nudge-a-single approach..not to mention the others who played their part as well)
To sum it all up...the point I am trying to make is yes all 5 fingers cannot be same.There are going to be some big some small..What really matters is how these fingers grip together and form the fist that delivers the punch!After all let us not forget...We know Sachin because of Cricket...Not Cricket because of Sachin...!
