Standing alone on a rare peak

What began as a mundane day transformed gloriously into a memorable evening as natural light made way for the artificial variety. Putting the powerful floodlights at the Captain Roop Singh stadium to shade on that historic Wednesday was a masterpiece of epic proportions by inarguably the greatest batsman of his generation.

 In a career as long-lasting and illustrious as Sachin Tendulkar’s has been, it is inevitable, given his sustained brilliance, that records will be broken, milestones accomplished, benchmarks set. For 20 years and counting, the little big man of Indian cricket who sends pulses racing, hopes soaring and brings a country to a standstill when he is on song – which is increasingly often these days – has been pursuing his commitment to excellence with a single-mindedness of purpose that is at once simplistic and awe-inspiring.

Years of hard yards and hours of practice in the nets culminated in that epic in Gwalior. The first double hundred in one-day international history is by no stretch of the imagination the defining innings of Tendulkar’s career; what makes the effort special is that it had taken nearly 40 years and close to 3000 one-day internationals for the 50-over format to welcome its first double centurion, a 36-year-old virtuoso untouched by fame, unspoilt by adulation and unsated despite the mountain of runs on top of which he sits.

 There is much to admire about and learn from Tendulkar, not least the ability to not get carried away by overwhelming success. No one is more familiar with the warm embrace of success than the phenom from Mumbai, at once the protector and destroyer – the protector of a nation’s dreams, the destroyer of bowling attacks formidable and modest. It’s in the grace and humility with which he has accepted the riches, material and otherwise, that have come his way that he stands several notches above the vast majority.

For a little over three and a half hours, a nation watched transfixed as its favourite cricketing son – indeed, its favourite son – put on an exhibition. Former Indian captain Ravi Shastri called it a surgery in full public view; it could have been a symphony too with Tendulkar the conductor, directing the bowlers to bowl where he deemed fit, and directing the ball to go where he ordained. It was graceful and poetic, classical as opposed to hard rock, in a format where the objective, it would seem, is to pulverise the poor ball and dismiss it into oblivion.

To many, it might have come as a surprise that a 36-year-old, never mind if he goes by the name Tendulkar, was the first to touch 200 in one-day international cricket. After all, the 50-over run-fest is supposed to be a young man’s game, with power more integral than timing and grace a secondary appendage to the more final, brutal ball-bludgeoning. The frenetic pace makes incessant demands on body and mind, and while Tendulkar’s mind is as fresh as it was when he made his debut eons back, his body has been severely ravaged by the passage of time and the unforgiving beast of injury.

 It shouldn’t, of course, have come as a surprise. In the last 12 months, Tendulkar has provided enough indications in the 50-over version that untouched by time he might not be, but time-defiant he sure is. Last March, in Christchurch, he was well on his course to 200 when severe abdominal pain forced him to retire hurt on 163. Eight months later, in a high-pressure run-chase in Hyderabad as India tried to hunt down Australia’s 350, Tendulkar made 175 in a valiant battle against all odds, but by the time he was dismissed to signal the end of the Indian resistance, the runs required weren’t enough for him to touch 200 even if he had seen the team home.

 It is possible that, in time to come, Tendulkar will have company in the 200-club. But like Sir Edmund Hillary and Mt Everest, he will forever be celebrated for showing the way, yet again, and being the first to scale the summit. In international cricket, the one-day double ton has been the most elusive batting milestone even in the modern era of flat tracks, small grounds, lightning-quick outfields, heavy bats and batsman-friendly rules. It needed the genius of Tendulkar to show how to get there, with panache and precision, and without haste and ungainliness.  The legend of Tendulkar was complete and secure long before Wednesday’s heroics. What his path-breaking innings reiterated was that despite every imaginable individual accomplishment under his belt, the fire is still raging, the storm is far from abated.

 Tendulkar himself referred to the period post the 2007 World Cup as ‘an enjoyable period’, stressing on the team theme and pointing to a ‘togetherness’ that is the bedrock on which India have built recent successes. Whether he was taking a gentle potshot at former coach Greg Chappell in going out of his way to praise the Australian’s successor, Gary Kirsten, is open to debate; what is not is Tendulkar’s all-consuming desire to put team above self in the autumn of a career that has provided so much joy and pride to millions across a nation.  Brian Lara’s Test highest score, a monumental 400 not out, is the only significant individual record missing from Tendulkar’s glittering cabinet, but it’s that gaping team lacuna in the CV that will occupy his attention more. The golden era of Indian cricket, originating from the coming together at the same time of some of the true greats of all time, looks a tad less lustrous in the absence of a 50-over World Cup triumph.

 Since 1983, when Kapil’s Devils conquered the West Indies, Lord’s and world cricket, India haven’t coveted World Cup glory. India’s climb to the number one spot in the Test standings will have gladdened the little master no end, but there is unfinished business yet in the shape of a World Cup winner’s medal. At home in 2011 will be as good a time as any to end the drought and breach the one hole in his trophy cabinet. And begin the hunt for more adjectives to describe the legend of Tendulkar all over again.