End of an era

Today is Sachin Tendulkar's 200th and farewell test. I have literally grown up watching Sachin Tendulkar play. Now that he is retiring a part of my growing up seems to be retiring as well. I can’t remember the countless pleasures that he has given me, and billion others around the world, over the years, growing up and watching him play. I used to pray when he would go out to bat. Watching India lose in the nineties  was a common occurrence. What stood out in those matches was the resilient Sachin scoring in every match, against any opposition in any country. The way he dominated the opposition right from the time he went out to bat was an inspiration for an India still trying to find a footing at the world stage. 

I remember the days when the markets would come to a standstill when Sachin would come out to bat. People who were out of their homes would stand outside the shops selling TVs and watch the match. He has been the cricketer whom everybody looked up to and still does. He showed his genius at a time when the other batsmen in his team were falling around like nine pins. There was a time in the nineties when the matches began and ended with Sachin’s batting. In those days when he got out early the matches were as good as over.

The current Indian lineup has a lot of exciting cricketers and we are among the top teams in all formats of the game but somehow with no Sachin in the team it does not feel the same. I already have lost interest in ODI and T20 and I think his retirement will be the final nail in the coffin for the test matches as well. I will continue to watch cricket but it will not be the same anymore. No more having a Cricinfo window open when India is playing, not going out of the home and being glued to the TV when Sachin is playing, denying a remote to the rest of the family when the play is on , asking people in your surroundings to stay in the exact position that they are in when Sachin nears a century, lest he gets out. As they say- it is the end of an era.

P.S- I wrote this in a hurry. This is not a tribute to the genius of the man just the first thing that came to my mind when I logged on to the TOI website for watching the match.