Centuries galore and nothing else mattered...

We did not lose to a team called India. We lost to a man called Sachin.

Former Australian opener Mark Taylor certainly could not hold back his outpour of awe, admiration as well as agony after the latter’s team bowed down to a memorable blitzkrieg by the little master paving way to a resounding test victory in Chennai way back in 1998. Equipped or rather blessed with the purest and indeed flawless strokes and technique, cricket’s very own Godly icon has authored enough records and benchmarks for posterity with exiguous dubiousness about the extinction of its validity. Planet earth’s seventh largest country thunders in unimaginable excitement and pride every time the MRF (now Adidas) bat is swayed in all earthly directions by a content and jubilant Tendulkar. His priceless smile reassures the rest of the fifteen within the dressing room and the millions beyond it. Success will be his and his only.

To meticulously analyse and conclusively pick an innings of the 38 year old as the very best is a task of sweat-inspiring difficulty. Be it his swashbuckling 248 against the minnows Bangladesh or his record partnership stand with Rahul Dravid wherein he scored his previous best ODI score of 186 against the formidable Kiwis, cricket historians, former players and the general public alike chant in praise of his elegant flow of boundaries and massive ‘chakkas’. Spin legend Anil Kumble himself admits that he was fortunate that he bowled to him only in the nets! Carrying the game along with him to a whole new and exhilarating level, the viewer too gets carried away inevitably from the match scenario to his whirlwind journey of runs galore. And nothing else matters..

Who really cares if India gravely succumbs to the jaws of defeat as long as we see Don Bradman’s modern-day reincarnation add one more feather to his glorious hat of tons and half tons? After all, isn’t it all about the excitement and limitless entertainment that matters more than the blood, sweat and the ego all of which is thoughtfully sacrificed and raked aside to ensure the successful construction of a victory?

You are our pride-u, roller-coaster ride-u… A rather intriguing yet strangely peppy number seems to be the theme song for the master blaster by the ‘Kolaveri-macha’ Dhanush. The same is a testament to the demi-god status which Tendulkar today possesses in the cricket frenzy nation we exist. Not to sway away from the praise rituals, but among the 49 centuries which have triggered millions to chant his name with sentiments of the highest order, 14 of them have steered India to conveniently forgettable defeats. In the case of the longer version of the game, India saw 31 defeats out of his 51 tons. What’s more, Mirpur had the prestigious honour of witnessing his much awaited 100^th century become a reality. For the record, Bangladesh easily chased down the target later on a fairly flat wicket. But again, the media and the fans alike chose to bask in the glory of Tendulkar’s feat more than imbibe the sad realisation that the underdogs had toppled down 2011 World Cup champions. Upholding sensibility of the highest order, what really do these stats imply? An addition to the meticulously crafted list of centuries makes more sense and will be accepted more than a Test victory which will be forgotten in the long term. But won’t it turn out to be a sacrilegious blasphemy if we consider calling him a tad too selfish?

Rahul Dravid faced immense criticism back in 2004 for declaring the Indian innings at a point where Tendulkar was not out on 194 and there were 16 overs remaining in the day. India later went onto defeat Pakistan by an innings and 63 runs. Yet again, it was not the comprehensive victory under the Wall of Cricket that made the news. It was the denial of Tendulkar’s century at the expense of the team’s performance. How can a meagre victory be held in higher regard than Tendulkar’s tally of double hundreds? Rather baseless, isn’t it? Or is it?

Tendulkar has an impressive strike rate of 86.23 in ODIs. But the same stats also speak about an eye-raising decline of the rate as Tendulkar pursues to bat after surpassing the 80s. The boundaries dry up and are invariably transformed into ultra-meticulous singles till the three figures are under his kitty. Rather intriguing to say the least. Even more disturbing when you realise that the match has already slipped away into oblivion.

His lone hundred in the action-packed IPL was against the Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Having opted to bat first, he notched up the ton in the last ball of the match by padding it down for a steady single to take Mumbai Indians to 182. On a pitch which indeed was a batsman’s paradise, a quintessential player would have attempted to strike it a far distance bettering the score to the best possible manner. Kochi later thrashed the home team leaving the spectators to again haul Tendulkar’s maiden ton beyond earthly measure. Yes, nothing else matters, does it?