‘I dream of an India that is more than hope’ : Sachin

Sachin Tendulkar, the world’s greatest batsman, writes his first-ever signed piece exclusively for HT. Here’s how he Imagines his India …

My dreams began young. But I always planned on things one step at a time. I think, later, that made all the difference, between just imagining and realising that that imagination needed a focus.

I began playing cricket because everyone around was into cricket. They did play other sports in our neighbourhood, badminton and hockey, volleyball; football was really popular when Mumbai’s monsoon was on, we would dance in the rain as we played the beautiful game, but yet, somehow, it never was quite cricket. Cricket was special.

I think things began to change for me when I began understanding that there was more to cricket than picking up a bat and trying to take a wild swipe at everything that came its way. That was also when I began to dream.

I was around 9 or 10 and, watching my brother and some older guys in the building play, I wanted to be like them, to play like them, with them. My imagination at that stage only took me to a place where I was intensely competitive, enough to be among the top batsmen in my group. If you did well, were lucky, you would get a prized invitation to play with the older boys and if that happened, your success and reputation in the peer group was assured.

If I think that, in any way, I have been able to inspire generation next into imagining; into believing, hoping and dreaming that a future unknown might be possible, then that would be my contribution. If you’re lucky enough to be blessed, it’s important to distribute those blessings too.So that’s what happened with me.

 I was 10 when I was called to play with people aged 20 or 22. And then, that year, India won the World Cup. Life was never the same again. For millions of us, young and restless and hopeful, that was the beginning of a special love story with a special game.

Having said that, I think every game is special and India’s recent winning season across sports has been wonderful to watch and so very encouraging. I have watched, with pride and joy, as the hockey team has started to pick itself up; I have watched our footballers play with rejuvenated enthusiasm and dreams in their eyes; and have watched excitedly as people like world billiards champion Pankaj Advani, golfer Jeev Milkha Singh and tennis star Sania Mirza have made us proud. Most of all, I have followed, every inch a proud Indian, the ascent of Viswanathan Anand to the chess world championship crown over the weekend.

England notch up first ODI win in Sri Lanka for 25 years

Dambulla (Sri Lanka): England recorded their first one-day cricket international win on Sri Lankan soil in 25 years when they beat the hosts by 65 runs in the second game and leveleld the five-match series 1-1.

England, who last beat Sri Lanka on the island in a limited overs match in February 1982, set a competitive target of 235 runs in 50 overs helped by a gritty 82 from Owais Shah, and restricted the islanders to 169 in 44.3 overs.

Pace bowlers Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad took two wickets apiece, restricting the hosts to 38 for four, then the slower bowlers built on the start and never let Sri Lanka recover.

Upul Tharanga’s poor form with the bat continued when he was caught by Alastiar Cook at second slip for eight. Sanath Jayasuriya was later caught at cover by Ian Bell trying to slash Sidebottom.

Kumar Sangakkara, who was dropped twice before scoring, made just nine off 37 balls before chasing a wide delivery from Broad to be caught by wicketkeeper Phil Mustard.

Chamara Silva fell for a duck in Broad’s next over, but Mahela Jayawardene and Tillekeratne Dilshan followed with a 52-run stand for the fifth wicket _ providing the only chance of success for the hosts.

Paul Collingwood displayed smart captaincy bringing in his slow bowlers, tasting immediate success when offspinner Graeme Swann bowled Dilshan through bat and pad for 29 runs in just 21 balls.

Dilshan’s dismissal triggered another Sri Lankan collapse and only Jehan Mubarak showed some fight toward the end with an unbeaten 44 and added 43 runs for the last wicket with Dilhara Fernando.

Symonds and Lee lead Aussies to victory

It doesn’t seem to matter much to Australia as they scotched talk the newly-crowned Twenty20 champions were a match for them with a 47-run victory at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium today.

Allrounder Andrew Symonds (89 off 67 balls) continued to take out his anger on the home side with a brutal knock as Australia posted an insurmountable 7-290 off 50 overs.

Yuvraj Singh (121 off 115 balls) played a wonderful innings in reply but his spectacular century was in vain as the Australian attack led by Brett Lee restricted the hosts to 243 from 47.3 overs.

It gave Australia a 2-0 lead in the seven-match series.

There were none of the fiery showdowns witnessed at Tuesday’s match in Cochin with both sides heeding the warnings of match officials not to repeat the antics of the highly-charged affair.

But then again the main instigator Shantha Sreesanth had little reason to get too cheeky after conceding 30 runs off his first four wicket-less overs.

In the hysteria following their Twenty20 success, there has been talk in India they were ready to conquer the reigning World Cup holders.

However they have been comprehensively defeated in two of the first three matches with the other contest being washed out in Bangalore.

India have only tasted victory once in their last 10 one-day matches at home against Australia.

Symonds earlier scored his last 39 runs off 17 balls, handing part-time spinner Yuvraj a taste of his own medicine by peeling 16 runs from the final three balls of an over.

The powerful Queenslander didn’t just restrict his punishment to the Indian team with one of his five sixes believed to have collected a fan in the head.

Having scored 87 in Cochin, he will still be a little frustrated to fall short again of a hundred having been so public in expressing his desire to take down the Indian side.

Matthew Hayden (60) handed Australia a flying start in overcast conditions and Michael Clarke (59) paced the innings during the middle overs.

The Indian spinners led by Harbhajan Singh (0-38 off 10 overs) put the brakes on the Australian during the middle stages, the hot-headed tweaker this time letting his bowling do the talking following his mid-week spray on the tourists.

In reply, pace duo Lee (3-37 off 8 overs) and Mitchell Johnson (2-51 off 10) put on a masterclass in seam bowling to reduce the Indians to 3-13, their pace and accuracy in the humid conditions proving too much for the top order.

Yuvraj and Sachin Tendulkar (43) survived the opening assault and as the ball stopped swinging around, moved the score to 108 before the little master tried to make room and was bowled by spinner Bad Hogg.

Yuvraj played a brilliant hand but he had some stiff competition in the entertainment stakes with the crowd splitting their focus between him and local movie star Chiranjeevi in the stands at times.

Wannabe Bollywood star Lee then put Australia back in control by having the dangerous Mahendra Dhoni (33 off 37 balls) caught behind.

James Hopes (1-43 off 10 overs), who showed once again he belonged at the top level, dismissed youngster Rohit Sharma four runs later and at 6-176, the Indians were all but done.

However Yuvraj powered past 100 and raised local hopes of an unlikely win before Johnson uprooted his middle stump.

The Indians appear to be much like the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium itself.

Despite hosting its first international match two years ago, it is still very much under construction.

The next match is in Chandigarh on Monday.

Klusener hits out at CSA

Durban, Oct. 5 (PTI): Former all-rounder Lance Klusener has hit out at Cricket South Africa for its “crazy decision” of threatening to ban him from the playing in the domestic matches to prevent him from joining the Indian Cricket League.

“It’s a crazy decision. It would deprive the young players here of my input, whether on the field or through coaching,” Klusener said reacting to CSA CEO Gerald Majola’s statement that those who play in the ICL would be banned from playing domestic cricket in South Africa.

“What would be the point of it? I believe I still have a lot to offer, and I’m at the stage in my career when I want to put something back into the game,” he said.

Klusener is one of several South Africans, along with Andrew Hall and Nicky Boje, who have signed up with the breakaway League in India.

“I will not lose any sleep over what Cricket SA is saying that they will do but I hope sanity will eventually prevail,” said Klusener.

The SA Cricket Players Association has also taken up the matter of the ban on those who have signed to play in the ICL.

“We are unhappy with what has been said and have taken up the matter with Majola,” said Tony Irish, the CEO of the Cricketers’ Association.

“We are awaiting a response from Majola,” he said.

Free hit rule will kill bowlers, fears Ranatunga

Colombo, Oct. 5 (PTI): Cricket is a game where the dice is heavily loaded in favour of the batsmen and the new ‘Free Hit’ rule would just kills the bowlers, fears former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga.

Ranatunga feels the new rule would leave the bowlers at the mercy of the batsmen and that’s just not good for the game.

“(The new ICC) rules seem to be fine but I am not a big fan of the free hit rule. It will just kill the bowlers,” Ranatunga was quoted as saying by ‘The Island’ newspaper.

The ‘Free Hit’ rule was applied in the Twenty20 World Cup and it made its ODI debut during the India-Australia match in Bangalore.

The rule states that after the bowlers had overstepped, front foot or back foot, the next ball would be a free hit where the batsman can be dismissed only by run out.

Sri Lanka’s lone World Cup winning captain also dismissed the notion that it was meant to please the crowd and said ODIs already offer a plenty of entertainment for the spectators.

“So why do you want to cripple the bowlers further?” he asked.

Kallis scores consecutive tons and says T20 break was a big help

Younis Kahn’s potent bat gives Pakistan a glimmer of hope.

Jacques Kallis, after scoring his second century in a single Test, yesterday admitted that not playing in the Twenty20 World Cup had probably helped his game.

The South African allrounder followed up his first-innings 155 against Pakistan in Karachi with an unbeaten 100 in the second innings of the first Test yesterday at the National stadium.

His second century of the match enabled the Proteas to declare at 264/7, putting Pakistan under immediate pressure to make 424 to win the Test. If successful, it would be the highest fourth-innings total ever to win a Test. The West Indies hold the record of the highest ever chase when they defeated Australia at Antigua in 2003 by scoring 418.

Kallis resigned the Test vice-captaincy in a fury after being dropped from South Africa’s Twenty20 World Cup team, but yesterday confessed that it had been “special to get some time off. Obviously it would have been nice to have played in the Twenty20, but, on the other hand, I’ve come into this series well rested,” said Kallis. “It’s amazing what breaks can do for you, especially if you are an all-rounder and are in the game most of the time.

“It’s nice to start again and you are fresh after a good rest, certainly the longest break that I’ve had since I left school.”

The stage is set for an intriguing last day in the Test today, especially with Pakistan moving quickly to 146/3 at stumps, thanks to Younis Khan’s aggressive batting. Khan raced on to complete his run-a-ball half century with eight boundaries. He then scored successive boundaries off reverse sweeps before hoisting captain Graeme Smith for a big six.

“It’s still a good batting wicket, but perhaps they got a few more runs than we would have liked,” Kallis said. “But there’s enough happening on the wicket for us to get those seven wickets.”