BROADCASTING LIVE CRICKET MATCH

 BROADCASTING OF CRICKET  LIVE MATCHES ON  TV  

“Boom, Boom “

 Relive this : M.S. Dhoni’s winning shot soaring high in the air and  clearing  the long on stand and the ecstasy  from the crowd in the stands is palpable  as it came after  a hiatus of 28 years on 2nd April at the Wankhade stadium during World Cup Finals in 2011.  The Director of the TV Channel telling a  cameraman “ Close in , Close in “ to catch that shot as close as possible and another cameraman to the commentary box focussing Ravi Shastri, the commentator, India’s Tony Greig,  to catch his  exuberant voice very closely “ And Dhoni finishes it off in style. And India lifts the world cup after 28 years.  The party has started in the dressing room. And an Indian Captain did it “.   The camera that  captured the winning  shot of  this glorious scene posted for eternity  is one of the 15 cameras used on the field that became the talk of the town and still etched in our memory.

Other shots of the Day captured BY CAMERAS 

Crowd’s ecstasy at the winning shot

VIPs and Celebrities rejoice

Harbhajan’s cry

Indian Players invading the pitch

Yuvraj’s embrace with Sachin

Dressing rooms of India & Srilanka

The cameras positioned at different positions in the field and in the stands captured by cameras are collaged  by the remix vision team  and shown to the TV Viewers as one as they can see only one camera on their TVs. And it was the work of a dedicated production team of the Star sports T.V. channel.  The Director and his team deserves a pat on their back. 

It was just another day’s work at the office for the production team. A single day’s work is the work of over 100 people, who are all committed to delivering the best programme they can offer to the viewers. They are constantly trying to improve what they do and devote hours to delivering the exceptional finished product we see at our homes.

ORDEALS OF A PRODUCTION UNIT

The ordeals of a Production team to telecast a Cricket match LIVE on Television is insurmountable.  

For the  Production Unit , the match starts four days before it is actually played.  It’s akin to Marriage Planners or Event Management teams, who also visit the area of operation well in advance.  There are core crews and operations crews . The crew size may vary according to the nature of the matches to be covered.  For ICC events like the World cup there will be 4 core and 5 operations crews.  

The Core crew is headed by the Executive Producer, Director, Producer, floor Manager, Director’s assistant, Producer’s assistant, statisticians and reporters.  The operations team  for a WC size tournament has a  Production Manager, Vision Mixer, EVS operators , Soundmen, Graphic operators, Hawk eye operators, Engineering operators, Cameraman , Satellite operators and Riggers.

On the first day they get the control room ready.  The Engineering team gets the generator for Power and then puts the monitors in place.  The next task is rigging up the cables, which is an elaborate process and if it’s a big stadium like Eden Gardens there is extra work load.   They need persons like Gabbar Singh (Sholay fame) as the cables are heavy and it’s difficult to lift and put them in different positions.  All the food items come from catering unit and sumptuous food is being served to all.  All the camera positions and microphones across the stadium are hooked up to the control room.

The next day the Director oversee the facilities checkup.  The cameras are in place, the cameramen check the viewfinders, the picture inputs are checked and the TV monitors in place.  The sound checkup simultaneously happens.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

The engineers also link the producer, statistician and the commentators , who all sit upstairs in the commentator’s box, to the control room.  The commentators have a microphone, a view of the programme output, and a “Fruit machine”, a gadget that displays essential data like the team total, batsmen’s scores, bowlers figures and other stats.  Each crew member works 10-12 hours on match days.

The OB Truck with worth 8 million is used to host the production staff & 78 TV Screens.  

At any given time there was a designated “lead” commentator who describes the delivery along with two “ Colour” commentators who offer expert commentary.  Ravi Shastri used to be the “lead” commentator when India were playing.

The most tense moment of the day, was the Toss, usually a straight forward event.  In the 2011 World cup Final, there were two tosses as Sangakara’s call was not properly heard.  But the viewers could see only one Toss event as the second one was filtered.      

2019 World Cup Broadcast

The 2019 World Cup hosted by England & Wales emerged as the most- watched ICC tournament of all time with 1.6 billion viewers tuned in.  Television has played an important role making cricket one of the most followed sports across the globe.  While digital technologies have started surpassing Television in importance, the small screen (TV) still remains crucial in the cricket world.  LIVE cricket is a smart way to motivate teams and inspire support from the entire country.   

SKY TV Broadcast

The OB Truck is home to 78 different TV screens.  There are 15 production trucks and 15 miles of cabling placed around the ground and controlled by a crew of 8-100 staff. Sky’s production Unit carries as high as 30 cameras for an ODI & 40 for Tests.  During the Ashes 2013, 120 people worked in the production unit as they looked to get best crowd shots, instant player reactions as well as working with match officials to provide definitive angels for DRS.

Cricket fans now can listen to the on-field reaction thanks to stump microphones, see how a spinner has managed to get so many revolutions on the ball with hi-motion replays and find out if a batsman nicked the ball through Hotspot analysis. 

Decisions on which pictures from the 30 camera feeds and various gadgets used will be broadcast to the viewer next are decided from inside of a 8 million Truck, the most expensive on the road in Europe using 78 TV Screens. 

MOHALI STADIUM

PCA  I.S. BINDRA STADIUM, MOHALI

CHANDIGARH CITY

MOHALI ( chandigarh)

Located in the precincts of Chandigarh(Punjab), Mohali is a shopper’s paradise and is known for its cricket ground.  Renamed as SAS Nagar District in memory of Sahibzada Ajit Singh, elder son of Guru Gobind Singh, the city along with Panchkula and Chandigarh form the Chandigarh Tricity.  Mohali houses many historical places such as Gurdwara Angeetha Sahib, Gurdwara AMB Sahib, the Baba Banda Singh Bahadur war memorial. Mohali is one the most preferred locations among I.T. outsourcing industries and many MNCs have built their HQ here.  The Rose Garden and Pinjore garden are some of the other attractions here but with cricket being  than just a sport in India, the main attraction in Mohali is Mohali cricket stadium.

MOHALI CRICKET  STADIUM

The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), Inderjit Singh Bindra (I.S. Bindra) stadium is a cricket ground located in Mohali, Chandigarh, Punjab. I.S. Bindraji  has served the BCCI with many positions and the stadium is named after him.   Before construction here, the land was barely a ravine area.  Earlier the PCA used to function mainly from the residence of office bearers but after 1992 it has built a world class stadium at Mohali having all the cricketing facilities of international level and the Association has located its HQ in the stadium.  The cricketing activities of PCA are well spread in the total area of Punjab & Union territory of Chandigarh.  PCA is instrumental in running the coaching and other activities in all major districts like Amristar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Ludhiana, Mohali & Chandigarh (UT).

Address   : I.S. Bindra stadium, Sector 63, SAS Nagar, Mohali.

Name of Ends :  South End Pavilion, North End pavilion

Size of Playing area :- 3.85 acres

Boundary length :  68.58 metres ( all around ground)

Distance from International airport : 8 kms

Nearest Railway station : 16 kms

Local transport : Taxi & local buses

FACILITIES

The sporting wickets , lush green outfield, spacious dressing rooms, excellent practice facilities and state of the art Gymnasium have been hailed by cricketers world over.   This swanky stadium boasts of world class facilities including a large cricket practice and tournament ground and a seating capacity of 30,000 spectators which was originally a swamp land.

Unusually large floodlights 16 in number have been installed here.  The pillars of flood lights at this stadium are quite low in height to avoid collision with the aircraft from the nearby Chandigarh airport. 

PITCH

Green pitches are seen at Mohali and it helps pace bowlers especially in the first and second day of test matches.  Swing can often be seen in the first innings in a test match as there is grass on the wicket but as the time passes, the pitch becomes slow.  It becomes easy to bat on the second and third day of a test match.  On the 4th day, the ball starts to turn very much, the spin bowling is dominating.  The average first innings score varies from 300- 350 runs.  So, the team that wins the toss always decides to bowl first there is green grass present on the pitch, which gives the fast bowlers swing in the early hours.  Usually green grass will be seen on the pitch here but according to the pitch curator due to the intense heat in summer season, there will be lack of green grass on the pitch due to which it becomes easy to chase the target in ODIs here.

 Name of different Stands / seating capacity 

A.C. Lounge       –     600

Pavilion terrace –   2,580

VIP Block          –   5,480

Chair block       –    9,339

Student block   –    2,500

North Pavilion –         600

PCC Members Block – 5400

Media Conference Hall –  1200 Print Media ;  30 – News Channel

BEST  MOMENTS

TESTS 

Mohali is India’s favourite hunting ground in Tests.  Out of the 13 Tests played here till date, India lost only 1 test in 1994.  India has won 7 tests here and 5 tests were drawn.

• Sachin Tendulkar’s favourite hunting ground in India next only to Chennai.  At Mohali he has an aggregate of 767 runs with a century against Newzealand in 1999
• Anil Kumble is the leading taker here with 36 wickets in Tests
• Shikar Dhawan on his Debut here scored a century against Australia in 2013 and that too It was the fastest century by a debutant.  He scored a century in 85 balls. It was also the highest score by a debutant as he scored 187 runs.  
• Newzealand ‘s 630/6 in 2003 is the highest Innings total here.
• Dion Nash , pacer from Newzealand claimed 6 scalps for 27 runs in Oct. 1999 is highest in an Innings

LAXMAN’s DOUR KNOCK

V.V.S. Laxman’s fighting  73 runs unbeaten in the second innings ensured India with a narrowest win by 1 wicket in Oct. 2010.  Zaheer’s opening bursts in this test won him the MoM award. In a leighter vein, a kooky claim by a fan at Mohali , Sanklesh Jimmy has sued ICC for not giving MOM Award to him.  In his legal notice, Mr. Jimmy claimed that by Not watching even a single ball of the match, he decisively turned the tide in India’s favour and hence deserved MOM award for him.

ODIs

Mohali hosted 25 ODIs involving bilateral, trination series besides some World cup matches.

AUSSIES WIN A THRILLER

In the 1996 World cup 2nd Semi Finals between Australia and West Indies, Australia won the match by a whisker.  Defending a modest 207 runs, Aussies showed great character and pulled all their muscles to  scampered home  by just 5 runs and entered the Finals of 1996 world cup. 

In spite of best bowling efforts by their bowlers and restrict Aussies to 207 runs, and sitting in driver’s seat while chasing , the Windies choked at the tight moment.  West Indies won the 95% of the contest but alas the Aussies won the final 5% of the match.

TENDULKAR ‘s GOLDEN ARM

Deja Vu of  semi Final in 1993, this time it was the Tri-nation Titan cup match against Aussies in 1996, it was Sachin Tendulkar again in the thick of action to defend 6 runs in the final over and Sachin delivered his punch and India won by 5 runs.

WORLD CUP 2011 SEMI FINAL

The arch rivals India and Pakistan once again in a World cup match and of course this time it was the SEMI FINAL and Sachin Tendulkar was the cynosure of this match and he didn’t disappoint the crazy Mohali fans as he hit a powerful 85 runs to set up a fighting total of 260 runs and Pakistan could muster only 231 runs and India won by 29 runs and entered the Finals and went on to win WC 2011 after a gap of 28 years.  Sachin was the MOM of this match.

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ARUN JAITLEY STADIUM, DELHI

ARUN JAITLEY STADIUM (FEROZ SHAH KOTLA), DELHI

INDIA GATE , Delhi 

DELHI

Delhi, the capital of India  boasts rich cultural history including famous buildings such Red Fort, India Gate, Qutab Minar and Feroz Kotla Fort.  In his autobiography Futuhat-i-Firozshahi, Firoz Shah Tughlaq described himself: “Among the many gifts which God bestowed upon me, his humble servant, was a desire to erect public buildings. So, I built many mosques and colleges and monasteries” And so, he built Feroz Shah Kotla (kotla means fortress), peppered Delhi with gardens, constructed canals, hunting lodges, and repaired Qutub Minar, Hauz Khas (royal tank) and Surajkund (lake of the Sun).

Ferozshah Kotla ground, Delhi

Ferozshah Kotla ground, once known as the Willingdon Pavilion after a former Viceroy as the second oldest  stadium.  Located near the centre of the city on the edge of Old Delhi, it is situated within the walled citadel of the fortress erected in 1356 by Sultan Ferozshah Tuglaq after whom the ground is named.  Fortified gates and barbican towers all around are reminders of the past. The ground was built by Sultan Shah Tughlaq as an establishment for the colonel people to play the game and was officially inaugurated by then the viceroy of India, The Earl of Willingdon.  The fortress sits on the banks of Yamuna river.

The stadium was established in the year 1883 and is run by the Delhi Districts Cricket Association (DDCA). The stadium gets its name from its location “Feroz Shah Kotla”. .Initially no Indians were allowed to play in the ground. It was only after independence they were given permission to play in the stadium.

Cricket is the glue that binds the entire nation in one theme. Every aspiring cricketer hopes to perform before massive Indian crowds and give his absolute best in the field. And, when the venue of performance is as iconic as the Feroz Shah Kotla, the level of adrenaline rush gets doubled

Reconstruction of the stadium

The stadium was reconstructed in 2005 at a cost of Rs.114 crore as a part of an overall redevelopment   with the seating capacity increased to 45,000 and puts it in the top 10 largest stadiums in the world and it has a slightly idiosyncratic fee with the vast unmistakable  North stand towering over the ground , bearing some resemblance to the cross-section of a multi-storey car park. it was designed by the Architects M/s. Danish Siddiqui & Naval Khanna and built by M/s. Engineering Projects India Ltd., a government company.  Unusually no government or other funding was involved, all the finance being raised from selling signage rights, hospitality boxes and naming rights to corporates like Tata & ITC and each had an End after them. 

INAUGURATION of SEHWAG GATE 

On the eve of the first T20 international on 31st Oct. 2017,  between India and New Zealand at Feroz Shah Kotla, the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) honoured Virender Sehwag by renaming the stadium’s Gate 2 after the former Delhi and India batsman. Addressing the media at the DDCA event to unveil the gate, Sehwag said naming gates, dressing rooms, stands and areas in the stadium after former cricketers like him would serve as great motivators for aspiring cricketers. The gate itself contains, among other things, a cut-out of Sehwag, with the line “Legends are forever”, and a panel recounting statistics and achievements from his remarkable international career spanning 14 years.

RENAMING OF THE STADIUM

On 12th Sept.  2019, the stadium was renamed in the memory of former Union Finance & Law Minister & former DDCA President Lte Arun Jaitley.  Speaking on the name change  occasion the current President of DDCA Rajat Sharma said “ It was Arun Jaitley’s support and encouragement that players like Virat Kohli, Virendar Sehwag, Gautam Gambir and many others could make India proud.

DDCA  also unveiled a new pavilion stand at the stadium after the current Skipper Virat Kohli, who recently became the most successful Indian captain in Test cricket with 30 wins out of 50 tests.

VIRAT KOHLI STAND

“Never thought I would be honoured at such a grand scale. Don’t know how to address this as my family, wife, brother, sister-in-law are here,” said Kohli during the glittering function held at the Weightlifting Hall of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.

“It was in 2001 (2000) during a match against Zimbabwe, my childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma gave me two tickets. I remember clinging to the gallery grill asking for Javagal Srinath’s autograph. I was telling my brother how far we have come.

“So today to have a pavilion in my name at the same stadium is surreal and a great honour,” he added.

A short video and an animation film on Kohli’s journey from being an U-19 player to India captain was shown during the event, which was attended by the entire Indian cricket team and support staff.

FIRST TEST

The ground hosted its first test in 1948 against West Indies, the first test match in post- Independent India.

BEST MOMENTS

In the 1952 Test series against Pakistan, Hemu Adhikari & Ghulam Ahmed were involved in a record 10th wicket stand of 109 runs- a record that still stands.

In the 1965 series against Newzeland, S. Venkatraghavan, the offie, in his debut series, demolished Newzeland team with figures of 8 for 72 and 4 for 80 and won for india.

In 1969-70, the spin duo of Bedi and Prasanna spun India to put up a famous victory over Australia as they shared 18 wickets between them.

In 1983 -84 series against West Indies, he equalled Don Bradman’s 29th Test centuries here.   Incidentally, Sachin Tendulkar broke Gavaskar’s most number of centuries ( 34) with his Test century here only.

And to top it all, Anil Kumble’s 10 wicket haul on 7th Feb. 1999  against Pakistan’s 2nd innings on the fourth day of the Test, which brought victory for India.  It is also a record for any Indian bowler to take 10 wickets in a Test, which record is still intact. 

Motera stadium, Ahmedabad

MOTERA STADIUM, AHMEDABAD

DANDIYA DANCE, GUJARAT 

Ahmedabad city with a population of 7.4 million was once the Capital ( 1960-70) of the vibrant Gujarat state.  It is also called “Manchester of India “ as the Textile industry is booming in this city.  Gandhiji’s  famous Sabarmati Ashram is situated on Sabarmati river. This city was famous for India’s freedom struggle including Gandhiji’s Satyagraha.

MOTERA STADIUM, AHMEDABAD

The stadium was built in 1982 when Gujarat government had sanctioned 100 acres of land on the banks of River Sabarmati river on the outskirts of the Amedabad city. . Construction was completed in 9 months.  And the first international match played here was a Test match in 1983 between India & West Indies.

World’s Largest Cricket stadium, Motera Stadium, Ahmedbad

RECONSTRUCTION

The reconstruction of the stadium started in 2017 and completed in Feb.2020 at a cost of Rs. 7 billion in a bowl shape. .  The new Motera stadium is spread over 63 acres and has 3 entry points . The stadium with 1,10,000 capacity is the World’s largest cricket stadium.

FACILITIES

• A  club house  with 55 ROOMS
• A  Gymnasium 
• Olympic size Swimming Pool
• Party Hall
• 3D Projector theatre
• 76 Corporate Boxes with a seating capacity of 25 each
• 4 Team Dressing rooms
• Food court and hospitality area in each stand
• Stadium also houses a Cricket Academy and Indoor practice facilities
• LED lights are installed on the roof, which is a first in India
• Parking area has space for 3000 cars & 10,000 bikes
• The structure eliminated the need of Pillars for giving spectators an unobstructed view of the stadium
• Physiotheraphy and hydrotherapy system placed inside the stadium which can provide treatment to injured players on the field itself
• The stadium is designed in such a way that if any player plays a shot, then all the spectators on the field can watch it without any interruption
• The stadium also has a huge ramp designed to facilitate movement of around 60,000 people simultaneously
• It is the FIRST GREEN STADIUM of India with 100% LED lights
• Rainwater Harvesting capacity of 32 lakh litres and 11 acres area planted with rich bio-diversity
• The stadium exists in Tiers to accommodate smaller events and maintain the atmosphere for spectators even when the bowl is not full
• Separate facilities for Disabled persons is available
• As Ahmedabad city is prone to earthquake, rings float between the bowl and roof via radical spokes to allow for movement in time of seismic activity (earthquake).

SOIL & DRAINAGE SYSTEM

• 11 pitches with both red & black soil are laid which will be bouncy , spin friendly or mix of both
• The ground will be ready in 30 minutes after the rain
• This stadium also has used sub surface drainage system which will enable the ground to get ready in quick time to start the match

BEST MOMENTS 

• Sunil Gavaskar completed 10,000 runs in Tests in 1986-87 Vs Pakistan
• Kapil Dev surpassed Sir Richard Hadlee’s 431 wickets
• Sachin Tendulkar scored his first double century in Tests Vs Newzeland in 1999 and also became the first ever cricketer to score 18,000 runs in ODI in a match here vs Australia during WC 2011
• Kapil Dev took 9/83 against West Indies in 1983, a record for an Indian fast bowler

EDEN GARDENS STADIUM- KOLKATA

EDEN GARDENS STADIUM – KOLKATA

Photo : Hooghly River   Courtesy: Google.com

 Kolkata, Bengali Kalikata, formerly Calcutta, city, capital of West Bengal state, and was capital  from 1772–1911 of British India. It is one of India’s largest cities and one of its major ports. The city is centred on the east bank of the Hugli (Hooghly) River, about 154 km upstream from the head of the Bay of Bengal; there the port city developed as a point of transshipment from water to land and from river to sea. A city of commerce, transport, and manufacture.  Kolkata is the dominant urban centre of eastern India. Today it’s known for its grand colonial architecture, art galleries and cultural festivals.  Durga pooja is celebrated during Dussehra  with its religious fervour.

EDEN GARDENS STADIUM

Until British cleared it in mid-18th century the area was a jungle.  According to popular culture, Babu Rajchandra Das, the then Zamindar of Kolkata, had gifted one of his biggest gardens behind River Hooghly to Viceory Lord Auckland.  It was initially named as “Auckland Circus Gardens” but later changed as “Eden Gardens”.    The Stadium was named after Eden sisters, Fanny and Emily.  It was designed in 1841 and was functional only by 1864 making it the FIRST cricket stadium in India built by the British.  It was built during the time of Lord Auckland when he was the Governor General of India.

DESCRIPTION

The stadium is situated in B.B.D. Bagh area of the Kolkata city near Secretariat and Calcutta High Court.  It stands in more than 50 acres of blissful landscape.  The verdant pathways of Eden Gardens are shaded by huge mahogany, mango and Banyan trees that make it a peaceful place to sit and enjoy the marvels of nature.  There is also a 3 storeyed Burmese Pagoda in red and yellow that was brought here by Lord Dalhousie.  

A brand new pitch cover was installed in 2016 from England. The entire ground can be covered in 15-20 minutes.

It’s second largest stadium in the country with 66,000 capacity after renovation.  It  is also used for Football matches.

The entire stadium and the surrounding land still is administered by the Defense Ministry, without whose permission no event takes place. The Cricket Association of Bengal is merely a lesser and not the owner. And the stadium visit is allowed when there are no matches played here.

FACILITIES

The stadium’s outfield and drainage system came under a lot of criticism.  When Sourav Ganguly become CAB President in 2016, he made sure that a new coring process was done in the outfield , so that the outfield does not remain water logged for long.  The drainage system was also upgraded. Previously the CAB had only 3 super soppers were in place.  Keeping in mind the unpredictable weather conditions, Sourav ordered 2 more super soppers from Australia so that even it it rained, the ground can be made ready for the match to resume quickly.

Eden Gardens had installed a new electronic score board like MCG.  The new scoreboard will show all the details, highlights and graphics of a match.

In 2016, a big bell ( like in Lord’s, England) was added to the stadium to ring in the start of a day’s play for all forms of cricket here. Kapil Dev was the first person to ring the bell to start the test of Ind Vs Newzeland in spetember 2016.

BEST MOMENTS 

• When India’s win over England in 1972-73 by 28 runs, complete with music that wouldn’t have been out of place of Hindi movie.
• Gundappa Viswanath’s brilliant century in 1974-75 series against West Indies in the 3rd Test of the series here after India were 2-0 down
• When Azharuddin made century on his debut in 1984-85 against England, the crowd shouted  “ Azar, Azar” and also his 77 ball century in 1996-97 against S.A. and his 163 runs against Aussies in 1998.

VVS MAGNIFICENT KNOCK

And to top it all, the game that will deserve special mention here will be the massive heist India performed on the Aussies in a Test match in 2001 to win this test after being asked to follow-on after a marathon innings played by V.V.S. Laxman hitting 281 runs, his career best and Harbhajan’s 13 wickets haul, including a HAT TRICK.

FIRST EVER DAY- NIGHT TEST IN INDIA

The first ever DAY NIGHT Test  of India was played here on 22nd November , 2019 between India & Bangladesh which was viewed by 43 million people, highest viewership for a FIRST DAY of any test played over in 2018-19, the second test of the series and it was a one-sided test as India won by a whopping Innings & 46 runs.

HERO CUP SEMI FINAL 

When Sachin Tendulkar turned into a Hero with the ball, defending just 5 runs against South Africa in 1993-94 Hero cup and India romped home and went on to win the Final.

CROWD BEHAVIOUR

On happier days, the crowd in the stadium act as the 12th man of the Indian team.  But on bad days, the crowd turned violent and disrupted the proceedings of a match.  In the 1996 World cup Semi Final against Srilanka when India were staring defeat, the crowd pelted stones continuously and the match could not continue and the SF was conceded to Srilanka.

T2O WORLD CUP FINALS

West Indies became the FIRST team in history to win both Women’s T20 title match (Daymatch) and Men’s T20 title (D/N match) on April 2016 at this ground.  Especially the Men’s final match a scintillating  knock by Carlos Brathwaite, when he hit 4 consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes in the Final over.  And Ian Bishop the commentator remarked “Remember the name “ Carlos.

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

* Kapil Dev became the first  Indian bowler to take a Hat trick in ODI in 1991 against Srilanka and kuldeep Yadav followed him in 2017 against Australia.

•  Rohit Sharma hit ODI’s highest 264 runs against Srilanka
•  Virat Kohli scored his maiden ODI century in 2009
• Harbhajan Singh became the FIRST indian to claim Hat trick in tests in 2001

SACHIN TENDULKAR’S  PENULTIMATE TEST

   When Sachin Tendulkar played his 199th Test here, a special coin was released and it was used as the Toss coin. 

M. CHINNASWAMY STADIUM, BENGALURU

CRICKET GROUNDS –  M. CHINNASWAMY STADIUM

Bengaluru, India’s 2nd fastest growing Metropolitan city, with its diverse culture is the latest I.T. Hub destination and is the Silicon Valley of India.  The city is affectionately called as “Garden city” with lots of trees on both sides of the Roads with beautiful buildings  of Victorian age like Vidhana Soudha, Lal Bagh Botanical Garden with Glass House, Bengaluru Palace.  It’s no wonder that Bengaluru has a beautiful Cricket stadium, M. Chinnaswamy stadium as one more icon to the city.

Originally named as Karnataka Cricket Association, the ground was renamed after M. Chinnaswamy, who was the President of the BCCI from 1977-80 and was involved in the administration of Karnataka cricket for close to 4 decades.  

DESCRIPTION

The foundation for the construction of the stadium was laid in May 1969 and building began in 1970. The total area of the stadium is 18 acres and the stadium is owned by Karnataka Government and leased to KSCA for 99 years.   

 The stadium is situated  in Cubbon Rd, Shivaji Nagar, Bengaluru.

Seating capacity – 40,000

Two ends –  1. Pavilion End   2. BEML  End

FACILITIES

• Floodlights installed in 1996 ( during India Vs Pakistan WC QF match)
• Separate enclosure for Print & TV media 
• Rain Harvesting system.  This helps in retaining the surface moisture
• First ever cricket stadium in the world to have an In-house Solar Roof top ( above Eastern Stands).  On The circular Roof top, the surface  area is covered with photovoltaic cells to generate solar power for its use .  The solar power panels are placed in such a way that it can generate 400 KW ( 1700 units) per day.

DRAINAGE SYSTEM

This stadium is the FIRST cricket stadium to have Sub-Air surface and state-of-art Vacuum powered Drainage system.  This sub-surface aeration system that is aimed at starting play within minutes after the rain ceases.  The machine has a capacity of flushing out water up to 10,000 litres per Minute .  To make sure that water is drawn out as soon as the rain begins to fall, there are remote sensors embedded in various parts of the outfield.  The system also help in draining the water 36 times faster than the prevailing systems. 

The stadium in 2016 installed a sewage treatment plant with the help of local body (BWS &SB) .  The entire system outsources the sewage water flowing along the lines of Queens Road and uses the same after treatment.  

NCA

BCCI has selected the centre for National Cricket Academy housed in this stadium in 2000.  NCA has trained budding indian cricketers who had the potential to represent India.

CRICKET AT ITS BEST AT CHINNASWAMY STADIUM

1. IPL INAUGURATION MATCH- 2008

“All the roads lead to Chinnaswamy stadium” . After the roaring success in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, BCCI floated the idea of starting a Premier League on the lines of Football leagues.  Thus, born the INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE in 2008 with T20 format. And Bengaluru was chosen to host the inaugural match on 18th April 2008.The gala opening ceremony started with much fanfare with acrobats 4 on either side of the stadium were sensational with Scottish music and the later show and fireworks & cheerleaders from Washington Redskin.

In the night it was the diminutive Kiwi Batsman Brenden McCullum’s batting for KKR  matched the previous pyrotechnics, his innings was absolute carnage.  His front foot plonk and insouciant drives in a pitch that’s not benign to stroke-making.  And in this context, McCullum’s breathtaking strokes were a virtual treat to the eyes of the fans.  He treated all bowlers  of RCB with utter discontent  and his bat turned into a howitzer.  It was a One-man show as he took the centrestage with his lusty hitting of 13 sixes ( one six went out of the ground) and 10 fours in his unbeaten 158 runs ( second best in IPL so far) .  And RCB after the battering by Mccullum, capitulated with just 82 runs conceding a defeat of 140 runs really disappointed the 55,000 locals. 

2. 1996 WORLD CUP QUARTER FINALS

INDIA  Vs PAKISTAN

The  atmosphere at the Stadium was surcharged  as the traditional rivals India and Pakistan are meeting in a World cup match for the second time. India started well putting 90 runs for the first wicket between Navjyot Singh Sidhu & Sachin Tendulkar.  After Sachin’s dismissal also Sidhu continued his ominous form with the bat hitting 93 runs and in the end he was declared the” Man of the Match” .  And Ajay Jadeja’s cameo knock of 45 off 25 balls who was sent in the late order in batting proved to be very crucial.  Ajay Jadeja usually indulge in chatting while batting but that day he didn’t talk and only his bat talked as he charged at Waqar younis and hit him 2 sixes in the 49th over.   Pakistan started well chasing 288, hitting 84 runs in the first 10 overs before losing Saeed Anwar.  But Aamir Sohail captaining in the absence of Wasim Akram, who pulled out at the last minute due go a nagging injury, batted well.   He brought up his fifty at more than a run a ball and celebrated with a sizzling slash off Venkatesh Prasad, who was booed in certain stands despite being a Bangalore boy. Once the ball had raced away to the extra-cover fence, Sohail aggressively pointed the bat at Prasad, as if to say, “Go fetch that.” Sohail tried to repeat the slash off the next ball, despite it being on off stump, and this time he was comprehensively bowled. A charged-up Prasad gave him a send-off (“Go home you f*****g bastard”) and the quiet tension suddenly gave way to an eruption as the crowd realised the tide had turned. Sohail’s wordy duel cost his wicket at the crucial time.  Then Pakistan lost the momentum and folded up at 248 runs and fell short of 39 runs.  And all those spectators on the street had a joyous victory parade.

3. 1987 INDIA vS PAKISTAN  TEST

SUNIL GAVASKAR’S  SWAN SONG

As Sunil Gavaskar was playing his final Test match the Indian captain Kapil Dev allowed him to take part in the toss as a token of respect.  In the 5 match Test series all the 4 tests were drawn.  And so, the  5th  Test at Bengaluru t happened to be the series decider.  Hence, Both teams wanted to win.  It turned to be a spinners minefield. And at the end of the Test, 35 wickets were claimed by Spinners of both side.  

After winning the Toss, Imran Khan opted to bat first.  And Pakistan were bundled out for just 116 on the first day and India finished the day with 68 for 2 runs.  But on the second day they were skittled out for 145 runs and all the 10 wickets were claimed by Pakistan’s spin duo, Tauseef Ahmed and Iqbal Qasim India had a  a slender lead of 29 runs and Pakistan played better and scored 249 runs and set up 2221 runs for victory for India with 2 days to spare (with a rest day also available).  But on the fourth day, Sunil Gavaskar alone fought a losing battle, battling for more than 5 hours in the second innings and no one could support him.  And when a dubious umpiring decision declaring him caught at short leg for 96 runs the match was almost over as India folded up for 204 runs and gave Pakistan 16 runs win and the series by 1-0.  And that was Gavaskar’s last hurrah in Tests on a sad note.

WANKHADE STADIUM, MUMBAI

Wankhade Stadium, Mumbai

Boom Boom

All the eyes in the ground and people glued  over to TV channels were on the ball sent by the Indian Captain M.S. Dhoni in the 2011 World Cup Final against Srilanka and they all heaved a sigh of relief when  it cleared the rope and there were jubilations all over the ground and the players rushed to the field to congratulate Dhoni and Yuvraj who were at the crease. And India won the World cup 2nd time after a gap of 28 years. This was one of the familiar scenes at Wankhade Stadium, Mumbai. 

History 

Bombay , the Lord’s of India, had used 3 grounds to play cricket. In 1933 it used Gymkhana grounds to play India’s First test in India.  And then it used Brabourne stadium for 17 tests.

After a conflict with Cricket Club of India at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, the Mumbai Cricket Association wanted to have its own stadium.

The Seshrao Krushnarao Wankhade Stadium was built in 1975 owned by Mumbai Cricket Aassociation constructed at a cost of Rs.1.87 crore in a record time of 11 months and 23 days.

This new stadium hosted its first ever international match on 23rd January 1975 for the touring West Indies for the final 5th Test here.  And the Windies rompedhome with a whopping margin of 201 runs when Clive Lloyd hit his career bestof 242 runs unbeaten and with that the series also by 3-2 margin.  And it was M.A.K. Pataudi’s last hurrah of international cricket.

Important Matches

India recorded its first win here in 1976 against Newzeland by 162 runs. 

in 1978-79 series Sunil Gavaskar played a captain’s knock of 205 runs and his counterpart Alvin Kalicharan also played a magnificent 187 runs and the test ended in a tame draw. In the Golden Jubilee one-off Test in 1980, it was Ian Botham’s Test who took 13 wickets and scored a century to set up an easy win for England by 10 wickets.

The visiting Aussies were piped at the post by just 13 runs when chasing just 104 runs when the Indian spinners took 18 wickets of the Aussies in 2004 though the Aussies won the 3 test  series by 2-1. 

A heart breaking Test was played between the hosts and West Indies in 2011which ended in a Draw with both teams tied on equal runs.The last Test played here in 2016 When Alastair cook’s team for a 5 match series for the fourth test when India mauled them with captain Kohli hit the highest Indian test score of 235 to set up a win with a whopping margin of an Innings  & 36 runs.

NORTH STAND GANG

At Level three blocks  G & H, which have a straight view of the pitch, the spectators formed a gang called North stand gang.  There’s only one condition to join the Gang.  ” You have to be loud and keep chanting. Want innovative chants ” Liri lara layo, haiyo, haiyo, chakala makala , chakala makola, hoo ha hoo ha”.  They mean nothing but they get the crowd going.   In Dec.2016 Test Vs England this Gang was perfectly synchronised, turning up in Identical T-shirts, designed by one of the gang members, Vipul Yadav, recount the history of Wankhade stadium.  They also had 5 banners all signed by Sachin Tendulkar.  They were close to 40 people, may seem a small number but it is enough to create raucous. Herd mentality does the rest.  This gang even earned the respect of Barmy Army of England Fans during the Dec. Test.  So impressed was the Army by the gang’s gusto, they presented the Gang with an England flag signed by the entire contingent and their official book of chants.  The North stand Gang in turn gave the Barmy Army one of their T-shirts. It was validation of the sort these fans had never expected.

RENOVATION

Originally Wankhade had 13 acres which dwindled to 7.5 acres after space was allotted for the Garware club house. In 2008, MCA decided to upgrade the stadium to host World cup final 2011.  The two of 4 stands (North & South) was completely demolished and rebuilt and the remaining two were upgraded to match the newstands.  The roofing system was also upgraded to a cantilevered type so as to eliminate the supporting columns to facilitate obstruction free viewing.  The ground was also upgraded and fitted with an underground sprinkler system and drainage system also improved. The hard benches were replaced by bucket seats . Additionally 60 Corporate Press  boxes were provided around the circumference as well as air-conditioned press box to hold 250 media personnel.

PITCH

The seaside (Arabian sea) situated means that the swing bowlers get a fair amount of assistance during early part of each day.  Red soil is used to prepare the pitch which ensures consistence bounce.  Pitch has also been a slow turner.  It had been traditionally been full of runs but also helped the spinners during the last couple of days.

RECORDS

Virat Kohli who played 4 tests till date here has the best batting average of 72.17 runs scoring one century with 235 as highest score in this ground.

Sunil Gavaskar has the best aggregate of 1122 runs in 11 tests. He hit 5 centuries

Sachin Tendulkar with aggregate of 921 runs with a solitary century.

Highest aggregate in Tests – 1448 runs in Ind Vs WI in Nov.2011

Anil Kumble with 38 wickets in 7 matches is the leading wicket taker

Stands :  Sunil Gavaskar, North Stand, Vijay Merchant, Sachin Tendulkar, MCA Pavilion, Divecha Pavilion, Garware Pavilion

End names :  Garware Pavilion end  and Tata end

IPL Connection

Mumbai Indians home ground, Wankhade witnessed some glorious matches finishes in IPL history.  They won the IPL title 5 times under Rohit sharma, including the win in 2020 at a tense final when they won against Deli Capitals, who reached the finals for the first time.

TENDULKAR’s MONTH

Sachin Tendulkar made Debut in November 1989 at Karachi and ended his international career in November 2013.

Queer Statistics of Tendulkar (Batting in Tests)

• His career best of 241 runs was made against Australia in Sydney in 2004 and it was one of his favourite grounds where his aggregate in Tests was 785 runs with 3 centuries
• His highest aggregate in Tests in Away series was Colombo ( played in 3 grounds) was 1027 runs with 5 centuries ,4 at SSC and 1 at RPS stadium
• Chennai (India) was his favourite ground In India like Sunil Gavaskar, where his aggregate was 970 runs with 5 centuries and his 4 centuries brought victory for India and his fighting century against Pakistan in 1999 only ended in loss for India.
• His First international century at Old Trafford, Manchester in 1990 was a watershed in his career, which saved India from defeat. Coming at the age of 17 years was a remarkable achievement and he still holds the record of Youngest indian to score a century in tests. . And he went on to score 100 International centuries in his career, which is a world record till today.

AMAZING CRICKET GROUNDS – part I

OPTUS STADIUM, PERTH- THE BEST STADIUM

 “ Footy is back “ the official Tagline greets you At the Optus Stadium, Perth.

 A nostalgic Recalling the  of Inauguration day remarks of the New Optus stadium on 30th April 2018 is vivid in fans memory.

“Today’s record-breaking turnout is testament to the quality of this venue and its status as WA’s new home of sport. Western Australians are rightly proud of their new, world-class stadium and they are voting with their feet to show it “.-  Said Sports and Recreation Minister Mick Murray – on the inauguration day of the stadium on 30th April 2018. 

On the inauguration day more than 56,000 people witnessed the inaugural West Derby match for the Fermantle Dockers Vs West coast Eagles match. 

Stadium History

The multi purpose stadium built in 2018 and opened in Jan.2018 also hosts events like Concerts

And live shows, and games like Cricket, Rugby league besides Soccer (AFL).

AFL was the most highly attended event in2018 with 1.3 million watching the game.

Around 120000 were at Ed Sheeran’s 2 shows, Taylor Swift’s Reputation stadium tour concert  attracted 48,405 fans.  Cricket also attracted 81,000 for the Test match between India & Australia in Dec. 2018.

2 Million people attended major sport and entertainment events at the Stadium in 2018 with a gate receipt of  $129 million.

The stadium also hosted Manchester United Australia Tour playing its  two matches 

In July 2019 with Perth Glory and Leeds United attracting 1,00,000 fans and 

The Stadium was decorated with Red lights.

The most stunning beautiful Optus  stadium bagged the prestigious 2019 Prix Versailles International Architecture Award for the Most beautiful stadium in the world and also winning Australia’s Best stadium In 2019 stadium Awards, winning by public vote on the Austadiums website.

The stadium hosted its first  international cricket Test match on 14th Dec.2018 when India Played its 2nd Test here and Australia won this test by 146 runs.

FACILITIES 

• 5 drop-in wickets
• 16 Out door practice wickets
• Playing surface 177 m x 141 cm
• 60000 seats capacity
• Sight screens positioned to reduce impact on fan views 
• 2 dedicated player viewing rooms with direct access to changing rooms and playing surface
• More than 50 food and beverage outlets
• The Locker room offers fans the opportunity to watch the players warm up and view the post-match media conference
• The Skyview lounge is located underneath a super screen.  Patrons can stand and watch an event 
• The Riverview Rooms on the western end provide spectacular views across Swan River and can operate independently or combined accommodating a total of 1200 people in one connected space.
• 50 hectares of ground level parking and 12.5 hectares additional land for a multi-storey car park
• Optus stadium caters for everyone regardless of age, experience or ability
• Individuals requiring Universal Access (IRUA) features of the stadium :-

                * 360 degree view across all general admission levels

                *       IRUA seating throughout the stadium

                *      Over 60 Universal accessible toilets

• 12 Lifts throughout the system
• The stadium has been built with integrated train, bus and pedestrian solutions to provide spectators with multiple transport options.   Perth stadium train station gives fans easy access to the venue

M.A. Chidambaram stadium, Chennai

MAC Stadium An iconic symbol of Chennaites , MAC holds a special spot in the hearts of cricket frenzy fans.

History of the stadium

Established in 1916 by Madras Cricket Club this stadium is second oldest stadium in India after Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Named after M.A. Chidambaram, a former BCCI President, formerly known as Madras cricket Club ground affectionately known as Chepauk stadium.

Location

Situated in a total area of 7,52,000 Sqft along side of Marina Beach of Bay of Bengal. Cooum river runs tangentially to the North side of stadium and adjacent to Cheapuk MRTS Railway station on the eastern side.

Soil & Drainage system

The top soil has 70% sand followed by another layer of pure sand which makes it a fast drying ground. The ground possessed perforated PVC pipes that have been laid all around the square and in a herringbone design. The pipes slope outwards to that rain water gets collected into the drain which has been built across the boundary line area. With such a robust drainage system in place, conducting matches is not difficult.

EARLY DAYS

The first ever Ranjit Trophy match was played here in 1934 between Madras & Mysore when A.G. Ram Singh, left arm spun Mysore team within a day on November 4, 1934 to set up a victory for Madras team.The first test match was played here in 1934 when England team led by Douglas Jardine (” Bodyline “series (in)famous captain) played its 3rd Test of the series here . Our team was led by Col. C.K. Nayudu tasted its defeat by 202 runs despite Amar Singh, the medium pacer bowling his heart out.

INDIA’s first Test Win

India scored its first ever Test match win here in 1952 when Vinoo Mankad spun India to victory by an Innings and 8 runs with his left arm tweaks with his 12 wickets haul.

Important milestones

• Gundappa Viswanath’s fighting knock of 97* in 1975 against West Indies. Their bowling attack spearheaded by Andy Roberts, who took his career best of 12 /140. After Vishy’s gallant knock, Indian spinners won the Test for India.
• India had their moments of forgettable performance in 1976-77 series against the visiting England, when their batting reached its nadir being bowled out for just 83 runs, their lowest in Chennai. England’s bowler John Lever was accused of using Vaseline to shine the ball. That accusation was inconclusive and Indian Captain Bedi bore the brunt by the English Press and he also lost his English County contract.
• Sunil Gavaskar’s fighting knock of 236 *, his career best, batting at No.4 position against West Indies in 1983
• Sachin Tendulkar’s 3 centuries which ended in India’s win at the hustings, viz., 1993 against England, 1998 against Australia and 2008 against England.

India’s 759/7 declared is highest for India in Tests. It was achieved during 2016 series of visiting England team. A young Karun Nair scored India’s second batsman to score a triple century ( 303 *) along with another youngster K.L. Rahul ( who scored 199 runs) made a heavy weather of England’s hapless bowling attack and set up an Innings victory for India.

India’s 387/4 in the 4th Innings of a Test became the Highest successful chase in a Test in India in 2008 when Sachin Tendulkar scored a brilliant century

Narendra Hirwani, the Leg spinner on his debut here in 1987 took 16 wickets against West Indies to set up a win for India. The SECOND TIED test was made here in 1986 between India & Australia

Virendar Shewag scored India’s First Triple Century ( 319 Runs). It was also fastest triple century in Tests scored off 278 balls in April 2008 against South Africa.

M.S. Dhoni, the captain scored a scintillating double century in 2013 against Aussies to become the only Indian wicketkeeper to do so.

IPL CRICKET

The home ground of franchise owned Chennai Superkings (CSK). CSK is a popular brand synoymous with Chennaites has won the IPL titles 3 times with M.S. Dhoni, the Captain, leading from the front on many occasions in a winning cause. Though CSK was mired with controversy for betting charges and banned for 2 years in 2016 & 2017, it is still a favourite IPL team .

ODI

India did well in ODIs also here. 23 ODIs were played here including World cup matches in 1987, 1996, 2011 and Afria & Asia XI matches. India won 7 matches out of 13.

• The first ever ODI was held in 1987 during the World Cup. India hosted Australia and the ODI went like the Tied Test ( in 1986) way when India needed 2 runs in the last ball and the same last man Maninder singh facing that ball. And he was bowled by Steve Waugh and India lost by 1 run in a world cup and Australia went on to win the World cup for the first time.

SACHIN TENDULKAR – A BORN GENIUS

Sachiiiiiiin, Sachin!

You’ve heard the chant. The chant – one that a billion people once lived by; one that would originate from the Wankhede and echo across the cities and the seas. 

 On this day in 2013 , 24 years and a day after his Test debut on 15th November 1989 at Karachi, Tendulkar bid a tearful adieu to Test cricket at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. His 200th Test match, against the West Indies, culminated in a win for India, as Sachin contributed handsomely with a fluent 74. The Wankhede stadium   stunned into silence when he was caught at slip and had to walk back to the pavilion for the last time in an international arena . However, his rousing speech after the match, wherein he mentioned that the chants of “Sachin Sachin will reverberate in my ears until my last breath”, reinvigorated the crowd into a new spree of the chant – perhaps for the last time ever.

A boy , diminutive in size, who didn’t touch a cricket ball until he was 11, making rapid strides in a span of five years at the national level , and then  making it to the international area at the age of 16 years was phenomenal.  Day in day out he practiced the game he loved with passion and breathed all the time.  A child prodigy is born who sent shockwaves with his sterling  performances throughout his career.

On his International  debut match in a Test at Karachi in  Pakistan 1989 like another mercurial all rounder, Kapil Dev, who made his international debut in Pakistan a decade back.   Sachin could score 15 runs only in an half an hour stay with 2 boundary hits before he was bowled by another debutant, Waqar Younis. In the very next test at Faisalabad he hit his First half century. 

 His defining moment came in the fourth test of the series at Sialkot,  When he was hit by a searing bouncer from Waqar Younis  and he was bleeding.  He didn’t call for medical assistance and decided to carry on and in fact hit the very next ball for a boundary.  He went on to score a half century and saved the Test . “Waqar’s bouncer and playing through pain defined me. After those kind of hits you are either stronger or you are nowhere to be seen” Sachin said later.  “Devon and Waqar, during that phase, were easily the two quickest bowlers in the world bowling at 90 mph. Yes, I didn’t call the physio as I didn’t want to show them that I am in pain. My pain threshold was fairly high. It’s okay to get hit. So what? You don’t show your pain to the bowler.”  When he played under childhood coach Achrekar, he had already learned to deal with pain because pitches were often used for 25 days straight at the Shivaji Park Gymkhana. “I was used to getting hit on my body from my days in Shivaji Park as Achrekar sir would make us play on that and it would have enormous wear and tear,” Tendulkar recalled.

 In his Autobiography “Playing it my way”  Sachin mentioned “ I have to decide at that moment whether to play the game or leave it.  I decided to stay in the game.” A decision at the tender age of 16 years was momentous. A “decision”  that shook the world to  look at him as an iconic figure of the game till he hanged his boots in 2013.  

FIRST TEST CENTURY

Another important defining moment was when he scored his first international century at Old Trafford, Manchester in his 9th Test at the age of 17 years and became the youngest Indian to score a century in Tests , a record still  held in his name.   Manchester in England known for its pristine glory in the annals of  cricket including the “Jim Laker’s world record of 19 wickets in a Test against Australia in 1956, saw the young boy Tendulkar making   the headlines with a match saving century in August 1990 when India were staring at a defeat. He along with Manoj Prabhakar put on 160 runs partnership and saved the Test .At Old Trafford, Tendulkar walked in with India 109 for 4, which later became 183 for 6, having been set a sizable 408 for victory. Then Manoj Prabhakar joined him for an unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 160 runs which took India to safety and kept the series alive after India lost the first Test. “Chris Lewis bowled sharp inswing and throughout my career, backfoot cover drive had been my favourite shot,”  Tendulkar said. “The bowler who was the best by far in that series was Angus Fraser. He had a beautiful late outswing, high-arm action, so the ball would bounce and move so late that you had to play at it. “It was a case of showing patience and credit to Manoj that we had a 160-run stand,” he added. “No way till the last over [did we think we were safe in the match]. We came together when we were six down but me and Manoj together said ‘yeh hum kar sakte hain, match bacha lenge’ (we can save the match).”He said “ playing attacking shots, dominating bowlers, gave him greater satisfaction “.  Angus Fraser, who spearheaded England’s pace attack and who claimed 8 wickets in that test remarked “  A while ago I was watching that partnership. It’s sort of notoriety for myself because I was the bowler off whom he scored the 100th run of his first hundred, but Richie Benaud’s commentary on the BBC was a very welcome piece. Benaud says something like “We’ll see a lot more centuries flow from his bat”.  In fact Angus Fraser is treasuring that Test match’s score card in his possession duly signed by Sachin Tendulkar along with 4 others.  Sachin was declared “Man of the Match” in his first International century match.  Ayaz Memon, famous author and prolific writer on cricket in his book titled “ SaCHIN TENDULKAR , Master Blaster “  remarked that “ Now, a maiden century is a significant landmark in the life of any batsman, but in India, given the obsession with records and milestones, it is accentuated further “.

After scoring a hundred in Manchester, he continued to score freely in the tour of Australia, starting off with a 148 at Sydney and becoming the youngest batsman to score a Test hundred in Australia, and a 114 on a bouncy WACA wicket, which is popularly regarded by himself and experts, as perhaps his best Test innings. After this Perth innings , the mustached Australian Bowler Merv Hughes, remarked to his captain Alan Border “ AB, this boy is a different material”.

“I was very very struck by his technique. I never saw myself play, but I feel, that this fella is playing much the same as I used to play. ”  Sir Donald Bradman, the ultimate batsman, once said to his wife that he felt Tendulkar played the same way as he used to. It was perhaps the ultimate  encomium that a batsman could hope to receive.

Sachin Tendulkar has been the most complete batsman of his time, the most prolific runmaker of all time, and arguably the biggest cricket icon the game has ever known. His batting was based on the purest principles: perfect balance, economy of movement, precision in stroke-making, and that intangible quality given only to geniuses – anticipation.  He could score runs all round the wicket both off the front and back foot.  That was his hallmark quality of batsmanship.

Tendulkar has been the single biggest factor behind the explosion of popularity that cricket enjoys in India which led to the Indian board becoming the richest and most powerful in world cricket. In a country already predisposed to cricket, Tendulkar gave the people a hero they could look up to regardless of age, colour, creed or sect – and catapulted cricket from a sport to a religion in the subcontinent.

 Tendulkar is the runaway leader, with nearly 13,500 runs at No. 4. That represents around 85% of his career. This is also the highest tally of runs scored in any position.

Tendulkar is a servant of the game. He does not play out of indignation nor for indulgence. His aim is not domination but runs. It is the nature of his genius.

Among contemporaries only Shane Warne could draw an entire stadium’s energy towards himself. 

Like Sunil Gavaskar, another legendary Mumbaikar, Tendulkar played lone battle in the Test against Pakistan at Chennai in 1999 and scored a  fighting century but could not prevent Pakistan winning the test by 17 runs.  Like Gavaskar, Tendulkar also enjoyed and  scored more runs  at M.A. Chidambaram stadium in Chennai 970 runs and 5 centuries.  Sachin Tendulkar helped India with a win in 2008 at Chennai.  Chasing 387 runs for victory in the 4th innings against England, Tendulkar in the company of Yuvraj won this test by 5 wickets, helping himself a century.  

DESERT STORM IN 1998 

“In those two matches in that tournament, Sachin played two of the finest knocks ever under pressure and against a top quality attack. He was in prime form,” a slightly awe-struck Azhar says. “270 was a very big score in a final those days, Australia had a fine side and there was a suspicion that the wicket might slow down a touch in the second half.

During the seemingly interminable wait for nature’s desert storm to subside and the Tendulkar Desert Storm to take over, there was an eerie calm inside the dressing-room and in the viewing area. “Sachin was batting really well, Laxman was with him, and when you have two guys like that in the middle, they know exactly what is happening. They know what the score is, the calculator tells you want you need to do. So I didn’t feel the need to have a chat with them at the interruption,” Azhar admits.      

WORLD CUP WIN 

“He has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years; it’s time we carried him on our shoulders\”

– Virat Kohli’s words after his idol Sachin Tendulkar finally got his hands on the long-awaited World Cup trophy.  A fitting reward in 2011 for a man( who waited for 6 world cups) to be a part of World cup winning team  at Wankhade stadium, Mumbai in his hometown.Coming into the 2011 World Cup with a rich vein of form, Tendulkar contributed handsomely to a victorious campaign with 482 runs, the second-most in the tournament, and lifted the World Cup trophy in his homeground. He was paraded around the Wankhede, draped with a tricolour over his shoulders – one of the lasting images of the World Cup and perhaps in the history of World Cup cricket.

ICC AWARD 

Surprisingly after playing for more two decades, Tendulkar won his first ICC cricketer of the year award in 2010. Tendulkar described ‘2010’ as among the best ever in his cricketing career. In February 2010, he became the first batsman to break the 200-run barrier in the one-day cricket.

ODI BOWLING

Tendulkar with his off break and leg break also showed his prowess in bowling in ODIs taking a tally of 154 wickets ( and in Tests also has taken 46 wickets) .

Sachin Tendulkar has defended six or fewer runs in the 50th over in ODIs, the only player to do so. He did so against South Africa in the Hero Cup at Eden Gardens in 1993 and versus Australia in the Titan Cup in Mohali in 1996.

Awards 

He has won MoM awards against all countries except UAE and Berumuda in ODIs.

Man of the Series – 12

Man of the Match – 62 (ODIs)

BIOPIC ON TENDULKAR 

On May 27, 2017 released the sports docudrama, “Sachin: A Billion Dreams” , the ‘authorised’ biopic of Sachin Tendulkar. The film was by James Erskine and produced by Ravi Bhagchandka, and captures Tendulkar’s cricket and personal life in detail. The film also reveals a few aspects of his life which have never been heard of or seen before.

NATIONAL AWARDS

• India’s Highest Civilian Award “ Bharat Ratna” was conferred on him in 2013, the only sportsperson to receive this award.
• Arjuna Award- 1994
• Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award- 1997
• Padma Shri – 1999
• Padma Vibhushan – 2008
• He was also nominated as a  M.P. of  Rajya Sabha in 2012

INTERNATIONAL AWARDS/RECOGNITION

• Wisden’s Cricketer of the year – 1997
• Wisden’s Leading cricketer – 2010
• Honoray Member of the order of Australia
• Honorary Life member at Sydney Cricket Ground 

His unenviable record stands like this , which will be difficult to be surpassed.

1. Number of Tests – 200
2. Number of ODIs – 463
3. Total runs in Tests- 15921
4. Total runs in ODIs- 18426
5. Total wickets  in tests –  46
6. Total wickets in ODIs- 154