Shane Warne has always had awe for Sachin Tendulkar as a batsman and despite his rivalry with the Master Blaster on the field, has always talked high of the legend. Pleaded for an end to the talk of Sachin Tendulkar's retirement, the legendary leg-spinner joined the international chorus of appreciation for the iconic Indian cricketer who scripted history by completing a century of international tons, says a report in the Indian Express.
Apart from his close friend Warne, cricket legends such as Sir Vivian Richards, former Australian captain Ian Chappell, Ian Botham, Rahul Dravid, Kevin Pietersen and Tony Greig were among those who paid glowing tributes to the champion batsman.
"Congrats to Sachin on reaching his 100th international 100- just awesome buddy Please press no retirement Q'S and let Sachin enjoy the moment," Warne tweeted after Tendulkar reached the milestone against Bangladesh in an Asia Cup match in Mirpur, adds the report.
According to a report in the Indian Express, Sachin Tendulkar ushered in his first day after completing a century of centuries, by sipping wine with his teammates. “After opening a bottle of champagne, he cut a cake in his hotel room, one littered with balloons. He also caught up on some sleep. Then, well into the day following his landmark 114 against Bangladesh, Tendulkar claimed that the relief of reaching the much-anticipated landmark had meant he could finally gift himself a night of sound sleep,” adds the report.
“I have to admit I was relieved. This is now out of the way and I can start a new chapter,” said Tendulkar, before revealing just how hard the lack of achieving the milestone on an earlier day was. “It was possibly the toughest phase of my life. There was so much hype and attention about the 100th hundred. I thought I possibly batted the best in my life, got close in a couple of games but I couldn’t achieve it. There are no specific reasons for that. At times I was luckless. Sometimes you need to have luck on your side to cross the final hurdle,” he added in a candid interaction with the Indian media on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Tendulkar dedicated his ton to elder brother Ajit. “He has guided me throughout and this is something I want to dedicate to him. Whenever I went in to bat, I knew he was always there,” he said, according to a report in Hindustan Times.
After scoring the ton of tons Sachin Tendulkar will now be free, both in mind and body, for the most-awaited clash with Pakistan, writes Dilip Vengsarkar in his column in The Times Of India. “India, like in the past 23 years, will once again need the firepower of Tendulkar to tackle the guiles of Pakistan bowlers and keep alive their hopes. Unfortunately, the loss to Bangladesh is going to haunt them, for losing to a less-fancied team puts the team on the backfoot straightaway,” write Vengsarkar, adding that if one goes by history, it’s always better to bat first against Pakistan and put them under pressure while chasing.
Meanwhile Indian batting is still a force to reckon with but the bowlers are dragging the team down, says a report in TOI. “The bowling is very weak. Forget home condition where life is tough for pacers, our bowling was exposed even in England and Australia,” former cricketer Ajay Jadeja said. He added that it doesn’t matter much whether you play four bowlers with an allrounder or five bowlers. The fundamental problem is lack of variety.
Another former cricketer, Chetan Chauhan, said: “They bowled half volleys and full tosses (against Bangladesh). Wicket-to-wicket is the way out on these surfaces.”
However, Kapil Dev sees the problem elsewhere. “The board needs to address this problem. Just by hiring a foreign coach, you can’t fix the problem. To improve the bowling standard, we need to plan well,” Kapil added.
