Sachin Tendulkar's 100th ton: Ecstatic but not proud!
After those anxious moments when he was in his nineties, I celebrated along with every member of my team once he got there. We are proud of the feat, after all nobody has ever scored a century of century, but are we as proud of how he got it?
I know all of you there feel the same but hate to admit it, and some of you even want me headless. Yes, I am happy that Sachin has finally scored his hundredth hundred. It was a long wait. No, it was looonnngg wait. Going by his standards, 33 innings without a century are far too much.
After those anxious moments when he was in his nineties, I celebrated along with every member of my team once he got there. We were ecstatic and relieved! We are proud of the feat, after all nobody has ever scored a century of century, but are we as proud of how he got it? Hold your daggers till I finish.
I see the point that some of you would want to make against my opinion that had he failed to score today, the media would have lambasted him for failing against a small team like Bangladesh. Perhaps! A century is a century as the cricket pundits say and the statisticians jot down, but for a player as big as Tendulkar, a failure against a minnow is as big as his success against a bigger team and the vice versa. So had this celebrated century come against Australia, it would have become legendary.
I am as proud of Tendulkar as any Indian would be of his successes. Being there for 22 years and performing better than the best in the business is not an easy task. And that's why I and many fans like me always want Sachin to achieve every feat with metaphorical excellence. His every milestone must be a benchmark for the generations to come. After all, isn't he the 'God of Cricket'?!
And perhaps that's why I also want him to quit, with head and his bat held high. No dragging of his willow and drooping of his shoulders that carried the hopes and wishes of a billion over two decades. He was a symbol of a growing India in the 90s. And in the last decade, he showed what 'coming off age' means.
And now it's time for the final leap. Every good thing should come to an end at the right time so that it leaves behind fond memories. And he has given us uncountable memories which we want to cherish forever, including his 100th ton vs Bangladesh!