For a few hours on November 14 and November 15 in 2013, the crowed at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai were up on their feet throughout and chanting a single world: “Sachin, Sachin!”. As Sachin Tendulkar batted for India for one last time, those who had gathered to celebrate the occasion went berserk. India won the Test match against West Indies by an innings and 126 runs, but all that people remember are Tendulkar’s 74 in his final innings and his retirement speech on November 16.
Having started his international career on November 15, 1989, Tendulkar played cricket at the highest level for 24 years. In a career that spanned decades, Tendulkar was often at the pinnacle of his sport and considered one of the greatest batsmen to have ever graced the game.
With 15,921 Test runs and 18,426 runs in ODIs to go with his 100 international hundreds, Tendulkar holds innumerable records, some of them seemingly insurmountable. An era in cricket, and Indian cricket in particular, came to an end with Tendulkar’s retirement, but those he passed the baton onto have been carrying the burden admirably.
While Mahendra Singh Dhoni took the mantle initially – as a batsman, captain and the crowd’s hero – Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma too dominated as batsmen as the years went on. We have often had a batting department to boast about while our bowling fails us, but that has changed in the last few years. With a dream pace attack led by Jasprit Bumrah and skilled spinners in every format, India are now as good in their bowling, as they are in batting as well.
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