Sachin must take some of the blame

Posted: November 9th, 2009 | By Archie Henderson | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged as , ,
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Who’s to blame when Sachin Tendulkar gets a big score, but India lose?
Sachin, or his team-mates?
Last week I blamed Tendulkar for not batting through to the end when India lost by three runs in Hyderabad.
I was excoriated by the usual mob of Sachin sycophants. They regard even the mildest criticism of Tendulkar as blasphemy, deserving of a fatwa.
I know Sachin is getting on (he’s 36), and batting for as long as he did in Hyderabad (210 minutes) cramps the muscles, but he must shoulder some of the blame for that three-run defeat against Australia.
When he was seventh out in Hyderabad, India needed only 19 runs to get. With three wickets still standing, and Praveen Kumar being one of them, you would have thought it would be a cakewalk. But India fell short.
It was a crucial victory for Australia because at that point the series was locked at 2-2 and the win gave them an opening to take the series.
Tendulkar should have known better than leaving it to the tail-enders. There was a similar run chase in 1999 when India were again let down by Tendulkar and those following him.
In the first Test at Chennai in January 1999 against Pakistan, India were chasing 271 in the fourth innings. Sachin was going, dare we say it, like a steam train.
Pakistan had made 238 and India, in reply, 254, with Tendulkar scoring a duck.
In the second innings, Pakistan almost fell apart and were saved mainly by Shahid Afridi, who hit 141 in opening the batting. Inzy got a half-century, but there was little else.
India were awful in the chase. At one point they were 82 for five, but at least Sachin was still there. He and Nayan Mongia put on 136 for the sixth wicket to give them hope of victory.
When Tendulkar’s wicket was the seventh to fall, India needed only 17 — and they couldn’t do it.
Whom to blame? It makes for an interesting debate, but Sachin must take some of the blame.

Related posts:

  1. Sachin steps onto the stage
  2. Tendulkar is to blame
  3. Piechucker gets Sachin
  4. Ponting v Tendulkar
  5. Sachin WILL play

 

Comments

 

Al

November 9, 2009 at 2:37 pm

Dearest Archie,
I guess I could be classified as your typical Tendulkar “sychophant”,”fanatic” …what have you and
OF COURSE, as you wisely claim, Tendulkar is to blame. However, carrying the logic a little further the obvious “question” is not only how much he is to blame for the loss, but also how much he is to “blame” for carrying the team so close to a win.
I would love for you to check the stats for ANY batsman in ANY form of the game who came in when required to chase more than 250 runs, was hanging around till the very end. (you will find perhaps one or max two innings in the entire careers of even the greatest batsmen)
Tendulkars greatness makes us “require” more from – and rightly so. But when do the expectations become irrational?
Of course he should have done so and so, as you claim, but as mentioned how many innings have batsmen (even the greatest ones) played of the type when they came in early and were there till the end when chasing big scores? Hardly the one in their ENTIRE careers, I can assure you.
I guess it is simply human nature- when we see this almost too good to be true, near perfect diamond – it is the odd cracks in the diamond that attract more interest than the magnificence of the remaining 99%.
So, that’s the thing about your argument- totally logical, and near irrefutable. Sure, with your incredible and unparalled insight you have spotted the cracks, but…

 

sahil sharma

November 9, 2009 at 11:11 pm

wee so wat r u MSD schiphant, please done ever meet me in person…
u people always forget what he has done for india… he is the god..
anything u say AGAINST HIM IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE BLASPHEMY… its easy to attack him, and fashinable as it gets u printed….

 

Shanks

November 10, 2009 at 3:40 am

Yes Sachin is to blame….

he is to blame because he is a one man army

he is to blame because he has set standards such that when he scores a fifty he is equal to a duck scored by other batsmaen, when he scores hundred we shrug and when he scores over hundred we clap and say he should have won the match

he is to blame because he takes loss personally and tries hard to counter in the next matches

he is to blame because he never reacts and shows his emotions

he is to blame because he talked with his bat when olonga made a ‘funny’ guesture when he was out only to end his career in the next few matches

he is to blame because he forgets it is a team game though he knows the other 10 do nothing and still tries to win matches for India

he is to blame because not only does he play for himself but also plays for the other person

he is to blame for 20 years of service to cricket in india

he is to be blamed because he thinks he can win matches

just like you blame god when god doesn’t do things for you… I lost my job because god is bad, i lost my girlfriend because god did not help me, I lost my savings because god made me place the bet… you look up to the one entity who lets you down

Yes Sachin is to be blamed for making people look up to him! But funny he will still continue to be blamed because he cannot give up on his people!

 

Lucas

November 17, 2009 at 6:14 am

I think it was unfair to blame Tendulkar for their loss against Australia. He laid a good foundation for other batsman. Other players should have taken the responsibility after his wicket had fallen.

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  • About

    Archie Henderson doesn't get much of a game these days. He hasn't scored a run in two seasons, he has lost a mile of pace and the last time he turned a ball was when it hit a stone on the pitch. So this former batting-bowling allrounder (he performed poorly in both, and didn't field too well either) now directs his cricketing energies to his Times LIVE blog. Read his opinionated views on anything regarding cricket

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