2. AUTHORS Sachin Tendulkar &
Boria Majumdar
COUNTRY India
LANGUAGE English
GENRE Autobiography
PUBLISHER Hodder & Stoughton
(worldwide)
Hachette India (In the
subcontinent
PUBLISHING DATE 5 November 2014
MEDIA TYPE Print (Hardcover)
PAGES 486
ISBN NO. 978-14-736-0520-6
3. ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Sachin Tendulkar &
Boria Majumdar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is
a
former Indian cricketer and
captain, widely regarded as one
of the greatest batsmen of all
time. He is the the only player
to complete more than
30,000 runs in international
cricket.
Boria Majumdar is an Indian
sports journalist and author. He
completed BA & MA in history
from University of Calcutta. He
was awarded DPhil in history
from University of Oxford in
2004.
4. The Autobiography has 28 chapters, covering every aspect of
the authorâs life, along with the dedication ,acknowledgement and the
prologue page.
5.
6. ď˘ When Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar made his test debut against
Pakistan as a 16 year old, little did the world know that the curly-haired
teenager would one day become one of the greatest legends of the
game.
Childhood & Early Life
ď˘ He was born as the youngest of four siblings to Ramesh Tendulkar, a
Marathi novelist and Rajni, who worked in the insurance industry. He
was named after his fatherâs favorite music director, Sachin Dev
Burman.
ď˘ As a young boy he was a bully. His older brother encouraged him to
play cricket in order to divert his attention from fights and got him
enrolled at the academy of the coach, Ramakant Achrekar.
ď˘ He went to Sharadashram Vidyamandir High School at the advice of
Achrekar as the school had a rich cricketing tradition. He shone as a
star cricketer playing for his school.
ď˘ Along with his friend Vinod Kambli, he was involved in a record 664-run
partnership in an inter school match against St. Xavierâs High School in
1988.
7. SACHINâS EARLY YEARS OF CRICKET
⢠School: Sharadashram Vidyamandir where he began his cricketing career
⢠Coach and mentor : Ramakant Achrekar.
⢠First professional camp : MRF Pace Foundation to train as a fast bowler
⢠Chief coach Dennis Lillee was unimpressed with his bowling and suggested that he
focus on his batting instead.
⢠Achrekar would put a coin on the top of the stumps, and the bowler who
dismissed Tendulkar would win the coin.
⢠If Tendulkar passed the whole session without getting dismissed, the coach
would give him the coin.
⢠Tendulkar now considers the 13 coins he won then as some of his most
prized possessions.
Firstcricketcamp:
Mentorandcoach:
8.
9. ď˘ The two of them first met at the Mumbai International
Airport. Sachin was returning from his first international
cricket tour in 1990 while Anjali was at the airport to receive
her mother. Later, the two met at a common friendâs place
and got to know each other better. On May 24, 1995, after a
five-year long period of dating each other ,these two got
married.
ď˘ Also, at the launch of Sachin's autobiography, Playing It My
Way, Anjali shared a few interesting secrets of their
courtship days. And, here they are:
ďą She told that she used to write letters to Sachin just to save
on international telephone bills.
ďą She also mentioned that she used to walk across 46 acres in
darkness and brave goons to call Sachin in New Zealand.
ďą Anjli also revealed that she went to Sachin's house for the
first time disguised as a journalist.
10.
11. ď˘ He first took over as skipper in 1996 but by 1997 the
team was performing so poorly that he was
dropped from the position.
Hereâs what he had to say about his captaincy :
âTo me, cricket is team work and not about
individuals. There are stages where captain come
into play and captain will guide, take important
decisions on the field but eventually the batsmen
would have to go out and score runs and
the bowlers have to land the ball in those areasâ.
âMy tenure was not long enough and it was a
big disappointment for me to overcomeâ.
12. o Captaincy Record in Tests
He captained India in 25 test matches, between 1996 to 2000. (4 vs
Australia, 3 vs New Zealand, 8 vs South Africa, 5 vs Sri Lanka and 5 vs
West Indies).
He won 4 tests, lost 9 and drew 12 tests as captain of Indian test
team.
Tendulkar made 2054 runs as captain with 7 centuries, average of
51.35, best of 217 and even took 4 wickets with best bowling of 3 for
10 wkts against South Africa.
o Captaincy Record in ODIs
Sachin Tendulkar lead India in 73 ODI (8 vs Australia, 1 vs Bangladesh,
1 vs England, 6 vs New Zealand, 21 vs Pakistan, 10 vs South Africa, 13
vs Sri Lanka, 7 vs West Indies & 6 vs Zimbabwe)
He won 23, lost 43, tied once and 6 were no results.
As captain plus batsman, Tendulkar made 2454 ODI runs at an
average of only 37.75 with best score of 186* vs New Zealand along
side 6 centuries and took 11 wickets.
14. THE BEGINNING OF THE
QUEST
ď˘ Sachin Tendulkar produced a fairytale run in the 2003 World Cup. In the
2003 World Cup, he didn't bat a single ball in the nets, right through the
tournament. He only got throw-downs. He just received hundreds of
throw-downs through the whole tournament.
ď˘ "All were wondering ,âWhy is he doing that?â
When Rahul Dravid asked him, he said, âI'm feeling good. I don't want to
go into the nets and waste the touch. I want to feel good about my
batting. If I have that sort of feeling, I will score runs when I go in.â
ď˘ The teamâs underwhelming performances in South Africa so far were not
going down well with supporters at home and some irate fans had
vented their fury that evening by throwing tar at Mohammad Kaifâs
home in Uttar Pradesh. It was alarming to read about the hostile
reaction in India and Sachin eventually had to issue a formal appeal, in
the form of a media release, to try to pacify the fans. This had some
effect and they were able to concentrate once again on the task at hand.
15. INDIA V/S PAKISTAN 2003
ď˘ The first time he heard people talking about the IndiaâPakistan
fixture at Centurion Park on 1 March 2003 was exactly a year earlier,
when some of his friends had been discussing it with great
excitement.
ď˘ The intensity of the game was such that he could not sleep properly
for three nights before the game. If there was ever a match
everyone wanted to win, it was this one. The nation would brook
no failure and for many of our fans this was the true final. It really
did not matter to them what happened in the rest of the
tournament, as long as we managed to beat Pakistan at Centurion.
ď˘ During the break he hardly spoke to anyone at all. Nor did he eat
much. In fact, for most of the time he had his headphones on and
listened to music, trying to work himself into the right frame of
mind.
16. ď˘ During the innings break, he didnât ate much. He just had a big bowl of
ice cream and a banana to give himself some energy and asked Parthiv
Patel to let him know as soon as the umpires had walked out to the
middle. When they were in position, Sachin picked up his bat and went
out to start the run chase.
ď˘ Sachin took the strike on that day as they needed to play out the initial
burst from the Pakistani fast bowlers. Needless to say, Wasim Akram,
Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar were capable of doing a lot of early
damage.
ď˘ He scored 98 runs in this match. Sachin ranks this innings as one of the
best he ever played because of the immense pressure it was played
under. Each boundary brought him an ovation from the raucous crowd.
ď˘ After winning the match, the team decided to go out for something to
eat. It was close to midnight and they ended up going to a roadside stall
for Chinese food. However he forgot his MOM award at the food stall
himself. The team manager immediately called the stall and told the stall
owner about the same. The team then rushed back and, to their
enormous relief, an elderly lady handed over the bag with a smile.
17. THE FINALS V/S
AUSTRALIA
ď˘ When the team got to the ground the next match day, they
immediately went over to take a look at the surface. There
was some moisture in the pitch and, given it was a day
game, the fast bowlers were sure to get some early
assistance. The team decided to field first if they won the
toss. And thatâs what they did, but the decision turned out
to be a disaster, with Ricky Ponting playing one of the best
one-day innings of all time making 140 .Australia scored a
mammoth 359 in their fifty overs.
ď˘ The team was highly disappointed after this. But in the
team discussion at the interval Sachin reckoned that they
needed to hit one boundary every over and then score the
remaining 160 runs in 250 balls. It was an attempt to be
positive, as there was no other option left to them at that
point.
18. ď˘ In the middle of the innings there was some light drizzle and it turned
really dark. This time the whole team was praying for rain and hoping
that the match would be washed out, forcing a re-match the next day.
But that didnât happened.
ď˘ In my disappointment, Sachin did not even noticed that the bat he was
presented with as the Man of the Tournament was made of gold and was
specially crafted. Most of the players were still upset and were in no
mood to talk. It would take a long time to get over the disappointment.
ď˘ Hereâs what he had to say after the WC 2003
âLooking back, the 2003 World Cup remains a bitter-sweet memory. We
played some excellent cricket as a team and I contributed well in almost
all of the matchesâbut not in the final.
Beating England and Pakistan were unforgettable high points, but the
World Cup trophy was still eluding me. â
21. INJURY COUNT
ď˘ His injury count started way back in 1999. In March-April that year a back
injury forced Sachin out of the tri-series featuring Pakistan and Sri Lanka
at home and the tri-series featuring Pakistan and England at Sharjah.
ď˘ His toe-injury, which often flares up, dates back to 2001. Then he was
forced to sit out of the tri-series against New Zealand and hosts Sri
Lanka.
ď˘ The year 2002 proved to be a bad one for Master Blaster Sachin
Tendulkar. A thigh injury in 2002 kept him out of a One-Day series against
Zimbabwe and in the same year a hamstring injury kept him away from
playing the West Indies at home.
ď˘ In 2003 Sachin Tendulkar was out due to an ankle injury. Later that year a
finger injury kept him away from the game.
22. ď˘ Sachin Tendulkar was out of action for most part of 2004
and 2005 owing to his tennis elbow injury .Later, he had to
undergo a surgery for the problem.
ď˘ In 2006 Sachin Tendulkar went through a shoulder surgery
and the next year saw him out of action with a broken
knee.
ď˘ In 2008, Sachin Tendulkar missed matches in the inaugural
season of Indian Premier League due to a groin injury.
ď˘ In January 2012, Sachin Tendulkar was ruled out of the
remainder of the ODI series against South Africa after
injuring his right hamstring during the second ODI at the
Wanderers.
ď˘ S. Badrinath replaced Sachin Tendulkar in the Indian ODI squad
for the 2012 NatWest Series against England after a toe-injury
ruined the Master Blaster's tour.
23. ICC WORLD CUP 2007
ď˘ For the 2007 tournament, India had what was considered a decent World
Cup squad, as they had three batsmen who had scored more than 10,000
ODI runs , world class spin bowlers , destructive batsmen , and a decent
pace bowling attack led by Zaheer Khan.
ď˘ India's World Cup campaign started disastrously, as they unexpectedly
lost to minnows Bangladesh in their opening match, leaving them with
two must-win matches in their group. India won the lopsided game by
257 runs against Bermuda. But they still needed to beat Sri Lanka in their
last group match in order to enter the Super Eight stage. However The
match against Sri Lanka on 23 March 2007 turned out to be a one-sided
contest. Chasing 255, the Indian batting crumbled against the Sri Lankan
bowling attack, crashing to 185 all out in the 44th over. India's hopes of
entering the Super Eight stage were now grim and with Bangladesh
beating Bermuda, India crashed out of the World Cup in the first round,
the first time since 1992.
24. ď˘ There were no positives India could take from the tournament,
barring the heavy win against Bermuda. Apart from Sehwag,
Ganguly and Yuvraj, who scored 164, 162 and 136 runs
respectively, no other Indian batsman could accumulate even
100 runs. The bowling was even more pathetic, with Zaheer
being India's best bowler with 5 wickets.
ď˘ After the debacle, Kumble retired from ODI cricket, while
coach Greg Chappell resigned after reports that none of the
senior players, including Tendulkar, were happy with him and
his coaching methods. However, Dravid retained the captaincy.
ď˘ There were several attacks on players homes and protests by
infuriated fans, especially in Bangalore and Mumbai. The media
started making cheap remarks about the players, questioning
their capabilities and repeatedly started asking senior players
like Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly about their retirement.
25. CONTROVERSY WITH
GREG CHAPPELL
Below are some extracts from the autobiography itself
o âAfter the 2007 WC disaster ,our coach Greg Chappell, was
publicly questioning our commitment andâ
o âChappell seemed intent on dropping all the older players .On
one occasion, he asked VVS Laxman to consider opening the
batting .Laxman politely turned him down, saying he had tried
opening in the first half of his career because he was confused,
but now he was settled in the middle order and Greg should
consider him as a middle-order batsman. Gregâs response
stunned us all. He told Laxman he should be careful, because
making a comeback at the age of thirty-two might not be easy.â
26. ď˘ âI also remember that every time India won, Greg could be seen leading
the team to the hotel or into the team bus, but every time India lost he
would thrust the players in front.â
ď˘ âJust months before the World Cup, Chappell had come to see me at
home and, to my dismay, suggested that I should take over the
captaincy from Rahul Dravid. Anjali, who was sitting with me, was
equally shocked to hear him say that âtogether, we could control Indian
cricket for years,â and that he would help me in taking over the reins of
the side.
I was surprised to hear the coach not showing the slightest amount of
respect for the captain, with cricketâs biggest tournament just months
away. I rejected his proposition outright. He stayed for a couple of hours,
trying to convince me, before finally leaving.â
CONTD.
28. A BILLION DREAMS
ď˘ As one of the host nations for the 2011 World Cup, India
were expected to perform well in familiar conditions, and
were considered pre-tournament favourites by the media
and press.
29. ď˘ âIt felt astonishing. It was a kind of satisfactionI had never
experienced before. Cricketâs greatest prize was finallyours.â
33. â˘Sachin: The Story of the World's Greatest Batsman by Gulu Ezekiel.
â˘The A to Z of Sachin Tendulkar by Gulu Ezekiel.
â˘Sachin Tendulkar-a definitive biography by Vaibhav Purandare.
â˘Sachin Tendulkar â Masterful by Peter Murray, Ashish Shukla.
â˘If Cricket is a Religion, Sachin is God by Vijay Santhanam, Shyam Balasubramanian
â˘Master Stroke: 100 Centuries of Sachin Tendulkar by Neelima Athalye.
â˘Dhruvtara, was launched as an audio book on Monday, 15 October 2012 to mark White
Cane Day.
Sachinâs Major Biographies
34. LIMCA BOOK OF
RECORDS
ď˘ The autobiography, published by Hachette India, was
released on Nov 6, 2014 and has broken all records
for an adult hardback across both fiction and non-
fiction categories with 1,50,289 copies confirmed on
order subscriptions. The book's orders, on day one,
already saw it pulling ahead of both pre-order and
lifetime sales of the world's top adult hardbacks Dan
Brown's Inferno, Walter Issacson's Steve Jobs and JK
Rowling's Casual Vacancy.
ď˘ This autobiography could be purchased from any
online retailer shops, prices may vary from site to
site.