***Official*** Tendulkar vs Ponting Thread

[centurymaker]

Why?

The conditions are so dissimilar to NZ, england, SA, and Aus.

 

[Flem274*]

I don't think that's fair Ankit. All through school cricket I made a niche out of bowling complete **** to far superior batsmen and getting them out.

Sometimes the most innocuous bowlers can be the most difficult to face.

Tendulkar did say McGrath and someone else were the best he faced in the article, it's just Cronje made the better headline.

 

[Ruckus]

I don't think that's fair Ankit. All through school cricket I made a niche out of bowling complete **** to far superior batsmen and getting them out.

Sometimes the most innocuous bowlers can be the most difficult to face.

Tendulkar did say McGrath and someone else were the best he faced in the article, it's just Cronje made the better headline.

I have to admit though, even though Tendulkar shows great sportsmanship and generally is very humble, occasionally a little bit of false modesty comes through.

For instance, at the end of the recent test series against Aus, when he was asked by Ravi something about a landmark moment (might have been the 14000 runs, can't remember exactly) he said something along the lines of "I don't like to count, I just make as many runs as possible". But just from observation, I think it clear he is very aware of any records etc. and is really keen on being the no. 1 run scorer (which is natural, why wouldn't you care about these things?). Yet he always seems to brush these things aside, as if they are of no importance to him.

That being said though, on the whole he genuinely seems a very modest, humble person.

 

[ankitj]

I don't think that's fair Ankit. All through school cricket I made a niche out of bowling complete **** to far superior batsmen and getting them out.

Sometimes the most innocuous bowlers can be the most difficult to face.

Tendulkar did say McGrath and someone else were the best he faced in the article, it's just Cronje made the better headline.

Just a personal impression I get about Sachin. I won't keep defending it.

And yes I know exactly which match Sachin is talking about in that interview. I remember how much he got out for, remember that Dravid also hit a six off Donald in the same game and remember India lost the match after being in a very good situation. I remember that whole tour actually and I can say Donald was his bigger nemesis.

 

[Burgey]

The conditions are so dissimilar to NZ, england, SA, and Aus.

But you can't generalize like that. For some batsmen India won't be as difficult as, say SA. I don't think many batsmen from outside the SC regarded India as the ultimate test for them in thr 80s or 90s when they looked six months ahead on the calendar and saw a tour of the West indies coming up.

 

[honestbharani]

I have to admit though, even though Tendulkar shows great sportsmanship and generally is very humble, occasionally a little bit of false modesty comes through.

For instance, at the end of the recent test series against Aus, when he was asked by Ravi something about a landmark moment (might have been the 14000 runs, can't remember exactly) he said something along the lines of "I don't like to count, I just make as many runs as possible". But just from observation, I think it clear he is very aware of any records etc. and is really keen on being the no. 1 run scorer (which is natural, why wouldn't you care about these things?). Yet he always seems to brush these things aside, as if they are of no importance to him.

That being said though, on the whole he genuinely seems a very modest, humble person.

I always got the impression that he is someone with a great amount of pride at being the best.. Not just him personally, also the team. That would explain why he is rather more reluctant to go out and state someone WAS better than him like so many others do. At the same time, it is also clear that this attitude is perhaps what makes him the great player he is. You saw how he reacted when we won the second test against Australia. This #1 thing means a lot to him, both him being #1 as a batsman and his team being #1... If it helps us win more games, I say long live that attitude. I mean there is nothing really wrong with it. Plenty of people state false statements for the media, don't they?

 

[Shri]

I am not saying he has any bigger weakness than any other batsman of his time. I just don't agree that Cronje is the kind of bowler who could have troubled Tendulkar for any length of time. Tendulkar would have on some day easily taken him apart if he played him enough.

Every great batsman gets out to great fast bowlers. Even Viv was bounced out by Lillee on at least one occasion. You should just be secure enough to name a great bowler as the toughest to face rather than naming Cronje, Pedro Collins or Razzaq. McGrath and Donald are easily easily the bowlers who had most success against Sachin. You could call the contests even perhaps but at least they were notable contests.

We are going down the Murali's top 10 batsmen route again. Do you think you are a better judge of a player's game than the player himself?

 

[ankitj]

We are going down the Murali's top 10 batsmen route again. Do you think you are a better judge of a player's game than the player himself?

Let's just leave it at that. I don't have anything new to add to what I've said

 

[Ruckus]

I always got the impression that he is someone with a great amount of pride at being the best.. Not just him personally, also the team. That would explain why he is rather more reluctant to go out and state someone WAS better than him like so many others do. At the same time, it is also clear that this attitude is perhaps what makes him the great player he is. You saw how he reacted when we won the second test against Australia. This #1 thing means a lot to him, both him being #1 as a batsman and his team being #1... If it helps us win more games, I say long live that attitude. I mean there is nothing really wrong with it. Plenty of people state false statements for the media, don't they?

Yeh I just kind of wish he would speak his mind a bit more regarding his personal goals. If there is one thing Tendulkar could learn from Ponting (and there probably is only one thing!), it would be to say things as they are, rather than trying to protect his image by pretending he doesn't care about individual records. I have always found Ponting very open, a trait which is often interpreted as arrogance by the media and spectators. But that obviously doesn't deter him, and props to him for that.

 

[ankitj]

Yeh I just kind of wish he would speak his mind a bit more regarding his personal goals. If there is one thing Tendulkar could learn from Ponting (and there probably is only one thing!), it would be to say things as they are, rather than trying to protect his image by pretending he doesn't care about individual records. I have always found Ponting very open, a trait which is often interpreted as arrogance by the media and spectators. But that obviously doesn't deter him, and props to him for that.

True. Tendulkar does love his records. There is no other reason why he is skipping so many ODI series and playing all test series. Ponting is within 2000 runs of Tendulkar's aggregate in tests so that's the territory he wants to protect more.

Nothing too wrong in being fond of records but I wish he played more ODIs. He notched up three 150+ scores within 12 months (compared to only two in 19+ years before that). Given he is in such peerless form, he should have played more ODIs and perhaps sacrificed IPL and Champion's league.

 

[centurymaker]

Yeh I just kind of wish he would speak his mind a bit more regarding his personal goals. If there is one thing Tendulkar could learn from Ponting (and there probably is only one thing!), it would be to say things as they are, rather than trying to protect his image by pretending he doesn't care about individual records. I have always found Ponting very open, a trait which is often interpreted as arrogance by the media and spectators. But that obviously doesn't deter him, and props to him for that.

I reckon he just says that to shut the media up, otherwise they'd bother him all the time with questions about records etc.
Plus, he's quite modest.
Every player cares about personal achievements!! no matter who you are.

 

[Jono]

I have to admit though, even though Tendulkar shows great sportsmanship and generally is very humble, occasionally a little bit of false modesty comes through.

For instance, at the end of the recent test series against Aus, when he was asked by Ravi something about a landmark moment (might have been the 14000 runs, can't remember exactly) he said something along the lines of "I don't like to count, I just make as many runs as possible". But just from observation, I think it clear he is very aware of any records etc. and is really keen on being the no. 1 run scorer (which is natural, why wouldn't you care about these things?). Yet he always seems to brush these things aside, as if they are of no importance to him.

That being said though, on the whole he genuinely seems a very modest, humble person.

I reckon he's just a team man:

"It was a big moment," Tendulkar says, "but I was most aware of the match situation." He had arrived at the wicket with India 38 for two in answer to Australia's first innings of 478. He and Murali Vijay added 64: "And then it flashed on the big screen that I needed eight runs to reach 14,000. Every run I scored was cheered. But when I needed two I hit a boundary. I was happy but I thought, 'right, now we can get back to focusing on cricket', because everyone had become too worried about those eight runs. It had taken away my focus."

I dare say that's a sensible way to look at things. Not false modesty.

 

[Avada Kedavra]

Tendu's decision to not play ODIs for the time being is spot on.Why should he play meaningess ODIs instead of trying to prolong his test career?Most great players retire from ODIs first to lengthen their test careers.The only thing that is stopping him from retiring from the format now is the lack of a WC win.

Ps:Cronje has got out Tendu out as many times as Donald.
Also,in an interview a few years back he named Marshall,Imran Khan,Murali,Warne,McGrath among the most difficult he has faced.Some of you are reading too much into it.

 

[centurymaker]

Tendu's decision to not play ODIs for the time being is spot on.Why should he play meaningess ODIs instead of trying to prolong his test career?Most great players retire from ODIs first to lengthen their test careers.The only thing that is stopping him from retiring from the format now is the lack of a WC win.

Ps:Cronje has got out Tendu out as many times as Donald.
Also,in an interview a few years back he named Marshall,Imran Khan,Murali,Warne,McGrath among the most difficult he has faced.Some of you are reading too much into it.

btw he's not the fittest player out there so it's good for india that he's taking breaks, otherwise he'd be sidelined with injuries/fatigue etc for tests.

 

[Ruckus]

I reckon he's just a team man:

"It was a big moment," Tendulkar says, "but I was most aware of the match situation." He had arrived at the wicket with India 38 for two in answer to Australia's first innings of 478. He and Murali Vijay added 64: "And then it flashed on the big screen that I needed eight runs to reach 14,000. Every run I scored was cheered. But when I needed two I hit a boundary. I was happy but I thought, 'right, now we can get back to focusing on cricket', because everyone had become too worried about those eight runs. It had taken away my focus."

I dare say that's a sensible way to look at things. Not false modesty.

Yeah, I have no doubt Tendulkar is a team man (unlike some other people, who claim he just plays for records). But at the same time, I really get the impression he tries to downplay any ambition of going for records and what they mean to him.

There was another similiar moment I recall as well, when he was interviewed (by BBC I think) about his general career, and the interviewer raised the issue of his alleged ball tampering. His somewhat nervous/dismissive response seemed to suggest the allegations were true, but rather than discussing it and admitting he was at fault, he was adamant the issue was skipped. That to me seems to show, once again, his attempts to preserve his image.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but that was the initial impression I got anyhow.

 

[GotSpin]

Being fairly harsh on Tendulkar here. It'd be a bit better if he was more straightforward though

 

[Jono]

Lol, he's obviously the first guy to want to avoid talking to the media about a controversy

 

[Cevno]

To be fair ,since the crowd before every milestone he reaches begin a countdown,he will surely be aware of the milestone he is about to reach.

 

[Ruckus]

Being fairly harsh on Tendulkar here.

Na not intending to be at all. It seems like that because I'm just talking in length about some minor things I've noticed.

As I said before, he is generally a very modest and humble person. Someone who really stands out in that respect amongst all his peers.

 

[Ruckus]

Lol, he's obviously the first guy to want to avoid talking to the media about a controversy

Heres the vid:

YouTube - My Fev.....Sachin Tendulkar

The part I'm referring to is right at the end. You can obviously make up your own mind, but I really think its a bit more than just what your saying. He seems positively uneasy about discussing it.