These days the topic on everybodys lips is Sachins monumental achievements over the past 20 years. What is being more talked about Sachin Tendulkar is his batting phenomenal aggregates and centuries in Tests and One Dayers and his twin epic innings against world beaters Austrailains at Sharjah in 1998 and Hyderabad in 2009.
However not many talk about a rare skill of Sachin which many can only envy, but one which Sachin posseses. We are talking about Sachin Tendulkar the bowler. The bowling genius of Sachin Tendulkar has been overshadowed by the batting genius in him. Sachin is a 3 in 1 bowler, Sachin started his career bowling slow medium as a part time bowler. In the last decade and half as a spinner Sachin has bamboozled many batsmen. The way Sachin bowled Moin Khan around his legs in a Test series in Pakistan in 2004 with a beauty of a delivery might have confused many legendary spinners because many of them would never ever bowled those type of deliveries in their cricketing careers.
Sachin gives various options as a bowler:- Bowlers all over the world are picked depending on the pitch conditions. On spin friendly pitches, fast bowlers however reputed they are dropped and vice versa. In Sachin we have a bowler who bowls according to the pitch condition. If the pitch is favouring spin, Sachin spins the ball a mile. As a bowler Sachin can bowl 6 different balls in a over varying between leg spinners, off spinners, googlies, wrong un and the flippers. Among bowlers only legends Wasim Akram and Richard Hadlee had a reputation for bowling 6 different balls in a over. When Mohinder Amarnath once said that Sachin is the number one finger spinner in India, he was not flattering Sachin but conveying to the cricketing world of the talent unnoticed by millions absorbed in the batting genius of the master. If that is not enough Sachin has not forgotten to bowl his seamers as he occasionally bowls seamers where there is help from the pitch for spinners.
Sachin Tendulkar has already picked up 199 international wickets in his career. Sachin has taken 154 wickets in One Dayers, 44 in Test Matches and 1 wicket int he only T20 international match played by him. In his career. In 131 matches Sachin has taken a atleast a wicket or more which goes on to prove he is more than a part time bowler.
5 wickets in a innings 2 Times
4 or more wickets in a innings 6 Times
3 or more wickets in a innings 16 Times
2 or more wickets in a innings 44 Times
1 or more Wicket in a innings 131 Times
Partnership Breaker:- Sachin has the reputation of being a bowler often relied by captains to get break throughs by breaking a big partnership. He has done that on many occassions. He has played brilliant supporting roles in a couple of famous Indian wins. In Eden Gardens against Australains in 2001, Sachin took 3 wickets to help Indian win the match. Of the 3 wickets taken by Sachin were the key wickets of Adam Gilchrist who is the greatest match winner ever in history of Test Matches and that of Mathew Hayden. In Adelaide against Australia in 2003, Sachin with a couple of key strike supported Ajit Agarkar brilliantly to win the match for India. Nobody can ever forgot Sachins brilliant last over against South Africa at Eden Garden in 1993 in Hero Cup Semi Final. South Africa were coasting to victory having plundered every Indian bowler from Kapil Dev to Manoj Prabhakhar to Javagal Srinath. South Africa needed a mere 6 runs with the big hitting Mc Millan very well set close to a half century. Sachin bowling the last over which actually was his first over conceded a mere 3 runs and too when South African bowlers were on a rampage prior to the last over. Riding on the strength of Sachins brilliance in last over, India went on to make the final and won the Hero Cup.
It is a known fact that Sachin Tendulkar had once been to MRF Pace Academy as he wanted to train himself to become a fast bowler. Dennis Lilee sent him back and asked him to concentrate on his batting. Had Sachin Tendulkar played in international cricket purely as a bowler he could have ended up his career like any international bowler with 500 plus wickets.
Regards
Satish