An Emperor’s Essay

Harsha Bhogle on Sachin Tendulkar’s painstaking knock in the final ODI against South Africa:

The emperor was bereft of his robes and was walking the streets like a common man; playing and missing, getting hit on the pads, carrying a bat without a middle when once it only had that; unable to play shots with his eyes open that he otherwise would have with his eyes shut.

But he didn’t throw it away, didn’t attempt the tempting but fatal upper cut to third man. Instead he dug in and tried to get behind the line. He was like a writer with writer’s block, where three metaphors would have presented themselves he was looking into the thesaurus for words. But he still wrote his essay. There was a message there for younger, flashier players who, unable to complete even a limerick exited with just a “There was a young man from India” on their sheet.

Brilliant. Read the complete article here.

Blasts from the Past

Selected cricket articles I’ve written, some of which have been published on Sify Sports

• Cautious Optimism, the need of the hour – November 22, 2005
• Of Coaches and Administrators – May 21, 2005
• Battle Won … War Still Open – March 23, 2005
• 2004 – A Disappointing Year for Indian Cricket – January 27, 2005
• Indians on the Threshold of Greatness – January 13, 2004

Hope to have a lot more to say in the weeks and months to come, on Drinks Break!