“It’s not my record; it’s a record by an India. It’s a record for India” was what Sachin Tendulkar had to say when the dust settled and the early Diwali at Mohali came to a halt. That pretty much summed up one Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and his cricketing journey which carried along with it an entire generation of cricket fans across the world. But unlike many other records, this was not about Tendulkar having another of those magical days on the field. It was a celebration of all that droplets of genius that we were fortunate to be a part of during the past two decades. It was a moment that was a culmination of 19 years of hard work, dedication and unadulterated love for the sport that is his life.

It would be hard for most of us to understand what it is to work with single-minded focus for two decades towards something and then achieve it along the course of the journey. While most of us will not even know what that feels like, those few who have felt it can take that feeling and multiply it with the pressure of the world watching and compound it with the devils of wealth, the pitfalls of fame and the burden of performance where failure is not an option. The world of sports has seen many ultra-talented young geniuses quickly take the tumble and fade away into oblivion. When Tendulkar reached 12,000, it was as much a celebration of the potential being fulfilled as it is was a reminder of rare commodity he truly was.

To talk about Tendulkar’s technique and to tell people how great it was at this point would be a joke, especially coming from someone like me. Yet, for over a decade now, people who have barely played club cricket and critics who thrive on negative remarks have made money over dissecting what they feel are flaws in his batting. While I have no clue as to how it works on a larger scale, I can vouch from my own personal experience that “Sachin bashing” is a popular among some parts of media just because it sells- sells, paper, sells magazines and definitely gets you noticed on the net. Take a few cheap shots at the great man and earn your 15 minutes of fame!

There are many reasons why Tendulkar stands alone as a sportsman in modern era where exaggeration of success and condemning defeat are all too common. Sachin was never taught the perfect technique; it was only fin-tuned by men like Ramakanth Archrekar. From the dust bowls of Shivaji Park to the fastest and bounciest track in the world in Perth, Sachin just played as if it was all one big backyard. The most important aspect of his batting seemed that he made it look easy in places where others struggled to make contact with the ball. He scored runs when others found it difficult to survive. For deliveries that others left alone, Sachin had four or five different shots.

That was the magic of young Tendulkar. He took us on to the edges of the art of batting and expanded that horizon of the “Possible” by sweeping Warne against the turn from the rough outside leg stump; by upper-cutting over the slips in South Africa and by flicking the ball from outside off-stump to behind square for a boundary. The paddle sweep was supposed to be a part of roving at the Olympics; the upper-cut is more a concept that was associated with boxing and Mike Tyson; the magical wrist-flick seemed like a Roger Federer cross court forehand with plenty of top spin on it. . It seemed as if the young Tendulkar almost borrowed from other sports.

The young Tendulkar loved to dominate, destroy and rip attacks open with sheer bludgeoning strokes leaving them in a haze even before they knew what hit them. He dared them to come after him and in the process made batting easy for the likes of Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman. Sachin in his first 12 years in international cricket was an innovator, destroyer and an assault weapon that on its day could blow opposition attacks to dust. He was the Tendulkar we loved, we adored, respected and opposition feared. His batting bordered the realms of the exciting and the unpredictable, yet still remained a purists’ delight.

Then came a barrage of injuries, a dip in form, a nation that doubted his prodigious talent and a moment of introspection. The Sachin of the youth was soon lost in shadows of doubt and his incredible era of dominance had come to an end. From that was born a new Tendulkar- lot less exciting to watch, but a lot more effective in his job. The second half of Sachin’s career had begun by around 2001…