LONDON: Sachin Tendulkar, possessor of every one-day batting record worth holding, carries an unparalleled weight of expectation. Even the incomparable Australian Don Bradman, whose feats at the crease during the Great Depression sustained an emerging nation's morale, did not endure the pressure Tendulkar will confront at the 10th World Cup opening in Dhaka on Feb. 19. According to the historian Ramachandra Guha, Tendulkar is the best-known Indian alive with a status equivalent to a Hindu god or a Bollywood film star. When he faced the former Pakistan opening bowler Wasim Akram the television audience in India exceeded the entire population of Europe. “Batsmen walk out into the middle alone,” wrote the Indian poet and critic C.P. Surendran. “Not Tendulkar. Every time Tendulkar walks to the crease, a whole nation, tatters and all, marches with him to the battle arena. “A pauper people pleading for relief, remission from the lifelong anxiety of being Indian, by joining in spirit their visored savior.” Tendulkar scored his 51st Test century this year after a duel with South African fast bowler Dale Steyn recalling Bradman's jousts with England's Harold Larwood in the 1932-33 Bodyline series. Three more one-day hundreds in the World Cup climaxing in his native Mumbai on April 2 would make him the only batsman to total 100 centuries over both forms of the game, a landmark which like Bradman's Test average of 99.94 would probably last forever. “I still want to achieve something and everyone knows that,” Tendulkar, 37, said last month at a ceremony to celebrate India's number one spot in the world Test rankings. As Tendulkar heads into his record sixth World Cup, a nation of 1.2 billion hopes a World Cup win will complete his career of achievements. He is the holder of virtually every major batting record in Test and one-day cricket, including most runs and most centuries in either form, and most believe a World Cup win will complete his career of achievements. Former West Indian batsman Vivian Richards said during a World Cup promotional event here last month that “the World Cup would be the icing on the cake for Sachin Tendulkar.” Just as Tendulkar's consistency has been credited with India's superb recent form, runs from the Mumbai player's bat have had a direct bearing on the team's fortunes in the World Cup. Tendulkar, 37, played for India in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa and the semifinals in 1996. He played a major role in both those campaigns. establishing the record for most runs in any single World Cup by accumulating 673 in 2003, and was the highest scorer in 1996 with 523. Tendulkar's absence from a match against Zimbabwe in the 1999 World Cup, when he returned home briefly after his father's death, resulted in India losing the match and spoiling its finals chances despite consistent performances from others like Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly. Tendulkar, who also leads the aggregate table for most runs in World Cups at 1,796 in 36 matches and shares the record of four World Cup centuries, will now be tied with Pakistan's Javed Miandad in terms of Cups participated in. Brian Lara, the only modern-day batsman who has been consistently compared with Tendulkar, says the Indian's records will not be easily broken. “I believe that the entire world appreciates Tendulkar still playing cricket,” Lara said on a recent visit to New Delhi. “His records will not be surpassed, especially with more Twenty20 cricket being played.” Lara said he was honored to have his name being spoken in the same breath as the Mumbai batsman. “Winning the World Cup or not, Tendulkar's achievements are enormous,” he said. Tendulkar avoided one-day cricket for almost a year after hitting 200 not out against South Africa at Gwalior in 2010. He then returned home midway through the one-day series in South Africa this month because of a hamstring injury, but that was more of a precaution with the World Cup round the corner. Tendulkar has learnt the art of remaining fresh by taking timely breaks, and while he, along with Australia captain Ricky Ponting, South Africa's Jacques Kallis and Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka, is among the top players expected to have a last stint at the World Cup, not everyone feels that is the case. Kapil Dev, the 1983 World Cup winning captain, says Tendulkar is capable of playing in a seventh World Cup. “People say it is his last World Cup, but I don't believe this. We might see him play the next World Cup also as I feel he will not quit till he wins the trophy.”
