Massive Hit: Sachin Tendulkar

The pumped fist and kissed helmet is about as demonstrative as this most unshowy of superstars gets, but the handshakes and fireworks did the trumpeting for him.
After two false starts in Bangalore, Sachin Tendulkar, the planet’s most idolised and put-upon sportsman, had finally wrested cricket’s sexiest career record from Brian Lara. It would have taken a fully-qualified curmudgeon not to have felt any joy for this most admirable of servants. After all, being Sachin Tendulkar is a lot more difficult than being George W Bush. We expect the best of our sporting heroes, and the worst of our political leaders.
Since making 153 at Adelaide in January, lest we forget, Tendulkar had failed to reach 50 in his previous 10 Test innings, only once passing 31 in that time. With two key wickets falling either side of his arrival at the crease, and a third going before he had dug himself in, here was timely affirmation of his enduring greatness. Sure, he’ll have been disappointed to have missed that 40th Test century by a dozen runs, not to mention be denied by a bowler making his Test debut, but nobody will ever be able to take this day away from him. Or from the billions who find pleasure and relief in his exploits.
Tendulkar is merely the latest keeper of the batting flame, the carrier of a torch first held by the first Test centurion, Charles Bannerman, then passed to the likes of Clem Hill (the first man to reach the 3,000-run landmark), Wally Hammond, Colin Cowdrey and Sir Garry Sobers. That two other inheritors of the flame, Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border, were looking down approvingly from the commentary box seemed serendipitous, yes, but mostly a reminder of how often the honour has changed hands in recent times.
Comparing Tendulkar and Lara is irresistible. Those who believe Lara to have the edge point to his greater staying power and appetite – look at all those double-, triple- and even quadruple-hundreds – and the fact that he played 15 fewer innings. Tendulkar’s supporters will bang on about his technical excellence, consistency in all conditions and superior one-day record. Artistic impression? The arguments are equally fierce, and will probably never cease.
Ultimately, though, this is a pointless as well as odious exercise. Let’s count our blessings. Batsmen of indisputable greatness come along once a generation, and we’ve been uncommonly privileged to have two.