Dada praises Sachin and 'Chappel'

Sourav Ganguly amused and shocked his teammates in equal measure during a farewell dinner held in his honour.

The former Indian captain praised Sachin Tendulkar during his speech but surprised his teammates by praising former India coach Greg Chappell.

"Sachin is able to guess beforehand if an individual is facing a crisis or if an issue could soon crop up for him," said Ganguly, dubbed the Prince of Kolkata.

"But the best thing is that Sachin is always averse to take any credit for it.

"If he could have his way, he wouldn't let a talk between two individuals be shared with a third person.

"He is very dignified and graceful in his manners. I am very grateful for quite a few things he has done for me," said an emotional Ganguly about his teammate, who he forged the most successful opening partnership ever in ODI history.

The pair scored 6,609 runs in 136 innings at an average of nearly 50.

Even as a thunderous clap by his teammates was drowning everything else in the room, Ganguly dropped a bombshell and had a deathly silence fill the room with his next comment.

"I would also be ever grateful to Greg Chappell," said Ganguly to his stunned team-mates, who have remained hostile to their former Australian coach.

Major showdown

The bad vibes and public showdown between Chappell and Ganguly was highly acrimonious.

But Ganguly said Chappell had been a major force during his resurrection as a batsman of international class and substance.

"I can say with all honesty that it was Greg who cleared my mental cobwebs towards batting and made me a more compact and better batsman," said Ganguly.

The batsman flew to Sydney for private sessions before the tour of Australia in 2003-04 and he hit centuries on a lively pitch at Gabba and then at Brisbane.

His comments about the former Indian coach shocked his teammates.

One senior player said: "Indeed I dropped my glass at the mention of Chappell. Nobody expected Dada to get praiseful about a man who all but destroyed him."

'I dream of an India that is more than hope' -Article written by Sachin.

The author, Sachin Tendulkar, is history’s most prolific batsman and a living legend -Hindustan Times

My dreams began young. But I always planned on things one step at a time. I think, later, that made all the difference, between just imagining and realising that that imagination needed a focus.

I began playing cricket because everyone around was into cricket. They did play other sports in our neighbourhood, badminton and hockey, volleyball; football was really popular when Mumbai’s monsoon was on, we would dance in the rain as we played the beautiful game, but yet, somehow, it never was quite cricket. Cricket was special.

I think things began to change for me when I began understanding that there was more to cricket than picking up a bat and trying to take a wild swipe at everything that came its way. That was also when I began to dream.

I was around 9 or 10 and, watching my brother and some older guys in the building play, I wanted to be like them, to play like them, with them. My imagination at that stage only took me to a place where I was intensely competitive, enough to be among the top batsmen in my group. If you did well, were lucky, you would get a prized invitation to play with the older boys and if that happened, your success and reputation in the peer group was assured.

100 Reasons why Sachin is the greatest.

01. He feels proud to be an INDIAN.
02. Best batsman in the world.
03. Humble person.
04. He is responsible for making the game of cricket a religion in India.
05. Very hard working individual.
06. Hailed by great cricketing legends from all over the globe.
07. Huge Temperament - highly successful both in ODI's and Tests.
08. Immense pressure handling capability.
09. Holds infinite number of records against his name.
10. Plays the game with sportsman spirit.
11. He is the only cricketer to have been honoured with the Khel Ratna Award. The Khel Ratna is India’s highest honour given for achievement in sports.
12. Quickly adapting himself to the changes in the modern day cricket.
13. Is enthusiastic and passionate about his game. Still seems that he is the youngest member in the side.
14. Quick runner in between the wickets.
15. Achieved the status of being a great player in his teenage.
16. Greatest ambassador for the game of cricket.
17. Holds expectations of more then 1 billion countrymen.
18. Loved by his family.
19. Great team man.
20. A True Friend for all his friends.
21. A Great disciple of "Cricket".
22. Cricket Fanatics from all over the world eagerly wait for him to see him live in action.
23. Prefers his bat to do the talking rather then his mouth.
24. Has highest no. of runs and centuries in ODI's. Nobody even close to him even in this respect.
25. Has highest no. centuries in Test and it is just a matter of time when he will be the highest run scorer as well.
26. Feels huge pride in carrying Indian national flag on his helmet.
27. Earns great respect from his team mates.
28. Always makes his critics to eat their words.
29. Still a great learner.
30. Sets high standard for himself and pushes himself to achieve those.
31. Never indulges in sledging practises.
32. Has highest no. of MoM and MoS. Nobody is even close to him.
33. Contributes to the team with his bowling abilities as well.
34. Is aggressive about his game.
35. Can play all the shots in the cricket book.
36. Additionally, has created some more shots by his extra-ordnary skills.
37. Possesses great dignity and integrity.
38. Captains Delight.
39. Pays generosity towards young members in the side.
40. Is vivacious during team meetings.
41. A good fielder.
42. An outstanding student of the game since childhood.
43. Has the ability to make nation go wild when he is on song.
44. Holds record for being heighest scorer in a WC tournament, also holds record for most number of runs in WC tournament.
45. Youngest Test Player to represent India.
46. Has set uphill task for coming generations of cricketers to achieve.
47. He is to cricket what Laver was to tennis, what Mohammad Ali was to Boxing, what Schumachar was to Formula one, and what probably Tiger Woods is to Golf.
48. Ambitious cricketer.
49. Charity donor but does not like to talk on this issue in public.
50. Holds the record for highest number of Test centuries.
51. Match winner.
52. Loves to stay away from the controversies.
53. Never had any offense committed under his name in the ICC code conduct rules apart from the controversial Mike Denness episode.
54. At times when Umpires have been wrong in decision making against him, he has accepted there decisions with big heart and without any opposition.
55. Honoured as honest tax payers among the highest tax payers in a public function organized by the Income Tax Department, India.
56. Always have positive influence over people.
57. One man army.
58. Richest cricketer in the world.
59. Holds the status of best youth icon in our country.
60. Ready to adapt any role according to the team requirement.
61. Honest person.
62. Pumps his heart out during net practise sessions.
63. Brings his own clinical efficiency for his sponsors off the field.
64. Always meets the expectations of his over-ambitious fan.
65. Has always lead by example.
66. His batting is even more then what statstics have to show.
67. Presence in the team itself lifts the moral of his side & is a cause of major concern for the opposition.
68. Sir Donald Bradman considered him the closest to himself in technique.
69. Always wants to be victorious.
70. Abundant patience
71. Possesses an intellectual cricketing brain.
72. Always keen to take responsibilities.
73. He is beyond comparison.
74. But, still has to face comparison with the batsman who is currently in form. This itself shows he is truly great.
75. Batting consistently and performing outstandingly for nearly two decades.
76. Loves to challenge himself.
77. Gives horrified nightmares to bowlers all over the world.
78. Carries the title of "Master Blaster".
79. Religious person - A firm believer in God.
80. Has scored tons-n-tons of runs in all parts of the world.
81. Makes the skilful art of batting look really trivial.
82. A true fighter in all aspects.
83. Accredited with Arjun award.
84. Attacks more fiercely if the opposition is stronger.
85. Has a colossal nerve.
86. For being a perfect entertainer all these years.
87. Youngest player from India to score a century in ODI.
88. He scored most ODI runs by any batsman in any given calendar year.
89. Holds the record for scoring 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year - 6 times.
90. Played most number of ODIs as well as most consecutive ODI matches - another record.
91. Fastest to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket history.
92. Also had the honour of becoming Wisden cricketer of the year.
93. Declared MoS in 2003 WC.
94. Made most appearances in Test and ODIs for India.
95. Holds the record of scoring five centuries before he turned 20.
96. He with Sourav Ganguly holds the world record for the maximum number of runs scored by the opening partnership.
97. He and Rahul Dravid hold the world record for the highest partnership in ODI matches.
98. He also hold the recored of scoring most ODI half-centuries.
99. Brought huge sums of money into this game.
100. For bringing happiness and joy in the life of millions of Sachin fans.

Raj Singh Dungarpur on Sachin's 136 against Pak

This is the interview of Raj Singh Dungarpur on Sachin Tendulkar in the program - Sachin Tendulkar-MAKING OF A LEGEND

" I think Joshi told me he[Sachin] went down the wicket and told him its gone too long now,let me finish this match.
So it was flotter from Saqlain,He came down the track and wanted to hit over the top of long on.
I came down the dressing room,I think its fair for me to say,he[Sachin] was weaping like a school boy,I kept on telling him why are you taking the whole blame yourself,by then we lost the match.You made impossible possible by playing this great inning.He[Sachin] said no sir,I have lost this match.
We were in the podium,I think very few time you gets man of the match on the loosing side,he got the man of the match on the loosing side.From the podium I signal to Anshuman Gaekwad the coach of the Indian team and asked him where is he[Sachin], because I knew he was Man of the match. Gaekwad said he not coming because he is crying.
I think thats what commitment is all about."


" In my life time being in and out of Indian Dressing Room in various capacities I have never seen a man half as patriotic as He is[Sachin Tendulkar]. He opens his bag and there is Ganpati and there is flag of India."


Here it is- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5RSm1EXRJM