Sachin: A Billion Dreams Page #4

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Everything was over.

Selection committee felt

that there was a need for change.

Tendulkar has been selected

as the captain.

- Hi.

- How do you feel about it?

- Yeah... feel good.

- I'm quite happy about it.

The first Test,

I was excited, all charged up.

As a captain when you win,

it's an amazing feeling.

When your plans click,

it gives you immense satisfaction.

But when it doesn't...

You can't sleep at night.

You keep wondering where did

you go wrong.

Whenever we lost... it affected me.

And slowly, slowly I staned

feeling that pressure.

People started saying that captaincy

is affecting my batting.

He would just stop talking.

I would think maybe he's

upset with me over something.

I would ask him are you angry with me?

I figured out slowly that

it's nothing to do with me.

It's just that his mind

is completely in his game.

As a sportsman...

...you have to learn to get back on

your feet again and stan competing...

...but I was finding it difficult...

"because I was taking it too much

to my hean and I was taking it personally.

When the team wouldn't do well...

...he would be so disturbed.

He wouldn't

be able to sleep at night.

He would be setting fields,

or planning to do this, do that.

All that would happen in his sleep.

He used to tell me that there's

somethings not right.

These matches that we're losing,

we should be winning.

I was only 23 when

I became the captain.

It wasn't easy for senior

players to play under me.

Azhar had led from 1990.

Of course,

I have a lot of respect for him.

And I'm sure he'll listen to me and...

...there won't be

any ego problems at all.

Here was Mohammad Azharuddin...

...stylish,

classical, very beautiful batsman.

And here was this emerging star,

this Mega Star Sachin Tendulkar.

There was bound to be some

unrest in the dressing room.

Mohammad Azharuddin was also

a cricketer of great eminence...

...but here's this boy who's basically

become the nation's darling...

...taking everything away.

There were power centres emerging...

...and that was clearly visible.

Day 4 of the 3rd Test Match.

India requiring 118 runs to win.

Big challenge here for Brian

Lara in his first Test as captain.

Here's Franklin Rose.

How do you play that?

That's out.

Well, the match may

well hinge around this man.

Edged... and taken by Lara.

This is a big blow for India.

He told me once that this was the lowest

point of his cricketing career so far.

Especially,

because somewhere he felt that...

...not everyone was playing as a team.

That's it.

The 3rd test match is over...

and won in dramatic style.

- Tendulkar has been

removed as a captain...

...to relieve tension

on his mind as a captain...

...and to take the best

out of him as a player.

I felt bad...

"because no one had the counesy

to pick up the phone and tell me...

- I know I've not been able

to live up to my own expectations.

- But every batsman

has to go through that.

- So... I don't think because of captaincy

there is any pressure on my batting.

- No. I don't feel there's

a burden on me as such.

When life starts getting difficult...

...you need your family

members around you even more.

. Papa-

I did everything possible

to let him have a calm state of mind.

I would never trouble

him with any problems at home.

Cricket was first

and we were second...

...and we accepted that.

Whenever I felt troubled

over cricketing matters...

I would always seek

my brother Ajit's advice.

Since the day Sachin

staned playing cricket...

...there hasn't been a single day

I didn't talk to him about cricket.

Or talked about anything

besides cricket.

We would constantly

be in touch with each other.

Whenever I went out to bat

mentally he was there with me.

We both were playing that

game together, not just me.

They could take away

the captaincy from me...

...but cricket... Never.

Cricket was like oxygen to me...

Without it... I am nothing!

For the last 25 years,

this has been my companion.

My kitbag.

My children Sara and Arjun

drew this India flag for me.

All these figures are

very important for me.

I'm a bit fussy about my kit.

I wanted everything

to be perfect.

This is the padding

that I've created myself.

I've taken various different

pieces of cushion...

...and put these little pieces

together, as one big package.

When you're batting,

the last two fingers become important.

I've fixed more protection

on the right hand.

And attached a fiber plate

over here on the top.

So it is less painful.

People kept discussing

about the weight of my bat.

The weight of my bat

never changed in my career.

For me, the bat was

a part of my body.

So why change it?

Only the shape of the bat was changed.

It is a little curvy... at the end.

And I always liked this curve.

If somebody cracked

the bottom half of the bat...

...then they would

ask me to repair it.

I would carry this bag with glue,

sandpaper, batting grips...

...and repair the bat overnight.

I always respected my bat"

I never threw my bat... ever.

My coach would always say...

"You must learn to

look after your kit...

...and the kit will look after you."

With Sachin Tendulkar facing

criticism over his form...

...a nail-biting encounter between...

...India and Australia

could well be on the cards.

The Australians have

great depth in their batting...

...not to speak of the Golden Arm,

of Shane Warne.

Warne's specialty was that...

...he used to drift the ball...

...and it would go in the air

outside the leg stump and turn in.

- Warnie, you having a good time?

- I am!

The 1998 tour of India there was

nothing about Australia versus India...

...it was always Warne v Tendulkar.

I used to prepare for

the conditions.

Not for any individual bowler.

...l had prepared myself for Warne.

Because until then...

...there was no right-handed bowler would

go round the wicket and bowl into the rough.

I heard that he'd practised with

roughing up pitches around the wicket.

And getting young leg

spinners to bowl at him.

There are different things one

has to do against world class bowlers.

I'll just tell Shane Warne...

...he's developing a secret weapon.

- Welcome to the series that

we've all been looking forward to.

- To the Chidambaram Stadium

here in Chennai, it's hot...

...humid, and steamy all over again.

This is what the

crowd has come to see.

Two tremendous young players

here pitted against each other.

Our plans for Sachin,

early, were to try and go after him.

Intimidate him verbally.

When you get out like this...

...you want to go the dressing

room and slap yourself really hard.

He was so dejected,

he just went into the room...

...and locked himself

away for almost 2 hours.

For me, the game is all about

getting into your opponent's head.

If I am stuck with my technique...

...how am I going to watch the bowler?

From the opposite end, the

bowler constantly asks you questions.

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