Manjrekar, Lavakare and other subjects

Sachin versus Bradman:
sriram: koodhi@mailcity.com: i totally agree with the writer( i might be the only other indian sharing his opinion though!!) sachin never wins a match for india(there are a very very few exceptions to this - sharjan vs australia for example). and champions need to win matches singlehandedly for their country. lets face it sachin is never there to score the last run!!!



Sachin versus Bradman:
Nathan.S.P.: nathansp@hotmail.com: Arvind Lavakare has written a very good compiled article. This should clear lot of mist for people to understand how much more Sachin needs to do and how much we depend on him.



Sachin versus Bradman:
amit wadhwa: wadhwa_amit@hotmail.com: i agree with the author 100% that sachin is no Bradman. but, to compare with him with sunil and say that sunil is better is a shame. does the author take into account the scoring rate????? does he remember sunil once scored 30-40 odd runs and batted through for 60 overs?????????? in one day cricket scoring rate is more important than the runs!!! which was shown to the world by sri lankans. sunil's scoring rate in one day cricket was nothing but pathetic and i don't even rememeber even one of his knock that was a match winner. the evolution of the popularity of one day cricket proves that staying long at the wicket does not matter at all it is the amount of balls that you don't waste. Arvind is from the old school of thought which is fading with each passing day. arvind writes good though, wish i could write like that. thank you. amit wadhwa project engineer san francisco, california



Sachin versus Bradman:
sudhakar: sudhakar.sappa@mci.com: Excellent!



Keeping a watch on Azhar:
Cspadala: cspadala@hotmail.com: What happend to Azhar who was cool and soft and use to talk with Bat ?



Sachin versus Bradman:
Mahendra Dhamdhere: mahendrad@hotmail.com: Many many happy returns of Great Innings, World Cups and Birth day too!! Enjoy Cricket!Enjoy Life!Enjoy Indians!



The Sanjay Manjrekar column:
Ketan: vketan@hotmail.com: I agree 100% with Sanjay, what we need in Indian cricket today is 5 Jadejas & % Tendulkars, in spirit, given that I do not think ANY team in the world can beat us then. However that ain't happenening, ALL thats gonna happen (SADLY even with people like Simpson coaching us!!) is that "we're gonna field, bowl & bat badly" to add to that we will "congratulate the other team for playing better" !!! YEah right, everybody know who I'm referrring to, BUT u never know, maybe the man at helm (or rather them men I should say) MIGHT have it in him (them) to inspire this team, that u either DO or u DIE!!! If I were the cricket board chairman, I'd tell Azhar & co. IN NO NONSENSICAL TERMs that U either WIN or U GET NO MONEY for ANY OF THE MATCHES!! period, having said that, I'd then like to watch the team perform. The results then would be anybody's guess



Sachin versus Bradman:
Amit Deshpande: agdeshpande@hotmail.com: Mr Lavkare would do well to differentiate the performances in tests and ODIs of different people. For e.g he talks about sachin's performance against the aussies last year when he was exceptionally good(no question) in the ODIs particularly and compares that with Vinoo Mankad's performances in tests. The man is utterly confused



Sachin versus Bradman:
Murali Vedartham: vnbmurali@msn.com: It has always been my stance that SRT has never scored when needed. Although the author of this column has praised Gavaskar lavishly, in my opinion, GR Viswanath deserves a better treatment. GRV has played more crucial innings than SMG himself. I am not sure if SMG has won as many tests for India as GRV has but nonetheless SMG has saved as many.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Kalyanaraman: gkalyanram@yahoo.com: You Are Absolutely right Mr.Arvind



Sachin versus Bradman:
Roshan Diwakar: Roshan@Tendulkar.com: Sunil Gavaskar's achievement in his test career: Who threw away his wicket * While chasing 182 in Lords '71 * when victory was close in the Oval test, * when victory was possible in the tied test * when victory was close in the B'lore test * when we could have drawed Delhi '85 He sucked big time * While chasing Windies in the A'bad test 83 * While chasing England's target in Lord's 86 * while chasing in the A'land test '81 * while chasing B'gham '86 Failed miserably in close encounters like * Kingston 83 * Colombo 86 & completely let down India in many crushing defeats * Kanpur 83 * Calcutta 83 * Lords 74 * Madras 85 * Bridgetown 83 * Lords 82 & many more Most of his Big scores have come on flat tracks in drawn matches (no not fighting draws but boring draws where less than 3 innings were completed in the match) Cheers, Roshan [After all those are the arguments you use against Sachin]



Sachin versus Bradman:
Anand Rajagopalan: jayanand@pacific.net.sg: Hi guys, The media has already done enough damage to Azhar's morale, now why this Arvindh wants to unnessarily talk abt sachin. He is a great inspiration for the whole team.I think Arvindh should stop with his political columns and leave the sports to prem...looks like the guy doesnt understand the nuances of the game very much.In my opinion this article is an unwanted, illtimed rubbish. Cheers, Anand Rajagopalan



Sachin versus Bradman:
Satyakant Kantarao: satyakantk@hotmail.com: Hi, It is to the advantage of the cola and other commercial companies to sustain the Tendulkar myth. Are the views expressed in this article likely to become the representative public opinion anytime in the near future? I don't think so. Meanwhile, maybe someone should send Sachin Tendulkar a copy of this article. Keep up the good work. SATYAKANT KANTARAO.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Sunil: sunildatta@hotmail.com: Hi Arvind, To satisfy you, sachin has to score a 500 and claim all 20 wickets in a test! C'mon! Sachin doesn't play for records. Don't ask him to do so either. Who cares abot the averages and stats. They are real dry issues compared to classy, entertaining cricket of Sachin. BuT I agree that as a Cricket fan, we must accept the failures of sachin in the same way as his success. Gavaskar and Bradman are also Great. But Sachin is not too far. You can tell the similar things about Gavaskar. What do you say about the innings in which he scored 36 runs, batting through all 60 overs in a world? Gavaskar has just one one-day century to his credit! As Tendulkar will not be playing more tests, he may not break the records of Gavaskar or Border. But nobody will be able to beat Sachin in One-Day cricket. Sachin's cricket is like a poetry. The closest stylish batsman to him in Indai was G.R.Vishwanath. Why all of you are worried about his 200? Don't worry, he will score the first ever one-day 200 in this World Cup! Let him play his natural game. Records will come on their own. Let's all understand that Sachin is not a god. he still belongs to the species - Homo sapiens!



Sachin versus Bradman:
Amit Deshpande: agdeshpande@hotmail.com: Agreed that Sachin is statistically inferior to Gavaskar but then they talk about him in the same breath as Viv Richards or the Don because he's destructive . More than Gavaskar. More than Kirsten. Consitently more than Lara. Statistically even Richards would not be able to hold a candle to oour own Gavaskar who had 20 centuries in his first 50 tests. Richards got to his 5000th runs in tests in his 67th test(Sachin incidentally did so in his 68th test). Richards had 17 centuries at that point. Sachin had 18. Yes statistically Gavaskar was far ahead of the field during his days and Bardman shall be miles ahead of the rest of them but then we talk about Richards because of his ability to put the fear of god in the oppositions' minds. Same is true of Sachin. If India needed 275 to win in an ODI , the opposition wouldnt be demoralised if it saw Gavaskar coming out to bat . They surely would sweat if they saw Richards. And now bowlers surely do sweat when they see our little champion. Ask the people who have played with/against him and they tell you what stuff he's made up of. Mr. Lavkare , please do not spoil the party.It's his Birthday today and he deserves every bit of glory he's got so far and is going to recevie in the years to come.



Sachin versus Bradman:
viper007: jbatra@berkshireschool.org: This is the worst report on Tendulkar i have ever seen. TEndulkar is the best batsman in the world and he does the job for india 9 out of 10 times. so who ever wrote this columm? i do not know what he was thinkng



Sachin versus Bradman:
Anand: andyiyer@yahoo.com: Happy B'day Sachin This time you give us a present by getting the world cup back to INDIA.



Sachin versus Bradman:
VRG: vaibhavrg@hotmail.com: this column by arvind lavakare is totall absurd. u just cant prove something by mere statistics u have to consider lot of other points u cant expect one single player to contribute every match. he has given some matches where sachin fail to score. ur forgotten, he is a human being, not a run-machine. this column is the worst analysis i have ever read. anyway, go sachin go...we all are with u.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Achintan Dey: achintan@yahoo.com: A pathetic attempt at "analysis" by Mr.Lavakare. The hype about Sachin reached deafening levels only in the past year, and for once, it has been richly deserved. If the writer had included a calendar year comparison with any other batsman, or a "at age 25" comparison with Sunny, Tendulkar would be way ahead. But of course, that wouldnt have fit in with the writer's attempt at provocative, if ridiculous, writing. Sure, Sunny is still the greatest among Indians, but Sachin's career is barely at its halfway point. I'm trying to say this as gently as possible, but only a moron would look at a per-inning batting average while comparing ODI careers. Mr.Lavakare: don't quit your day job. (Unless writing *is* your day job.)



Sachin versus Bradman:
: :



Sachin versus Bradman:
: :



Sachin versus Bradman:
Shivaram: shiv17674@hotmail.com: What can i say. Its a whole team and i don't think its fair to point out to his contributions specifically. There are innumerable times when this man has taken the team all by himself and gave credit to the entire team. I think Sachin definitely ranks among the legends of cricket and he's only in his 20s. Way to go Sachin. We're behind you. Happy Birthday pal!! Shiv



Sachin versus Bradman:
Jayant Manohar: jmanohar@aol.com: Sachin, HAPPY BIRTH DAY Please do not take the observation made by Lavakare as anything against you. This should inspire you be a formadible batsman who will save India. We all Indians hope that much and it is true that it kind of puts a pressure on you but that is where your professional mind should pitch in and think if Bradman can do it I have the power to do it. Bradman's nature should be an eye opener to you and we all pray that Sachin will come true when India needs him and be a force to recon with. Learn the temparament from Gawaskar our own master of the game Keep cool head down and do your business and I am sure India can win. You have to feel sorry if you loose otherwise if you just think that its a part and parcel of the game then you cant win in future. You have to cry if you lose. Then you can come with a vengence in the next match and there is no point in being goody goody. no thats not the way to make a difference. Ask Gawaskar, he will tell you that he never took the defeat lightly. I have seen his tapes many times and cantell you that he personally saw to that he puts 110% of himself in the game and took it VERY seriously and see the result for yourself. We all Indians believe that you can be that formadible player too. Please do not take part in any ad campaigns and any other time wasting dinners parties and do your job sincerely. Aslo do not take this as a lecture but as a friendly advice. I am 43 years old and I think I atleast have some right to tell a 26 yr old guy. Hope you will look at it in a positive manner. Your cool and sincereness will pay off. Once again wish you all the best and happy birthday Jayant



Sachin versus Bradman:
Krishna Prasad,US of America: ms_krishnaprasad@hotmail.com: Sachin, Many HAPPY RETURNS FO THE DAY. Hope this will be an unforgettable Birthday for you when you read this column and I am sure you will be the topmost Batsmen In the world with BEST AVERAGE after this world cup. Luv, Krishna



Sachin versus Bradman:
Sriram: spsri@hotmail.com: Nice article by Arvind. Has analyzed Sachin's capability well. Sachin has started playing to his capability only now. Hope to see a lot more in the future. And to Sachin, Many many happy returns of the day to you.



Sachin versus Bradman:
satish mandalika: satraj@aol.com: Many Happy Returns of the day SACHIN. Coming to Mr Arvind's article he is amongst the numerous WET BLANKETS who comes up with these crappy statistics to just to grab your attention.Other than that I dont see any rationale behind the article.Comparing Tendulkar with the likes of Gavaskar & Bradman is like comapring apples with oranges.These are batsmen who played cricket in different eras. So the expectations were also different. Tendulkar is the kid of the nineties.He basically came into the team as a one day batsmen (If u havent forgotten how he hammered Qadir for 27 runs in an over on his first appearance) It is true there cant be another Bradman. But the question is who wants to be one. Wonder how Bradman would have faced the slog overs.2 overs to go 20 runs to score. now would he try to improvise or wait for a loose ball & execute an exquisite cover drive.About the comaprison between Gavaskar & Sachin, there are a lot of embarrasing statistics to Gavaskar's credit which have been very conveniently have been overlooked by mr Arvind like his 36 scored in the the first world cup. for which he had to bat out 60 overs.What would have been a fair comparison was comparing the strike rate of the 2 batsmen.The little master would have been left way behind. And comparing hm with the likes of Lara & co I can remember at least half a dozen instances when lara let his side down by not giving a match winning performance.I dont say that tendulkars failures be overlooked just because he is considered to the greatest, but when passing judgement on the player lets me a little more fair,for in this age where nothing matters more than winning & we expect players to perform nothing less than a miracle lets give them jus a little more room for failure coz we are talking humans not robots.



Sachin versus Bradman:
M.S.Tanuja: tmadhavp@atiresearch.com: Happy Birthday to a Wonderful person like Sachin



Sachin versus Bradman:
Mehul Shah: mjshah@hotmail.com: A most irresposible article. Comparisons are not what we want at this time. Let Sachin play his natural game. People like Arvind put more pressure on players.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Ramesh S Reddy: rameshred@hotmail.com: I must really commend you on this article. The media in order to get better ratings and sometimes the sport itseif to get better coverage always exaggerate(actually misuse their power) a lot of things. And one of them is portraying Sachin as the greatest batsman next to Bradman. That is absolutely ridiculous. Sachin is great but there are/were better players than him. Keep it up Arvind



Sachin versus Bradman:
Rajendran: rajec@hotmail.com: Great and one of the best articles. Hats of to Arvind. -rajendran



The Sanjay Manjrekar column:
Mahesh Chengareddy: mchenga@hsdc.com: May be Sanjay is right from his point of view, the bottom line we are not winning. You call them gully crickers or anything, they are doing good job atleat with India. I always think our BCC and selection committee is not doing anything to improve the talent.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Ritesh: Riteshk@hotmail.com: Arvind, man, you just made me read a senseless article!!!



Sachin versus Bradman:
srinivas eriki: eriki@123india.com: i would say that tendulkar is the most talented batsman playing now. but, i think he needs to keep his cool, when big scores are needed from him. also, irresponsible shots are for less talented batsmen. he should stay away from them. i have to tell you, tendulkar is the batsman i like the most. i wish him good luck in the coming year. thanks.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Guru Sahajpal: sahajpal@hotmail.com: Give it a rest, Arvind. There's something heart-breakingly sad to watch mediocrity attempt to slander greatness. Besides, you do you suppose YOU would compare to a great writer like, say, William Shakespeare? Enough said.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Santosh : santosh79@yahoo.com: Happy Birthday Sachin, you are a true PATRIOT!



Sachin versus Bradman:
Venkatesh Jagadeeshwara: rasikararaja@hotmail.com: It is unfair to compare Don with Sachin.The amount of rest that Sachin gets between a series is no way comparable to what Don used to get.But then one has to agree with the fact that Sachin has till now not played match winning Test inng when India needed it most.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Denny Mathews: denny.mathews@gs.com: I was of the opinion that Sachin is the greatest Indian player to don batting pads, however, Arvind has got me rethinking about that opinion. Arvind has finally written a coloumn that makes sense. A word to the wise Arvind, give up your hateful, jingoistic, Thackeresque rhetoric and stick to the lighter things in life, for example cricket. I finally figured that there are some wrinkles on your brain, Arvind. Don't let your ignorance about political issues lead you down the path to extinction, buddy.



Sachin versus Bradman:
kiran p modak : kiran.p.modak@tek.com: hey arvind what about his contributions with the ball, how many wickets do lara, kirsten and mark waugh have did gavaskar and bradman take any wickets when needed how about the matches he won with the ball when he did not perform with the ball he is just a complete player who gives a 100 % i think your article is something on which sachin needs to ponder but he is just 26 and already has more centuries then anybody in international cricket, so give him a break, for he is the best batsmen in the contemporary cricket and when india wins the WC and sachin brings home the cup you will be eating your own words nevertheless a lot of interesting observations



Sachin versus Bradman:
roshan: roshan_kumar@rocketmail.com: Its really very easy to find fault with someone and no wonder you can find fault with Sachin. Sure Gavaskar and Bradman were better than him as far as staying power was considered. But how can you tell that Lara and Waugh are better than him,just by averages , i really pity you about your cricketing knowledge. If you have to go by averages then Kapil Dev is not a good bowler , but if you take into consideration the pitches where he had to fight for those wickets then his feat becomes magnificient. Averages are just an yardstick thats not the only measurement. True India has won some matches without him and will win matches without him, but doesnt mean that his contribution is insignificant. And perhaps try to get the decency to wish someone on their birthday and not curse them. And definitely the Bradmans and gavaskars did not have to go through the modern analysis tools to find fault with ones technique whereas the current players are constantly under the microscope to find flaws in their technique. Happy birthday Sachin.



Sachin versus Bradman:
kiran p modak : kiran.p.modak@tek.com: hey arvind what about his contributions with the ball, how many wickets do lara, kirsten and mark waugh have did gavaskar and bradman take any wickets when needed how about the matches he won with the ball when he did not perform with the ball he is just a complete player who gives a 100 % i think your article is something on which sachin needs to ponder but he is just 26 and already has more centuries then anybody in international cricket, so give him a break, for he is the best batsmen in the contemporary cricket and when india wins the WC and sachin brings home the cup you will be eating your own words nevertheless a lot of interesting observations



Sachin versus Bradman:
Nital Vora: nvora@eecs.uic.edu: Hi Buddy Many Many Happy returns of the day. All the best for world cup We all wish that India would come out with flying colors with your help which is missing since couple of month. I study at University of Illinois at Chicago(UIC)doing Masters in Computer Science .Though I am far from my country and sports cricket is the only thing which keep myself attached to my country.. Once again all the best.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Sujay: svkumarnc@yahoo.com: Outrageous!!! This is how i find this stupid article... The author has dug out some some stupid articles and has tried to base his observations(!!).. Lets go one by one... He says that a tendulkar minus indian team or a sub par tendulkar team has won many a matches... FYI, India lost 8 in a row to pakistan before winning one.. and in a game of cricket with so much uncertainity, that could as well be considered a fluke..! When tendulkar is in the team do you think all he does is come out and score some runs and goes back to his shell? This certainly proves that the author has never played any competitive sport.. The presence of tendulkar on the team could be a huge psychological boost...! Look at what happened to the brazilians in the last soccer world cup..why do u think they played ronaldo in the final even though he was sick? The presence of him itself brings respect to the team, intimidates the other team, motivates the other team.... And who did our author find tendulkar to compare with ? None other than the person who is known for his egoistic manoevers and who has the record for the slowest batting performance..!! Tendulkar started batting at the opening slot only by ODI 75... whereas gavaskar was always at the opening slot..Tendulkar otherwise used to come at No. 4 or 5 where the need is to accelerate than play a steady innings.. Still he had as good average as Gavaskar... All of us have heard how much integrity gavaskar possesses.. although u can dismiss all as rumours no one can give respect to a person who threw away his wicket in 87 semi final just because he didnot want to play in eden gardens in the final..! I guess i dont need to elaborate on the staying power of gavaskar anymore..!! The game has changed so much.. there is no one yardstick to compare people of two extreme generations... Looks like the author is that kind of a person who likes to go against the tide.... I have seen people who does things just to stand out in the crowd.....!



Sachin versus Bradman:
Anand Somasekharan: anand@gateway.net: Hi, Its absolutely true that Sachin is afterall just a damn good player, and not in anyway a great. He will of course never be able to emulate Bradman, but if he can better Gavaskar, he will have done a jolly good job for our country. He has certainly influenced a lot of Indian victories, but has rarely stayed till the end to see a match through. Sad! Anyway, happy birthday to our brightest prospect! Sincerely Anand



Sachin versus Bradman:
Manoj Purandare: mangop@hotmail.com: Sachin shouldn't be compared with any player good or bad. As the matter of fact no player should be compared with other players. Sachin has his own charm. The greatest asset to make him a great person is " more the runs he scores he becomes a more humble person"



Sachin versus Bradman:
Thulasiram: sthulasiram@hotmail.com: Batting Statistics is not the only yardstick.You just cannot win a match with huge scores. Did you take into account tendulkar's allround capabilitiy He is a complete cricketer and he gives his best in atleast one dept. of the game.Still Tendulkar is the best of what i have seen.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Anup: ddanup@mailcity.com: This indeed was not needed on THE MAN's B'day .And that too at a time when India is looking up to the World Cup , bringing down the morale of any player, be it a Tendulkar or Azharuddin is a shame . When THE BRADMAN himself saw himself in Sachin , we are still only just audience . And ask the great Gavaskar , why Tendulkar is rated so high . The answer undoubtedly will be his commitment to the game and the team than anything else . I feel more than his brilliance as a batsman ,in which he undoubtedly is the best in the world ,we should respect him for his commitment . This player atleast has the urge to stand there and make India win ....well, I saw some examples we have where he didnt rise to occassion . And those were done pretty well with none left out . But I wont be able to write a list of matches where he rescued India to victory , just because they are far too much than these . Well , I dont underestimate the others in the team . But when shall we learn to respect greatness . But I dont blame anyone . If we can do it to a MAHATMA , this is still only a Tendulkar .



Sachin versus Bradman:
Manas: manas@pacbell.net: I cannot, for the world, imagine why people are concerned with comparisons. Why can't people understant that you cannot compare two players seperated by a generation. There is no way you could argue that one player was better or worse than another. When people compare Tendulkar to Bradman, it is not in terms of statistics but in terms of the joy that he brings to the rest of us. Statistics have never, and will never, dictate the standing of a player like Tendulkar. So can we please, stop this crap once and for all ?



The Dean Jones column:
niraj : nbanjara@hotmail.com:



Sachin versus Bradman:
Siva Pochimcherla: pochimcherla@yahoo.com: This comparision does not make any sense. Just B'cos, Times have changed and the Game too. There is No useful message underlying this never ending essay. May be just a hint that the nation idolizes Tendulkar a little too much. But, haven't we been doing this for ever, in every generation??

more