Sachin : The stats talk (Curious Case ... part 2)

How often do we see cricketers win 150 matches for their country? Of his 37 ODI hundereds 28 have ended up on a winning cause. Out of the 37687 runs scored by India in the 90's in winning games Sachin had scored 7985. The rest of the batters (averaging 6 a match there were 5 others) had managed between themselves 28934 runs at an average of about 5780 a difference of about 2000 runs. Considering India played in 122 winning games this factors to about 20 average points in a loose approximation.
To be a part of a lost cause and still not to lose faith in yourselves talks volumes about a person's character. Imagine how disterssing it would have been on that day in Chennai where 5 players could not manage 13 runs? To keep playing shows the passion this man had for the game. Money is not in the equation when Sachin is being talked about. Long after he walks off the field he is going to be making his millions. In books, endorsements, tv commentaries and what not..
Now if you are wondering why I took the pains to write a scipt to scrape of stats of cricinfo and make some sense into the numbers, I had an interesting conversaion on my way to Ireland at Heathrow. I saw a copy of Being Freddie by Andy Flinttof and passed a casual remark about how even Sachin hasnt written a book called Being Tendulkar.. The lady remarked "May be he hasnt done enough". If it is one man all of us want to be and not want to, it is Sachin. Flinttof is a star amongst the Beckhams and Pietersons and Camilla Joneses....

Sachin for us is a lone ranger, then now and forever.