Sachin: A Definite Biography

A close up of the great cricketer in an in-depth and comprehensive biography.

An extract from the chapter 'The World beneath his Feet' in the book, Sachin Tendulkar, A Definitive Biography by Vaibhav Purandare (Roli, 2005)

HT Image

It's rather bizarre to look for the good in an act of mass murder. But any member of the 1988 St Xavier's High School team butchered by Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli during a world record partnership, including me, would have a heart of ice not to have shamelessly felt during that terrible time for our time, a certain eloquence.

…

When news came that Xavier's were to face Shardashram in the semis, there was some apprehension in school. For the time when one Sunil Gavaskar represented Xavier's had long disappeared, and Shardashram had acquired a great reputation in school's cricket.

To top it all, Sachin Tendulkar's name was hitting the headlines all too often, and matching him, headline for headline, and run for run, was his friend, Vinod Kambli.