Today, April 24, is the birthday of India’s batting sensation, Sachin Tendulkar, on whom are pinned the country’s hopes for winning the World Cup in England starting less than three weeks from now.

As Sachin turns 26 years of age today, the gloom of the last two months has lifted and he is once again fully fit to lead the Indian charge towards victory.

The extraordinary young man has not only recovered fully from his back injury, the two months of “rest” seems to have given him a rare hunger for runs, as was evident from his unbeaten century the other day against Kapil Dev’s 1983 world cup winning squad.

The admirers of Sachin’s batting prowess were especially reassured by the three big shots he played that cleared the ropes at Bombay’s Wankhede stadium. Most comforting was the delectable lofted straight drive that cleared the sightscreen and made it clear that the same old Sachin is once again on the prowl. The back injury is no longer cramping the full flow of his willow.

Sachin himself has said that he will be playing his natural game in the World Cup matches and has expressed his confidence that India will bring home the World Cup.

Just 26 years old, this batting prodigy has already scored a record 40 centuries in tests and one day internationals – 19 in tests and a record 21 in one-dayers.

Back at the crease after what appeared to be ages, Sachin says that the Indian team has the talent to prevail over any side in the world. The players should not let the past performance weigh them down but should go into the World Cup on a clean slate.

Sachin says that the conditions in England in May-June will be quite helpful for the Indian bowling attack and it will be an entirely different ball game there than the one seen in the Indian sub-continent.

The Indian team, especially the batting, missed the services of Sachin dearly while he was recuperating from the back injury. It was Ajay Jadeja’s brilliant captaincy that snatched some victories from the very jaws of defeat, even though the batting notched up quite modest totals. Otherwise, the performance sans Sachin was quite disappointing and, with regular captain Azharuddin’s run of bad luck, there was the danger of fans and spectators losing interest in the game.

Throughout 1998 and early 1999, the scintillating batting by Sachin acted as a camouflage for the inept captaincy by Azhar. It was through the sheer dint of Sachin’s willow, and often through his bowling and fielding, that India won matches. With Sachin forced to take rest, the chink in Azhar’s captaincy became too glaring to ignore.

During Sachin’s absence, the Indian side has struck gold in opener S. Ramesh, in the newfound urgency in Rahul Dravid’s batting and in discovering the captaincy acumen of Jadeja. With Sachin back, the Indian batting is once again strong, capable of scoring big in the fifty overs. And, with a good total on the board, the Indian bowling can score a victory against the best side.

One more factor in India’s favor is that the team seems to be peaking at the right time.

The very presence of Sachin Tendulkar is enough to give new confidence to the Indian side. In that sense too, besides the strength that he adds to the team through his batting, fielding and bowling, Sachin also has the catalytic impact of lifting the performance of the entire team a couple of notches.

Fans across India, and also spread all over the world, are wishing Sachin Tendulkar a Happy Birrthday and a Victorious World Cup Campaign. Maybe, the coveted cup will be his return gift to them.

---