How good is great?

We were discussing it in the bar.It wasnt for the first time.Its a question thats plagued the doubters and the believers,the fans and the detractors,the average watchers and the connosieurs.Where does Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar stand among the echelon of batting greats?

We were trying to find out the answer to that question.Make no mistake.This wasnt some defence attorney vs public prosecutor showdown.Nor was it some judgmental ritual.I hope u get the point.That elusive classic that ought to define his batsmanship came up. Have we just missed it in 'yet another match-losing' shadow? was the counter.Were we in the right debating this in the firstplace and all followed.It was an engaging discussion all throughout.Funny enough and as expected no one won the arguement and no answers surfaced.But there was the common thread that was the underlying assumption on which we based our arguements.The undeniable brilliance that radiated from that willow.In other words we were conscious of the fact that he was the greatest diamond that ever shined in Indian sport.

A week later a tabloid runs a headline 'Tendulkar or Endulkar'.A 24hr news channel organizes a nation wide poll.The man on the street jokes 'Everytime he makes a hundred we lose'.The self-proclaimed hardliner wants him out.And the person who never played tennis-ball cricket laughs when he gets hit on the helmet.Oh the unfathomable darkness of these minds.And when i put our discussion in perspective with this bucketfull of nonsense i thought i had hit upon the answer to that question.And then he played that off drive.My God the genius of that!