Tendulkar glow helps MumbaiIndians(MI) shine on IPL

In his 21st year of international cricket, Sachin Tendulkar has been in superb form - runs have flowed in Tests and ODIs and now the Twenty20 format. His innings at the Kotla on Wednesday encompassed all that is brilliant about the man - not just in the manner of his own batting but in how it influenced Mumbai Indians, both necessary traits if they aspire to reach the IPL semi-finals.

Mind over body
That Tendulkar can score 200 in an ODI and continue to drag a cricket ball from outside off stump and hit it through midwicket at the age of 37 instead of 27, Geoffrey Boycott wrote recently, will continue to astonish many. Yet it should not, he added, come as a surprise: though a player's fitness starts to slip a bit when he hits the mid-30s, the vast experience gained allows him to play smart cricket. The result, as Tendulkar so aptly showed this evening, was that he can perform just as well as he did at 27 without stretching his body to breaking point.

Mumbai survive special Yusuf ton with Sachin's sensible capitancy with bowling and fielding changes

,iMumbai Indians 212 for 6 (Rayudu 55, Tiwary 53, Mascarenhas 2-34) beat Rajasthan Royals 208 for 7 (Yusuf 100, Dogra 41, Malinga 2-22) by 4 runs
The second-fastest Twenty20 hundred, a 37-ball assault from Yusuf Pathan, as delicate as it was brutal, wasn't enough on a day in which precious little was contributed by the other Rajasthan Royals players. Despite Mumbai Indians piling on their biggest score in the IPL, it required special death bowling from Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga to deny Rajasthan 19 runs in the last two overs.

Yusuf's onslaught came after Mumbai's youngsters Ambati Rayudu, considered unlucky to have not played for India yet, and Saurabh Tiwary powered the home side to what seemed a massive total, but it turned out to be one that just about dodged the Yusuf-shaped bullet.

The it's-good-to-be-back ad campaign of the IPL could well have been meant exclusively for Yusuf. In his first innings back in India, he shook a dying match up and gave Mumbai a right scare. The Yusuf show began when Rajasthan needed 143 off 57. He scored 54 off the next 11 balls he faced, 26 other deliveries got him 46, and when he finally got out he left Rajasthan 40 to get off 17 deliveries.

Of the nine fours and eight sixes he hit in a frenetic period of play, three shots stood out - and they were not sixes. The length deliveries and full tosses were all murdered, but in the 13th over - he was 57 off 22 by then - Ryan McLaren bowled a decent enough yorker to him. Yusuf opened the face late, beautifully late, and guided it for four. The next ball was not more than a couple of inches short of being a yorker, but on the stumps, and he managed to get under it, and still hit it to long-off for four. The third yorker of the over was neither wide nor straight, in between, and he leaned back to make space and steered it even later than the one before. More brutal hits preceded a moment of inspiration for Mumbai.

Sachin Tendulkar becomes UN goodwill ambassador

Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar has been named the Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The appointment announced by UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner in Mumbai will enable Tendulkar to use his popularity to raise public awareness and harness support for environmental action in India and the world.

"It is the appointment of UNEP's goodwill ambassador for the environment of a person who perhaps in the history of cricket stands out as unique, who is revered by millions of people across the world, who in his personality has humbleness in his character represents everything that the IPL has declared it strives for and perhaps in each one of us we wish we live up to," Steiner said.

Tendulkar, who would be the second Indian after Mother Teresa to become UN ambassador, said he will be happy if he is able to contribute even a fraction of what she has done.

"I must say I have got very big shoes to fit. I don't know whether I will be able to contribute even a fraction of what she has been able to but if I can make everyone and understand a little bit, its just those small changes in life, day to day life, you don't have to change your lifestyle, small changes in life if you can do that it will really help us save the planet," Tendulkar said.

Congratulate the little master on his historic double century

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar became the only player to score a double ton for a world record during the second One-dayer against South Africa in Gwalior. The double century came off just 147 balls and was a complete master piece from the master batsman. With 200 runs, the little master also broke Saeed Anwar and Charles Coventry's record of 194 runs respectively. Tendulkar smashed 25 fours and 3 sixes during his marathon innings, much to the delight of the crowds at Captain Roop Singh Stadium. Let's congratulate Sachin Tendulkar for adding yet another feather in his cap.

Hyderabad heartbreaker Tendulkar's 175 - ESPN-Cricinfo Best ODI innings Award 2009

Tendulkar's 175 was the sort of innings that just had to win, but fate had other plans

Best ODI Batting Performance
Sachin Tendulkar
175 v Australia
fifth ODI, Hyderabad
In the most important one-day match of his career, Sachin Tendulkar was out for four as India tried to chase down a mammoth Australian total of 359. Six years later, in a game of admittedly less significance than the World Cup final, he found himself at the crease with his team once again needing more than 350 for victory. Again, India fell agonisingly short, but this time it wasn't for lack of a contribution from its talisman.