Advantage 99 - Sachin & Team

Will you prefer Sachin making 17,99,8,55,71,94,30 or 17,110,0,7,31,17,51 in a 7 one-day match series? I am sure, the 1^st one looks a much balanced contribution than the 2^nd one. Though in the 1^st option Sachin’s “personal record” will come as “4 half-centuries”, yet it is much better a contribution wrt team than the 2^nd one where he has “1 century” to add to his record. Having said that, let’s analyze Sachin’s psyche and it’s relationship to his performance.

There are quite a lot of player who are very much concerned about their personal milestones. Though they play for the team, yet their personal milestones are also equally important. Sachin is one of them. This is quite evident the way he plays when he is between 90 and 100 (trying to save himself from all possible ways of getting out). Obviously when he got out 99, it would be like a heart attack for him. But when I saw him disappointed after scoring 99, I was quick to realize that he is going to play well in the whole series. It’s because he couldn’t reach his milestone, ie 100 and that will always push him to do better and better in upcoming games. He gets complacent as soon as he reaches his century and he feels very relaxed in the very next game, that complacency costs him dear in rest of the series. Untill and unless he is blessed with a century, he is not going to put his gun down. And that’s what happened in the recently concluded series with England. 99 in second match helped him to play better in rest of the matches. Had he scored a century, I am sure you would have found a different and struggling Sachin. It sounds very out of place, but that’s the fact. As long as he remains a little away from his goal, he is always a better player to watch out. Once he reaches there, suddenly you will find him out of form.

If I have to think from team perspective, I will say it is better if Sachin gets out in 90s in one of the earlier matches of a series. That will push him to perform better and better in the further matches and there by help the team in a greater way. That’s why I call it as “Advantage 99- Sachin & Team”.