An old hand in a new world

For Sachin Tendulkar, this is 1989 all over again. Just as the old Iron Curtain was opened to let in the winds of change and an abominable wall came down, so a young boy started his journey to cricket's promised lands. At 35, after a career that has spanned 147 Tests and 417 one-day internationals, he stands poised on the threshold of a brave new world.

Tendulkar's Twenty20 passport has just the one stamp on it, from the Wanderers in Johannesburg 18 months ago. That game was succour to the Indians after they were humiliated in the ODIs but, on a night when bowlers were heroes, Tendulkar's contribution was negligible; he managed double-digits before a delivery from Charl Langeveldt was chopped on to the stumps.

Now another set of Indians, those from Mumbai who have invested in him to the tune of more than $1million a season, eagerly await his IPL bow. Half the season passed while he recuperated from a groin injury, and the Indians' fortunes have waned and then waxed. After the embarrassment caused by Harbhajan Singh, Slapgate, and four defeats on the trot, a team, led from the front by Shaun Pollock, has reeled off three consecutive victories against sides expected to make the semi-final cut.

Two home games follow and, with Tendulkar back, the buzz on the streets is of a determined push for fourth place and maybe beyond. Even before he has struck a ball in anger, the burden of expectation is squarely on his shoulders and those that have venerated him as India's Atlas won't want him to buckle now.

Twenty20 though is a very different game. Sourav Ganguly has shown signs of getting to grips with it, but other titans of the one-day game, like Ricky Ponting and Herschelle Gibbs, have struggled to impose themselves in the frenetic atmosphere. Two of Tendulkar's old sparring partners have been outstanding though, and those in blue shirts with the number 10 on their backs will hope that he follows their lead.

Glenn McGrath has continued to make grinning faces at Father Time, even as the Delhi Daredevils have lost their way in recent days. Eight games in, he sits atop the best economy-rate list, and has seven wickets for good measure. His old mate, Shane Warne, has done even better, taking 11 wickets and bamboozling the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni while leading the Rajasthan Royals, the rank outsiders, to the brink of a semi-final.

Everyone has been harping about Twenty20 being a batsman's game, and men like Gautam Gambhir and Shaun Marsh certainly won't argue with that. In a sense though, the bowlers' job is less taxing. While taking wickets remains important, the main objective is to keep the runs down and pressure batsmen into mistakes. Miserly overs, or maidens like McGrath managed in his first outing, are pure gold.

A new breed of batsman has flourished. And while not all of them are crude sluggers, they've managed to clear the mini-skirt-like boundaries with ridiculous ease. Those who operate within a more classical framework, like Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis, have found it an ordeal. Not only have they struggled to go over the top, but even the helter-skelter singles and twos have proved beyond them.

With fielding sides studying batsmen's weaknesses ever more closely, innovation has become the name of the game. In that regard, Tendulkar is unlikely to come up short. Right from the time that he revolutionised top-order batting in ODIs - few teams had ever sent their best man in first before Tendulkar's little dash at Eden Park in 1994 - he has added strokes to his repertoire, remaining a step ahead of bowlers that sought to contain him.

	He plays the paddle-sweep, to pace and spin alike, perhaps better than anyone has done, and Brett Lee could tell you about the bunt over the slips that tormented him in Australia earlier this season. The inside-out shot over cover is also frequently unveiled, but it's the neat tuck off the pads and the gorgeous straight drive that have been the defining strokes of an unparalleled one-day career

He plays the paddle-sweep, to pace and spin alike, perhaps better than anyone has done, and Brett Lee could tell you about the bunt over the slips that tormented him in Australia earlier this season. The inside-out shot over cover is also frequently unveiled, but it's the neat tuck off the pads and the gorgeous straight drive that have been the defining strokes of an unparalleled one-day career.

The skills are not in doubt, but his performances as the tournament nears its business end will come in for minute scrutiny. Warne can concede 27 in an over, and put it behind him in time for the next game. A Tendulkar nought is quite different. The Indian media may be gentle when it comes to analysing Adam Gilchrist's stop-start season, but Tendulkar will expect no such leeway.

A couple of low scores and TV channels will wheel out the same hackneyed question: Is Tendulkar finished? If he does score, but gets out a few balls before victory is clinched, the debates will centre around how he's no finisher. In many ways, it's a lose-lose situation, but the man who has been a winner for 18 years will surely find his way.