The world equates him with Donald Bradman. The don concurs. The English on their part compare him with WG Grace- the ultimate accolade that can be expected from them. For future generations, the benchmark for cricketing excellence, other then these icons would undoubtedly include Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. The little big man of cricket takes the mundane activity of batting to an entirely new plane, where the competition is not with others, but himself. Bowlers cringe at his sight at the other end of the wicket. Shane Warne- Sachin's equivalent in bowling, if ever there was one -confessed of having nightmares of the master batsman belting him around. Dennis Lillee- the fast bowler to beat all fast bowlers- says he would need a helmet if he were to bowl Sachin, such is the power of his strokes. For gushing cricket writers, fast running, out of adjectives, the comparison with Brian Lara and sundry other batsman has ceased to be- the world has unanimously woken up to a simple fact- Sachin is the best. The man himself is unfazed by the adulation and carried on with the business of destroying bowlers with utmost humility. The rate, at which he is scoring runs, all known records in batting are bound to fall before his dominating blade. For instance, Desmond Haynes played a lifetime to amass 17- one-day centuries; Sachin halfway into his career has equaled that number. But more than the runs, it is the manner in which he gets them that has the critics nodding in appreciation and the masses swooning. Not for him are the watchwords of caution and restraint. He wades into bowlers with wanton abandon, and tears them into shreds. But even in the mayhem, not one false stroke can be detected, the impregnable technique perfectly in place. More often than not, it is not the bowler but his boredom with the proceedings that leads to his dismissal. After all there are limits to one's motivation when the opposition is not upto it. Paradoxically, Sachin the captain was a poor second to Sachin the batsman. Maybe, he was not ready for the hot seat, but then there is a fact that he had led not the fittest of the Indian teams, that too mostly away from home and in as weary circumstances as Alexander's troops towards the end of their winning trail. That proves that the best of men have limitations. Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their television sets and switch off their lives. The thrilling display of batsmanship is the kind which is all too rare, that makes the whole nation stand up for the man who was charged with ball tampering. A willow-wielder gifted with such an exciting co-ordination of brain, eye and foot can make the bat do anything. Sachin Tendulkar is born to greatness and is one of the youngest icon of this century.