The bolly-cricket couples who didn’t make it beyond headlines

With Virushka becoming all the rage as they tied the knot on 11 December after months of speculation, we thought it would be interesting to look at some of the cricket-Bollywood jodis that didn’t quite make it to the altar. The attraction between the celebs from the two most celebrated professions in India is palpable and has generated a steady stream of relationships that have fuelled gossip columns over the years.

Isha Sharvani and Zaheer Khan

The fast pace bowler Zaheer Khan, who recently married actor Sagarika Ghatge, was first bowled out by Kisna actor Isha Sharvani in 2005. After an eight-year on-and-off relationship, the two called it quits in 2013. Though it is said that distance makes the heart grow fonder, it didn’t quite pan out in their case. Rather, it pushed them apart. It is said marriage was on the cards for the two, but they decided to part. In an interview with the Times of India, Isha said “I am single today. Yes, we were together for many years. But it is all over between Zaheer and me now."

Sourav Ganguly and Nagma

The Bengal ‘Tiger’ was once rumoured to be dating Telegu actor Nagma despite his marriage to Dona Ganguly (his childhood sweetheart). This is said to be one of the steamiest affairs between the world of cricket and Bollywood. Their love story started when Sourav was at the peak of his career during the 1999 World Cup in London. The news came as a shock to everybody, when the two were reportedly spotted at a temple near Arunachal Pradesh. They always denied the relationship and soon rumours of their split made headlines.


Sarika and Kapil Dev

The two made headlines in the 1980s when Kapil Dev was considered to be the god of cricket in India. The two were spotted together at various events and parties, which further sparked controversies. But fate played its hand and the cricketer met Romi Bhatia through one of his friends and fell head over heels for her. Soon the news of Sarika and Kapil’s break-up came and Kapil married Romi in 1980. Later, Sarika married actor Kamal Hassan.


Ravi Shastri and Amrita Singh

This is said to be one of the most talked about affairs of the ’80s. It was love at first sight for the two, and they had nothing to hide. It is said Amrita Singh was part of every match Ravi Shastri played. The two also appeared on a magazine cover and marriage was on the cards. But this affair was short-lived as things turned ugly and they called it off. Amrita later married actor Saif Ali Khan and Ravi also tied the knot Ritu Singh in 1990. However, both the marriages ended in divorce.


Yuvraj Singh and Kim Sharma

Yuvraj and Kim made several headlines over a span of four years. They were often spotted holding hands in events and parties. This is said to be the longest relationship for Yuvraj, but things didn’t work in their favour. It is said the two parted ways when Yuvraj’s mother Shabnam didn’t approve of his choice. Yuvraj married actor Hazel Keech last year and Kim tied the knot with a business tycoon.


Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Deepika Padukone

MS Dhoni, one of the most celebrated captains in Indian cricket, has been head over heels in love with actor Deepika Padukone. It is said that Dhoni had a huge crush on Deepika, and he asked his friends to introduce him to her. The actor, clearly flattered, was seen cheering for the Indian cricket team in a T20 match which Dhoni had invited her to watch. The brief romance ended soon after when Deepika started making headlines with Yuvraj Singh.


Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Raai Laxmi

The famous actor from South, Raai Laxmi who has now debuted in Bollywood with Julie 2, was dating Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni. The two started dating when Raai Laxmi was the ambassador of Chennai Super Kings in Indian Premier League (IPL) and Dhoni was a captain of the team. The two dated for less than a year and called it off because of personal differences. While promoting Julie 2, the actor said, “This needs to stop. It was a long time ago, he is happily married now, he has kids... Certain things don't work out, and then you have to move on.”

(Source: The Quint)

Numbers don’t lie: Kohli, Tendulkar are great but Viv Richards remains ODI cricket’s original legend

Few can match the West Indian’s greatness in a time when the game was not as skewed in favour of the batsman.

The recently-concluded Champions Trophy made for compelling viewing, especially in the business end of the tournament. Four of the finest One-Day International batsmen of all time – Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, and MS Dhoni – played this tournament and it was inevitable that at least two records would fall by the time the tournament ended.

Kohli, who has been dominating ODI cricket for more than five years now, became the fastest to reach 8000 ODI runs while Amla, almost unnoticed, became the quickest to get to 25 ODI centuries. This, I felt, would be a perfect time to take a detailed look at ODI greats (present and past) and figure out who might qualify as the best. I decided to approach this analysis very differently from the regular approach that analyses overall averages, strike rates etc.

Along with the four batsmen mentioned, the two others I selected for the analysis include the highest run-getter of all time, Sachin Tendulkar and Viv Richards, who was way ahead of his time and is regarded as the godfather of the modern ODI game. Every great batsman goes through a purple patch (or many) during his career where he appears almost invincible.

The opposite also happens more than once – where the batsman cannot seem to get the ball off the square. An interesting way to understand how the batsman’s career has progressed is by using the concept of the Moving Average (M Avg). How is this different from the concept of average?

Let us say the batsman has played 20 innings. The M Avg (for a set of ten innings) considers innings 1-10 in the first interval, innings 2-11 in its second, and so on. This eliminates sudden upward and downward shifts in the average and allows a player’s career progress to be understood much better. Further, to eliminate the confusion created by not outs, I have eliminated the not-out factor in the analysis and calculated the runs scored per innings (RPI). So, if a batsman has scored 200 runs in 10 innings and is not out twice, his RPI is 200/10 = 20 and his average is 200/8 = 25.

I have also defined the quality factor (QF) for batsmen as the product of the strike rate and the RPI. (QF = (SR*RPI)/100). The analysis of the QF throws up some very interesting and intriguing results. For almost all batsmen, periods of high RPI coincide with high SR; this does imply that batsmen seems to score more (and score quickly) during a purple patch. On the other hand, both the RPI and SR seem to take a plunge during a rough patch hinting that batsmen struggle not just to score runs when the going is tough but also find it challenging to score at a fast clip in that phase. The moving average concept is extended to both the strike rate (SR) and the quality factor (QF).

Factors considered:
M RPI – Moving average approach to Runs per Innings (RPI)
M SR – Moving average approach to Strike Rate
M QF – Moving average approach to Quality Factor ((RPI*SR)/100)
Ov RPI – Overall career Runs per Innings
Ov SR – Overall career Strike Rate
Ov QF – Overall career Quality Factor
The analysis excludes all matches where the batsman/team did not bat

Virat Kohli: Slow start but extraordinary resurgence
Like most other batsmen, Kohli had a slow start to his career. For the first 35 intervals, his RPI did not really stay higher than 40 for too long. In fact, there were phases where the RPI dipped to nearly 16. In the same period, his strike rate, although good, hovered in the mid 80s. However, in the period after that, Kohli’s career saw an extraordinary resurgence.

His RPI rose to reach a career-high 73 around the 77th interval. The corresponding strike rate also improved to top the 100 mark. The QF for this interval (73.80) is more than double his career QF (36.12). His form suffered another major dip around the 146th interval where his RPI fell to 16.33 and his SR dropped to 77. As a result, his QF in that phase was just 12.53, nearly 70% lower than his career mark. As he has demonstrated over the last few years, Kohli has the ability to get back to top form very quickly; in the last (and most recent) phase of his career, he has managed to up his game significantly and has maintained a very high RPI and a strike rate in the range of 100 thereby ensuring that the QF has been 25% higher than his career QF.

AB de Villiers: A recent plunge
AB de Villiers had a fairly ordinary start to his career with his RPI hovering in the 20s and 30s before finally reaching his career mark (43.75) around the 24th interval. His strike rate also rose higher than the 100 mark in that phase. Thereafter, both his RPI and strike rate stayed more or less higher than the career figures (43.75 and 100.25 respectively).

Following a major blip (in the 130-140 interval range), de Villiers’ QF went up beyond 70 and reached a career-high mark of nearly 98 in the 162nd interval. He continued to have a very high QF (80s and 90s) in the subsequent ten intervals with his SR reaching a jaw dropping 160 at one point. However, in the last (recent) phase, de Villiers has witnessed a plunge in form; his QF dropped to just below 22 around the 190th interval and now stands at 36.20, a 15% drop from his career figure.

Hashim Amla: An under-appreciated great
At first glance, Amla does not seem to fit into the category of dominant ODI batsmen. But beneath that placid exterior lies one of the most determined mindsets known to the international game. Amla has quietly and consistently gone about dismantling every major ODI record and is now undoubtedly ranked among the greats of the format.

His RPI hovered around the career mark (46.96) until the 65th interval with a high of 76.8 in the 24th interval. His QF in the 26th interval scaled the 80 mark (nearly double his career mark of 41.82). A major drop in form led to his QF falling to 22.08 in the 66th interval before another resurrection saw it reach the 75 mark in the 102nd interval. His form in the last 15 intervals has mirrored that of de Villiers; the QF is in the mid 30s and a good 20% lower than the career number.

MS Dhoni: Mostly consistent
It is probably fair to say that Dhoni has had the biggest impact on India’s ODI performance in the last decade. Starting off as a hitting option at No 3, Dhoni steadily transformed himself into an exceptional middle-order batsman capable to administering the perfect finish to an innings.

His stand-out display was in the 2011 World Cup final when he walked in at No 4 and crafted a fantastic, unbeaten 91 to lead India to a great win. When one observes Dhoni’s career journey, it is hard to miss the fact that his strike rate has consistently dropped off from over 100 to the mid 80s as his role in the team changed. His QF touched a career-high 60 in the 16th interval but fell away under 15 around the 40th interval before rising back up closer to his career number (33.04). An extraordinary drop in form around the 150th-160th intervals saw his strike rate drop below 60 and his QF fall to 10.67 (70% drop from career mark). Subsequently, there have been ups and downs but Dhoni’s numbers have mostly hovered around his career figures.

Sachin Tendulkar: A symbol of consistency after an initial blip
For nearly two decades, Tendulkar’s form was synonymous with India’s ODI hopes. When he clicked, India had a chance and when he didn’t, India stood virtually no chance. After starting off as a fast-scoring middle-order batsman, Tendulkar seized the opportunity to open during the tour of New Zealand in 1994 and never looked back.

Famously, Tendulkar had a very ordinary start to his career and his QF was most languishing in the mid 20s and even fell away under 10 a few times between the 47th & 55th intervals. His form saw a surge in the period post the blip and his QF reached the mid 50s around the 100th interval. After that phase, Tendulkar’s career was a symbol of consistency. His QF reached nearly 78 in the 181st interval and stayed well above his career mark (35.15) for almost 20 intervals.

Another major drop Tendulkar suffered was during the 287th interval when his SR fell to nearly 53 and his QF crashed to the lowest point (7.69). Despite a couple of other blips, Tendulkar pushed his QF back close to 70 and finished his career with a QF of 44, 20% greater than his career mark.

Viv Richards: A master before his time
At a time when the rest of the cricketing world was struggling to understand the ODI format, Viv Richards was nearly a generation ahead. His ability to play attacking cricket, improvise, and control the innings was well ahead of his time. Richards’ overall career numbers (average of 47 and a strike rate of 90) are on par with the best of this era when batting conditions are at their best.

Richards started off well with a strike rate close to 90 and a QF in the high 50s before a blip around the 20th and 28th interval when his QF fell to nearly 50% of his career mark of 36.30. A terrific run between the 85th and 97th intervals saw his strike rate go over 100 consistently with his QF topping out at 71. 62 (nearly double his career mark). Yet another surge between the 111th and 120th intervals (QF nearly touching 60) was followed by a below par end to his career as the QF dropped away to the early 20s (40% drop from the career figure).

Score pattern analysis
Analysing the score distribution for each player throws up some very interesting numbers. Both Kohli and Tendulkar make less than 15% of their overall RPI in more than 15% of their innings with Tendulkar topping at 22.6%. Amla tops the next two categories (15-30% and 30-50%) with 28.7% of his innings falling in these two ranges. Dhoni and de Villiers top the group in scores made in the 50-80% of RPI category. While Amla is way ahead of the group in terms of the proportion of scores made in the 80-100% of RPI category, Dhoni and Richards top the next two categories (100-150% and 150-200%).

Kohli’s penchant for big scores is evident from the fact that he tops the last two categories (200-300% and >300% of RPI) with close to 24% of his innings in these ranges. Tendulkar comes second, with 18.3% of his innings falling in the last two categories.

Cutting to the chase
For a while now, Kohli has demonstrated an amazing propensity to be able to lift his game in a chase, and even more so in a challenging chase. It is mind boggling to see him orchestrate the chase without ever being ruffled or affected by the rising run rate. But how does he stack up against the finest when it comes to his display in ODI chases? The numbers seem to point to the fact that Kohli might very well be the most effective batsman in a chase.

Kohli has a QF of 36.12 (RPI of 39.69 and SR of 91) overall, but this number rises up to a scarcely believable 47.26 in chases (RPI of 50.55 and SR of 93.5). His QF in chases (QF2) is a percentage improvement of 31% over his career QF (QF1). No other batsman has a QF2 exceeding their overall career numbers. Tendulkar comes closest with the QF ratio (QF2/QF1) working out to be 0.97 while most other batsmen have the corresponding number hovering around the 0.80 mark.

Further, Kohli has made a 50+ score on 43 occasions in chases representing an extraordinary 43% of the total chases he has been a part of (100 innings). Another terrific stat is that Kohli has been not out 18 times in a successful chase while scoring 50 or more (18% of total chases). While de Villiers and Tendulkar have made 50+ scores in 35% and 30% of the chases, de Villiers is second on the not-out % (50+ scores) in successful chases (17%).

When it really matters
The true test for every player comes when the going gets tough. Even more so when the game played is a knockout match. The player’s ability to leave a major impact on such an occasion is a huge factor in determining his greatness. While Kohli has had some superb numbers in chases, he has fallen short when it comes to the big-match days.

His QF in big matches (QF2) is much lower than his career QF (QF1) and the QF ratio (QF2/QF1) is just 0.72. While Dhoni and de Villiers have QF ratios close to the 0.80 mark, Amla is ranked well below with a poor QF ratio of 0.29. Tendulkar, who has often been (unfairly) criticised for not turning up on a big day, has actually done superbly when it matters. He has a QF ratio of 1.20 which is bettered only by the great Viv Richards who has a QF ratio of 1.22.

Richards, who won over 70% of the big games he played in, has made a 50+ score on 55% of the occasions he batted in a major game. This definitely does showcase his ability to rise to the occasion when it matters the most. Tendulkar is a close second with 44% while Kohli is well below at just 14%.

Richards: Unquestionably the greatest
Richards played in a time when batsmen the world over were quite clueless about the limited-overs format. In that period, Richards was so far ahead of the pack that it makes for some stunning reading. He made centuries in big finals (World Cup 1979, World Series finals in Australia) and smashed a world-record unbeaten 189 at Old Trafford in 1984, adding 106 for the last wicket with Michael Holding while scoring 94 of those runs. By the time he ended his glorious career, Richards had made three 150+ scores (and a 149 against India) and won 31 player-of-the-match awards in just 187 matches.

Moving RPI, SR and QF calculated for 3-year periods starting 1978 when ODIs were played more frequently. The period between 1971 & 1977 had very few matches and is not considered for the analysis.

To effectively compare batsmen across eras it is imperative that their numbers be adjusted based on a particular period. The current period (2015-’2017) has been by far the best for batsmen with the QF reaching a high of 31.07 (top six batsmen only from Test teams excluding the recent two entrants, Afghanistan and Ireland).

When each of the top batsmen is compared to his peers (QF comparison), Richards is more than twice as good as the rest of the fray while de Villiers, who is second, is 71% better than his peers. When the QF for each batsman’s career span is calculated, the QF for Richards’ career phase is the lowest (17.75) while it is the highest for Kohli and Amla (26.61). By adjusting the QF to map to the current phase (2015-’2017), we see that Richards’ QF jumps to a brilliant 63.52 which is more than 20% ahead de Villiers (52.75) and 26% ahead of Tendulkar (50.01) respectively.

It perhaps does make sense to assume that Richards, who scaled such heights in an otherwise slow-scoring era when the game was perhaps skewed in favour of bowlers (lighter bats, bigger boundaries, no field restrictions for many years), would have gone on to dominate the bowling like no other batsman ever can hope to.

(Source: Scroll)

Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell speech

Sachin Tendulkar played his last day of international cricket at the Wankhede, and after India sealed the series against West Indies, he gave an emotional farewell speech. The full text of it is here:

All my friends. Settle down let me talk, I will get more and more emotional (crowd gets louder and louder as he composes himself). My life, between 22 yards for 24 years, it is hard to believe that that wonderful journey has come to an end, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank people who have played an important role in my life. Also, for the first time in my life I am carrying this list, to remember all the names in case I forget someone. I hope you understand. It's getting a little bit difficult to talk but I will manage.

The most important person in my life, and I have missed him a lot since 1999 when he passed away, my father. Without his guidance, I don't think I would have been standing here in front of you. He gave me freedom at the age of 11, and told me that [I should] chase my dreams, but make sure you do not find short cuts. The path might be difficult, but don't give up, and I have simply followed his instructions. Above all, he told me to be a nice human being, which I will continue to do and try my best. Every time I have done something special [and] showed my bat, it was [for] my father.

My mother, I don't know how she dealt with such a naughty child like me. I was not easy to manage. She must be extremely patient. For a mother, the most important thing is that her child remains safe and healthy and fit. That was what she was most bothered and worried about. She took care of me for the last 24 years that I have played for India, but even before that she started praying for me the day I started playing cricket. She just prayed and prayed and I think her prayers and blessings have given me the strength to go out and perform, so a big thank you to my mother for all the sacrifices.

In my school days, for four years, I stayed with my uncle and aunt because my school was quite far from my home, and they treated me like their son. My aunt, after having had a hard day's play, I would be half asleep and she would be feeding me food so I could go again and play tomorrow. I can't forget these moments. I am like their son and I am glad it has continued to be the same way.

My eldest brother, Nitin, and his family, have always encouraged me. My eldest brother doesn't like to talkmuch, but the one thing he always told me is that whatever you do, I know you will always give it 100%, and that I have full faith and confidence in you. His encouragement meant a lot to me. My sister, Savita, and her family, was no different. The first cricket bat of my life was presented to me by my sister. It was a Kashmir willow bat. But that is where the journey began. She is one of those many who still continue to fast when I bat, so thank you very much.

Ajit, my brother, now what do I talk about him? I don't know. We have lived this dream together. He was the one who sacrificed his career for my cricket. He spotted the spark in me. And it all started from the age of 11 when he took me to Archrekar sir, my coach, and from there on my life changed. You will find this hard to believe but even last night he called to discuss my dismissal, knowing that there was a remote chance of batting again, but just the habit we have developed, the rapport we have developed, since my birth, has continued and it will continue. Maybe when I'm not playing cricket we will still be discussing technique.

Various things we agreed upon, my technique, and so many technical things which I didn't agree with him, we have had arguments and disagreements, but when I look back at all these things in my life, I would have been a lesser cricketer.

The most beautiful thing happened to me in 1990 when I met my wife, Anjali. Those were special years and it has continued and will always continue that way. I know Anjali, being a doctor; there was a wonderful career in front of her. When we decided to have a family, Anjali took the initiative to step back and say that 'you continue with your cricket and I will take the responsibility of the family'.

Without that, I don't think I would have been able to play cricket freely and without stress. Thanks for bearing with all my fuss and all my frustrations, and all sorts of rubbish that I have spoken. Thanks for bearing with me and always staying by my side through all the ups and downs. You are the best partnership I've had in my life.

Then, the two precious diamonds of my life, Sara and Arjun. They have already grown up. My daughter is 16, my son is 14. Time has flown by. I wanted to spend so much time with them on special occasions like their birthdays, their annual days, their sports day, going on holidays, whatever. I have missed out on all those things. Thanks for your understanding. Both of you have been so, so special to me you cannot imagine. I promise you [that] for 14 and 16 years I have not spent enough time with both of you, but the next 16 years or even beyond that, everything is for you.

My in-laws, Anand Mehta and Annabelle, both have been so, so supportive [and] loving and caring. I have discussed on various things in life, generally with them, and have taken their advice. You know, it's so important to have a strong family who is always with you and who are guiding you. Before you start clapping, the most important thing they did was allowing me to marry Anjali, so thank you very much.

In the last 24 years that I have played for India I have made new friends, and before that I have had friends from my childhood. They have all had a terrific contribution. As and when I have called them to come and bowl to me at the nets, they have left their work aside to come and help me. Be it joining me on holidays and having discussions with me on cricket, or how I was a little stressed and wanting to find a solution so I can perform better.

All those moments my friends were with me. Even for when I was injured, I would wake up in the morning because I couldn't sleep and thought that my career was over because of injuries, that is when my friends have woken up at 3 o'clock in the morning to drive with me and make me believe that my career was not over. Life would be incomplete without all those friends. Thanks for being there for me.

My cricket career started when I was 11. The turning point of my career was when my brother (Ajit) took me to Achrekar sir. I was extremely delighted to see him up in the stands. Normally he sits in front of the television and he watches all the games that I play. When I was 11/12, those were the days when I used to hop back on his scooter and play a couple of practice matches a day. The first half the innings I would be batting at Shivaji Park, the second half, at some other match in Azad Maidan. He would take me all over Mumbai to make sure I got match practice.

On a lighter note, in the last 29 years, sir has never ever said 'well played' to me because he thought I would get complacent and I would stop working hard. Maybe he can push his luck and wish me now, well done on my career, because there are no more matches, sir, in my life. I will be witnessing cricket, and cricket will always stay in my heart, but you have had an immense contribution in my life, so thank you very much.

My cricket for Mumbai started right here on this ground, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), which is so dear to me. I remember landing from New Zealand at four o'clock in the morning, and turning up for a game here at eight o'clock just because I wanted to be a part of Mumbai cricket, and not that somebody forced me. That was for the love of Mumbai cricket, and thank you very much. The president is here so thank you very much, along with your team, for taking care of me and looking after my cricket.

The dream was obviously to play for India, and that is where my association with BCCI started. BCCI was fantastic, right from my debut they believed in my ability and selecting me into the squad at the age of 16 was a big step, so thanks to all the selectors for having faith in me and the BCCI for giving me the freedom to express myself out in the middle. Things would have been different if you had not been behind me, and I really appreciate your support. Especially when I was injured, you were right with me and making sure that all the treatments were taken care of, and that I got fit and fine and playing [right] back for India.

The journey has been special, the last 24 years, I have played with many senior cricketers, and even before that there were many senior cricketers with whom I watched on television. They inspired me to play cricket, and to play in the right way. Thanks to all those senior cricketers, and unfortunately I have not been able to play with them, but I have high regards for all their achievements and all their contributions.

We see it on the mega-screen, Rahul, Laxman, Sourav, and Anil, who is not here, and my team-mates right here in front me. You are like my family away from home. I have had some wonderful times with you. It is going to be difficult to not be part of the dressing room, sharing those special moments. All the coaches for their guidance, it has been special for me. I know when MS Dhoni presented me the 200th Test match cap on day one morning. I had a brief message for the team. I would like to repeat that. I just feel that all of us are so, so fortunate and proud to be part of the Indian cricket team and serving the nation.

Knowing all of you guys, I know you will continue to serve the nation in the right spirit and right values. I believe we have been the lucky ones to be chosen by the Almighty to serve this sport. Each generation gets this opportunity to take care of this sport and serve it to the best of our ability. I have full faith in you to continue to serve the nation in the right spirit and to the best of your ability, to bring all the laurels to the country. All the very best.

I would be failing in my duties if I did not thank all the doctors, the physios, the trainers, who have put this difficult body together to go back on the field and be able to play. The amount of injuries that I have had in my career, I don't know how you have managed to keep me fit, but without your special efforts, it would never have happened. The doctors have met me at weird hours. I mean I have called them from Mumbai to Chennai, Mumbai to Delhi, I mean wherever. They have just taken the next flight and left their workand families to be with me, which has allowed me to play. So a big thank you to all three of you for keeping me in good shape.

My dear friend, late Mark Mascarenhas, my first manager. We unfortunately lost him in a car accident in 2001, but he was such a well-wisher of cricket, my cricket, and especially Indian cricket. He was so passionate. He understood what it takes to represent a nation and gave me all the space to go out and express myself, and never pressurized me to do this ad or promotion or whatever the sponsors demanded. He took care of that and today I miss him, so thank you Mark for all your contribution.

My current management team, WSG, for repeating what Mark has done, because when I signed the contract I exactly told them what I want from them, and what it requires to represent me. They have done that and respected that.

Someone who has worked closely with me for 14 years is my manager, Vinod Nayudu. He is more like my family and all the sacrifices, spending time away from his family for my work, has been special, so big thank you to his family as well for giving up so much time for my work with Vinod.

In my school days, when I performed well, the media backed me a lot. They continue to do that till this morning. Thank you so much to the media for supporting and appreciating my performances. It surely had a positive effect on me. Thank you so much to all the photographers as well for those wonderfully captured moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life, so a big thank you to all the photographers.

I know my speech is getting a bit too long (crowd roars), but this is the last thing I want to say. I want to thank all the people here who have flown in from various parts of the world, and have supported me endlessly, whether I scored a 0 or a 100-plus. Your support was so dear to me and meant a lot to me. Whatever you have done for me.

I know I have met so many guys who have fasted for me, prayed for me, done so much for me. Without that life wouldn't have been like this for me. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, and also say that time has flown by rather quickly, but the memories you have left with me will always be with me forever and ever, especially "Sachin, Sachin" which will reverberate in my ears till I stop breathing. Thank you very much. If I have missed out on saying something, I hope you understand. Goodbye.