It isn't

often that Sachin Tendulkar reacts to criticism. But after blazing away

at Hobart with a superb half-century that knocked out the Lankans from

the CB Series, the maestro had more than a word or two for his

detractors.

Pretty much

the same way the Hobart sun came out after a gloomy start, this man too

shrugged off all the poke-talk and aspersions cast at his form. Sachin

Ramesh Tendulkar cut loose from the word go, as if in a bid to make up

for lost opportunities.

"The last

three innings, I just felt I missed out, and I don't think about the

normal tendencies to get carried away because of expectations. SRT

Quite a few

people were getting overtly critical about his failures. Former

team-mate Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out that in the last 51 ODIs he

played, Sachin averaged over 62 in 24 games where India have batted

first, but he had only 26 per knock in the 27 matches in which India

batted second. And his performances before Hobart haven't helped

either.

"We are

playing so many games in a row, so ups and downs are always going to be

there. Sometimes, people tend to react a little more than what they

should.

And

Manjrekar went even further and I quote, "Another problem that India

have these days when they bat second on a good pitch, is that their

most experienced batsman, who bats at such an influential position in

the batting order, becomes almost redundant. But with Tendulkar, its

like the elephant in the room no one wants to talk about"

One just hopes these are nothing more than rumblings of discontent.

The amount

of performance he has given for the Indian cricket team, I think we

should be very colourful about what we are speaking. We really have to

weigh what we are writing about here.

"It's just

too many brains working at times. It's important what the team feels

inside the dressing room and we are pretty confident and so am I," said

Tendulkar.

But one

must remember that only a Sachin Tendulkar can bat the way he did at

Hobart. Indian team would do well to cherish the little pearls of

genius that cascade from his willow.