Print

Please post once and this message will disappear! Introduce yourself, say hello, jump into a discussion...

[Teddy]

Rahul Tondulkar, who broke Vinod Kambli’s record in Harris Shield cricket tournament recently, is already a known name in cricket-crazy Lahore.

Mujahid Syed, General Manager at The Nation newspaper, enquired: “Suna hain koi chota ladka, Rohan Tondulkar bada accha khelta hain. There was news of his achievement. Is he a Tendulkar in the making?”

And if one knows about Rahul Tondulkar, you can imagine how big ‘Big B’ is here.

Locals informed that the news of Amitabh Bachchan’s illness was covered extensively by the news channels in Pakistan. “It was like Bush had fallen ill” Imran Badar, an electrician said.

Mumtaz Ahmad Siddiqui, who works with Pakistan Telecommunications Limited, said he has watched Bachchan’s movie Baghban nine times.

“I was watching the movie again the day before yesterday on the occasion of Eid. I am a big fan of his I just love the movie. It is so touching and spreads the message of family values; You can watch the movie with your family,” said the 51-year-old Siddiqui.

 
More to come: Indian fans were sparse at the Gaddafi Stadium
The Wagah border crosseth over...

The India-Pakistan series is usually an opportunity for many victims of the Partition to renew ties with their roots.

Bhagwan Das of Modi Nagar in Ghaziabad is one such person. Das was born and did his schooling in Lyalpur, which is now Faisalabad.

This was before he migrated to Ghaziabad during the Partition.
He was at the stadium yesterday with his Faisalabad-based friend Shafeeq, when Mid Day spotted him. Narrating his story, an emotional Das recounted how Shafeeq’s uncle Ramzan Nazar was his classmate and had come to receive him at the Wagah border yesterday.

But Das, who also came last time, had to leave the stadium immediately. “I’m staying at Shafeeq’s house. He had come with me with a mobile phone and was not allowed in. So I’ll do some sightseeing,” said Das.

More Indians to cross over after festival

There was only a handful of Indians at the stadium yesterday. But several more are expected on Sunday.

“Many people have applied for visa. Today is Lodhi (a northern Indian festival) so people decided to stay back.

They will arrive here by Sunday.

“Also, people want to see India batting,” said Ashok Ratra from Delhi.

[aggarwald]

Never heard of Rahul. Can you give more details about his profile?

[dhruvdeepak]

http://cricket.blogsbyindia.com/post/29/211


New Tendulkar for India - 15 years Old Boy - Rahul Tondulkar
Cricket fans in Mumbai, a city that has nurtured batting greats such as Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar [Now Trible Ton-dulkar], are hailing a new star in the making.

An undefeated 357 by 15-year-old Rahul Tondulkar last week has fired the imagination of this cricket-crazy city, not least because
of the similarity in name to cricket's record holder for test centuries.

A day after scoring a record 357 in the Harris Shield, Rahul Tondulkar finds his place in a Mumbai team. The IES VN Sule’s School (Dadar) student has been selected for the Mumbai under-17 team for the Vijay Merchant All-India Knock-Out cricket tournament.

What's in a name, goes the famous saying. But if your name is Rahul Tondulkar and you play cricket, you are sure to get a second look, courtesy Dravid and Tendulkar

Rahul’s unbeaten knock on Wednesday was not a flash in the pan. He has been one of the most consistent players at the school level.

“This year, he has been very consistent. His record breaking innings has made things easy for us (selectors) to pick him,” said Praveen Amre, chairman of the national junior selection committee.

“We have been having problems with our openers. Rahul fits into our scheme of things. I have seen him play the game, but it is too early for anybody to judge as he is young and could change,” stated Amre, who is also on the Mumbai selection panel. For Rahul, the last three days have been very hectic. His 450-minute marathon earned his team a win on Thursday against St Francis High School, Borivali, but the larger goal of entering the semifinals is not achieved. For the youngster, that is more important than the milestone.

“I’m thankful to my coach. He has been a guiding force,” said Rahul, reacting to his selection to the Mumbai team. The Sachin Tendulkar fan, hopes to emulate his idol.

"I know how it feels to score 300 runs in school cricket,’’ reacted former India Test player Vinod Kambli when he was told that his individual score of 349 (not out) had been surpassed by Rahul Tondulkar of VN Sule Guruji School (Dadar).

Tondulkar scored an unbeaten 357 with 49 fours and three sixes against St Francis (Borivli) in the Harris Shield Elite Group match yesterday.

“It’s not an easy task to reach triple hundred. He must have concentrated hard. I would like to meet and congratulate him,’’ he said. True to his name, Tondulkar has been scoring tons since last year and in almost every inter-school tournament.

Tondulkar's effort enabled his school team to declare at an imposing 621-3, and local journalists were quick to recall the 1988 exploits of a teenage Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli, who both hit triple centuries in the same Harris Shield competition.

Tendulkar and Kambli put on a record 664 runs for the third wicket for Shardashram against St. Xavier's. Tendulkar went on to make his test debut as a cherub-faced 16-year-old the following year, and Kambli made his one-day debut in 1991.

Following Rahul's exploits, a national daily carried a front-page story in its Mumbai edition headlined "This one's named Tondulkar!'

But Tendulkar cautioned people against putting too much pressure on the schoolboy. "Rahul is very young. Don't pressurise him. Leave him alone, let him enjoy his game," he told reporters last week.

1988 record

Kambli had scored the runs while playing for Shardashram School against St Xavier’s in 1988. That match also saw another record being made, one that still stands to this day. A 664-run unbeaten partnership between Kambli and Sachin Tendulkar (326 not out).

Wanted to go for 400

If it were not for a desperately needed win, Tondulkar would have gone for 400. ‘‘We need to win to book a semi-final berth. Keeping that in mind, we were forced to declare,’’ said Guruji coach Gopal Koli, who decided to declare the innings at 621 for three.

Wanted 400

Tondulkar too was ruing the opportunity to score 400 runs. ‘‘Once I reached 300, I was targeting the record. I could have scored 400, but it was important for us to declare. Now, I must ensure that my team wins,’’ the 15-year-old said.

Parents Ravindra and Rashmi were pleasantly surprised at the news. Ravindra who works for BMC at CST and Rashmi, who is a Canara Bank employee posted at Ghatkopar, were at their respective offices when they got the news.

‘‘When he came home on the first day he was on 227. We told him to make at least 300. We never dreamt that he would break the record,’’ said his father Ravindra.

‘Don’t throw it away’

But unlike Sachin, Tondulkar’s partner Bhushan Shinde fell for 130. ‘‘It was sad that he got out. Throughout the time he was at the crease he kept encouraging me and asked me not to throw my wicket,’’ Tondulkar said.

Praise from Sachin

The icing on the cake? Praise from the master blaster himself. On hearing of Tondulkar’s feat, Tendulkar said, “Any youngster performing well is good for the country, but since he is still in school he has a long time to get to the highest level.”

At the Bilwa Kunj Society in Mulund (West), it is celebration time. “The New Year revelry has already started for us,” said his mother Reshmi. “We were pleasantly surprised when the call came from the Mumbai Cricket Association,” she added. “I am sure he will live up to our expectations.”

But Rahul’s coach Gopal Kole is not surprised by his ward’s selection. “I have said this before. He has the potential to play in the big league. I was sure he will be in the team.” Kole says the selection is a reward for his hard work, patience and perseverance.

Team: Sushant Khaire (capt), Rehmani Sufian (v-capt), Rohan Bhosle, Rahul Tondulkar, Gaurav Chavan, Nikhil Patil (w-k), Nikhil Mandle, Pankaj Jaiswai, Akshay Jambhekar, Iqbal Abdulla, Dhaval Kulkarni, Anuj Vakil, Sagar Krishnani,

Sukhil Venkatramani, Kushal Yadav. Coach: Satish Samant; Trainer: Afzal Khan

His Stats

    * Harris Shield
      Against Anjuman 73
      Against Rizvi 23
      Against St Francis 357 n.o,
      Average last year: 76
      In Parle Cup (04-05): 95
    * Giles Shield
      In the eight matches in 2002-03 he scored five tons.