Going back to the topic of Sachin doing something for the team, I re-read the original comment, where SPM said that ‘wait for the bigger matches and then admire his skills’.

I think that statement is really unfair to him, and that is what sounds like the Indian media. Never satisfied with what he does.

He has had plenty of ‘big match’ moments where people like SPM (and the Indian media in general) have not bothered to stand up and proudly say that he is a great player. At that time, the reaction is ‘good, he is supposed to do that’.

So how does Sachin win this battle? He is obviously not a machine. Just try to put yourself in his shoes - millions of die hard fans wanting him to not only score, but score big; not only score big, but win matches; not only win matches, but win matches against big teams; not only win matches against big teams, but also destroy the opponents' big bowlers. Where does it end?

The expectations are understandable. But the support that he is getting, is not. He needs to get some more support from people who try to think that between Dravid and him, there can only be one great player, from people who think he is a machine and has to do all of the above-mentioned things all the time, from people who do not understand cricket. Because if they do, they will shut up and look at what he has done in 15 years without any real drop in consistency.

I am not trying to woof him for his next match. I am knocking hard on wood, so that he continues the good work that he has done for his team through his career. He may fail in his next game and the fickle-minded fans will come back at me quickly and laugh. The next game is the ‘big game’. And all my arguments will be negated if he fails to score or ‘win the match’ for India.

Big deal. I don’t think he needs to prove anything to anyone. Those of you who are the bandwagon people, can drop off the bandwagon, because the fan wagon will continue to roll.