Mumbai: “As soon as I walked in here, I was made to realise that I am going to be 50, when people addressed me as “Kashe ahaat tumhi”, joked batting great Sachin Tendulkar as he met the Mumbai media who have been part of his cricketing journey at the CCI’s CK Nayudu Hall on Friday, as part of his 50th birthday celebrations. Tendulkar would be turning 50 on April 24 and the word tumhi in Marathi is used for someone who is middle-aged and respected.

Recounting his relationship with the media, Tendulkar stressed that sports journalists had played an important role in his career. “I have always believed that appreciation amplifies performance. The way you appreciated all my efforts, gave me strength to go out and try harder. I wasn’t always successful. I stumbled along the way. But this beautiful sport taught me to get back on my feet again. And move forward. But to move forward, you provided that fuel. On an empty tank, I don’t think I would have covered the distance that I did,” he stressed.

Tendulkar stated that during his playing days, there used to be a lot more interaction between the players and the press. “We used to have journalists sitting in the same room and having a meal with us. I don’t know if that happens today. Those things brought us closer to each other. From a journalist’s point of view, if you get to know an individual off the field too, you know what is going on in the players’ minds and you know how to cover moments when there are ups and downs,” he stated.

However, his relationship got off on a rocky note as a story about his first school hundred being carried without his picture caused him a lot of grief. “When I scored my first school hundred, it was covered beautifully, but my photograph wasn’t carried. And all my friends said, ‘Arre, tera photo aaya hi nahin. Sabka aata hain, tera nahin aaya.”

His parents and family members though consoled him with there will always be a next time. Tendulkar says he was still agitated. “My father ended up meeting his friend, who had a few contacts as he was a writer and he congratulated him on my hundred as he had read about it. My father told him everyone at home was happy except me because my friends were teasing me saying, “Tera photo nahin aaya.”

Eventually, his father’s friend got hold of Tendulkar’s picture through brother Ajit and two days later a massive write up with his picture was carried. “All my family members did not leave home for two days because they were embarrassed,” narrated Tendulkar on Friday.

The legendary cricketer also thanked the media for providing son Arjun the space to develop as a cricketer. “When I retired, you guys again hosted a fantastic afternoon for me here, at this venue, and I had made a request to allow Arjun to fall in love with cricket. My plea then was as a father, not a cricketer. Ten years have passed, and I must thank you for giving him that space and allowing him to fall in love with cricket. Today, in Arjun, we see a 23-year-old mature guy who is madly in love with cricket who doesn’t want anything else in life.”

Sachin Tendulkar Desert Storm: The ‘Master Blaster’ played one of the greatest One Day International innings on April 22, 1998 against Australia in Sharjah.

Cricket Legend Sachin Tendulkar celebrated the 25th anniversary of his historic “desert storm” innings against Australia at Sharjah by cutting a cake amid fans at an event in Mumbai. Tendulkar also interacted with his fans at this event ahead of his 50th birthday on April 24.

“I don’t think whatever I have been able to achieve would have been possible without your support, love & affection. That positive energy gave me the strength to go out and do what I did for India. The dream was to play for India, to lift that beautiful trophy – the birth of that dream took place in 1983. From there on till 2011, I only had one desire in life – hold that beautiful trophy,” he said while addressing the fans on Saturday as corroborated by an ANI report.

The right-handed batter is currently part of the Mumbai Indians’ franchise support staff and was part of the dressing room when Arjun Tendulkar, his son, made his IPL debut for the same franchise which he captained during its initial years. Sachin and Arjun Tendulkar also became the first-ever father-son duo to play in the IPL.

Talking about the iconic Desert Storm innings, the match at Sharjah against Australia was part of a triangular series also involving New Zealand. Prior to this, India-Australia Game on April 22, 1998, Team India had won just one out of their three games and Australia had already won their first three games to secure a place in the finals.

This was a must-win game for India to set up a titular contest against the Kangaroos. However, Australia ended up setting up an intimidating total of 284 for 7 in their 50 overs despite Venkatesh Prasad’s 2/41 in his 8 overs. Michael Bevan, one of the greatest finishers ever to have played the game, scored 101 off 103 balls to take the Aussies to a strong total.

In response, Tendulkar produced what is regarded as among the all-time best knocks ever played in a One-Day International. Against a formidable Australian attack comprising of the likes of Shane Warne, Michael Kasprowicz, Damien Fleming and Tom Moody, Tendulkar spared no one and attacked everyone.

Two sand storms hit Sharjah that day- one the actual one that interrupted the match and gave India a revised target of 276 in 46 overs and the other metaphorical from the bat of Sachin that almost blew away the mighty Aussies. Tendulkar, however, couldn’t get India past the finish line and Fleming ended a masterclass off an innings worth 143 off 131 with India’s scoreboard reading 242/5. Victory was still in sight for India as they needed 34 from 18 balls but the rest of the batters could only accumulate 8 runs from the next 3 overs to lose the game, handing Australia a victory by 26 runs. However, for his 9 fours and 5-sixes laden innings, Tendulkar was declared as the Player of the Match.

A sheer amalgamation of brilliance and rarity, a collection brilliant by design crafted with multitude of sparkling nano-facets. Tanishq, India’s largest jewellery retail brand from the house of Tata has launched a glorious solitaire collection ‘Celeste x Sachin Tendulkar’. The collection crafted with utmost care, precision and perfection pays a tribute to the legend’s remarkable achievements celebrating Master Blaster’s 100 international centuries, during this 50th birthday year.

This 100 limited edition solitaire collection is much like the legend it celebrates, representing pinnacle of excellence. Each piece in this collection shines with unmatched brilliance, scintillation, and fire unleashing infinite flashes of colour from these handcrafted diamonds. In the universe of diamonds, Celeste solitaires reign as the undisputed crown jewel of all jewels. The pieces in this uber- premium collection are crafted with revolutionary diamond cutting technology, protected by no less than six patents, the Celeste solitaire is a result of a ground-breaking innovation in the realm of diamond cutting.

‘Tanishq Celeste x Sachin Tendulkar’ includes an array of spectacular designs for both women and men, including rings, earrings and bracelets. Each piece in Tanishq Celeste is handcrafted to perfection and designed to capture the essence of Sachin Tendulkar’s style and personality. This oh-so appealing collection from the house of Tanishq boasts use of the highest clarity grade, characterized by an absence of any inclusions or blemishes even under 10X magnification. These magnificent solitaire pieces are a symbol of excellence, brilliance, rarity, love and a celebration of life’s most precious moments. This exclusive line of Solitaires speaks elegance, timelessness and panache exquisitely crafted in statement forms like no other.

Speaking on the launch of this magnificent collection, Mr. Arun Narayan, VP – Category, Marketing & Retail, Tanishq, Titan Company Limited said “The launch of Tanishq Celeste is momentous as we are delighted to present the most exquisitely crafted solitaire diamonds that shine with unmatched brilliance, scintillation & fire. These diamonds in addition to being sourced from the best across the world, graded in over 60 criteria of excellence, feature what has been called the biggest innovation in diamond cutting in over a century. Every Tanishq Celeste diamond imbued with this patented technology features thousands of invisible nano prisms that enhances the light performance and ensures unmatched brilliance, making Tanishq Celeste truly “a cut above”

And, to enhance the preciousness of Celeste, we are elated to partner with Sachin Tendulkar, an icon of excellence & brilliance and a man of impeccable style & sophistication. As the epitome of excellence and brilliance, we are delighted to present 100 limited edition ‘Sachin x Celeste’ solitaires that fall under 0.006% of Solitaires available worldwide in the D-Flawless 1 Carat category.

These are “the most precious of 1 carat diamonds in the world at this time”, to celebrate a decade of Sachin’s century of centuries, that remains the pinnacle of excellence & brilliance in world cricket. Further, like the master blaster himself, Celeste diamonds were born special but needed to be crafted and designed to perfection. To commemorate this journey, every Sachin x Celeste special edition solitaire comes with an exclusive coffee table book, “Sachin, Brilliant by Design!”

Speaking on the collaboration, Mr. Sachin Tendulkar said, “It’s been a pleasure partnering with Tanishq to create this exclusive limited-edition collection and bringing it to life. Tanishq has been a revered brand known for its design intricacy, trust factor and great customer connect. The Tanishq Celeste is a carefully curated innovative collection that celebrates the unifying spirit of cricket as well. I hope this partnership opens up newer avenues to celebrate excellence among the consumers.”

The campaign is about how people go far for love, for dreams, or for themselves and in the true IPL spirit, for their squad.

Spinny, a full-stack used car buying and selling platform in India, has launched its Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign featuring Sachin Tendulkar, along with Anil Kumble and Yuvraj Singh.

The campaign is about how people go far for love, for dreams, or for themselves and in the true IPL spirit, for their squad, the company stated in the press release.

‘Go Far For Your Squad’ is about the cricketers taking a road trip in a Spinny SUV. A boys trip all cricket lovers would do anything to be a part of.

The films will be released during the IPL 2023, scheduled to take place between March 31 to May 28, 2023.

Tendulkar said, “Spinny strives to offer delightful car buying and selling experiences through the timeless values of trust, transparency, and integrity. Being a passionate car lover, it has been wonderful working with the team on campaigns that reflect the warm emotions behind car ownership and driving.”

“This time, we decided to take Yuvraj and Anil with us on a memorable trip. We had a great time shooting the films, and I hope these rekindle memories about friendship and togetherness amongst the audience,” Tendulkar added.

Niraj Singh, founder and chief executive officer of Spinny, said , “We’re taking forward the brand story, ‘Go Far’ across internal and external touch points including the IPL campaign. IPL is all about team spirit, entertainment and supporting your players and teams. We wanted this feeling to be expressed in a fun, light-hearted way that connects with our customers, while enjoying their favourite games, this season. ‘Go far’ for your squad calls out to support your teams, your choices and the ones who matter.

“All about being a team player, doing what others want, and going far for the squad, as Sachin Tendulkar took his boys on a road trip. With Spinny, we’d go that extra mile, go far at every step to make it happen for each of our customers, including Sachin Tendulkar and his squad. A car is a special purchase for a home and our endeavour is to make it extra special for each of our customers,” Singh added.

The films are conceptualised by Tanya Mahendru, Spinny’s creative partner.

“For the IPL, we wanted to stitch a narrative with our brand ambassador. While the young ones strive to make it big this season, these three boys do the opposite – they take a road trip, make new memories outside the world of cricket; the car is a facilitator and a spectator on this boys trip. We wanted to show them all in a never before seen light – more real, bantering, unrestrained and doing little things for the squad. The essence of ‘Go far’ for your squad is about being a team player, one with the spirit of sport and also friendship.”

The films are produced by Tiger Baby.

Zoya Akhtar, founder of Tiger Baby, said, “This is Tiger Baby’s first commercial ad film and we couldn’t have been happier than it being a collaboration with Spinny. As a studio we aim to tell stories and entertain across all formats and this campaign helped set that up beautifully. We’re looking forward to more such collaborations.”

Arjun Varain Singh, director of the films, said, “It was refreshing to find a concept that was fun and aimed to make its audiences smile. And for us the only way to do that was to have fun shooting and to make sure our cricketing legends felt the same way. So we did. And I hope audiences are able to get in on it!”

Watch the ad here:

What makes this year’s TATA IPL even more special now is Sachin Tendulkar’s clarion call to create history by watching the TATA IPL on JioCinema

Mumbai: Season 16 of the TATA IPL is upon us, and fans are gearing up to catch all the live action of what is expected to be a historic season for many reasons. What has made it even more special now is Sachin Tendulkar’s clarion call to create history by watching the TATA IPL on JioCinema. In two separate videos, cricket’s greatest icon is seen telling fans he will watch TATA IPL nowhere else but on JioCinema in one and throws down the gauntlet to digital India, asking them to join in for setting an unprecedented record in another.

In the video, the Master Blaster alludes to India is seeing a paradigm shift in the way it consumes live sport. JioCinema has disrupted the status quo even further by giving fans the option to access a suite of immersive fan-first digital offerings for the TATA IPL. It will elevate every fan’s viewing experience by giving them unprecedented control over how, when, and where they watch their favourite teams and players. Sachin’s charge to fans of the game is rooted in his vision for accelerating digital sports viewership in India, beginning with the TATA IPL.

JioCinema’s presentation of the TATA IPL is expected to pack a punch for myriad reasons, many of which are going to be a first for the league. For one, JioCinema is streaming the high-octane league to Jio, Airtel, Vi, BSNL and all other subscribers for free. Viewers will be able to enjoy their favourite TATA IPL stars and teams in action in 4K for the first time, and can toggle between camera angles at will, using the multi-cam viewing option. The popular ‘hype’ feature is back which will allow users to check team scoring rates, batsmen’s scoring areas, bowlers’ heat maps and a plethora of statistics at their fingertips in parallel with live action.

To add to the cricket fever, JioCinema has unveiled a battery of superstars in its expert panel. Indian Premier League champions, title-winning mentors, all-time stats leaders and future hall-of-famers like Suresh Raina, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Anil Kumble, Robin Uthappa, RP Singh, Zaheer Khan, Eoin Morgan, Graeme Smith, and Scott Styris headline JioCinema’s star-studded expert panel, bringing fans the most comprehensive, immersive, and in-depth coverage of the 2023 edition across 16 unique feeds.

Fans will be able to catch the live action in 12 different languages and four additional feeds including the Insiders feed, Hangout feed, Fantasy feed, and Fanzone feed, each having a world of difference from the other.

JioCinema’s coverage of the TATA IPL kicks off on 31st March, 2023 from 5 PM as MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings takes on Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

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