'Let's not forget birthday boy Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar the leader'

Sachin Tendulkar

"When I state that my favourite captain is Sachin Tendulkar, people always seem to have a questioning look, because if you look at the numbers, perhaps his stint as captain was not the most successful. But believe me, he was a very good captain.

He gave freedom to newcomers which is required to blossom as a player. He had a young team when he became captain... Dravid, Laxman, myself, Srinath, Kumble, we were all in the maturing stage and so we couldn't deliver the way the captain wanted us to. But Sachin as a captain definitely defined my international career. He brought me up the order in the ODI format and gave me the opportunity to open the innings with him. It was the turning point of my life as a cricketer." - Sourav Ganguly, Sports Illustrated, May 2013.

Watch video: Sachin Tendulkar's romantic side

Sachin Tendulkar represented India from 1989 to 2013, and formally captained the national side in two separate stints that collectively amounted to two years, during this period. He won his first Test as captain against Australia in Delhi in 1996-97, but the euphoria of the Indian supporters was short-lived. Hansie Cronje's South Africans seemed streets ahead of both the Indian and Australian sides in the limited- overs tri-series that followed, in terms of preparation, fitness, strategy and performance.

India lost all three league games to South Africa, but the hosts managed to qualify for the final on the strength of two wins over Australia. However, South Africa were the overwhelming favourites on the eve of the summit clash in Mumbai, with not even the most ardent Indian supporter inclined to give his team even an outside chance.

However, the Indian captain thought otherwise. The visitors, unbeaten at the league stage, were dismissed at 185 runs and India took the trophy.

Excerpted from Winning Like Sachin: Think & Succeed like Tendulkar by Devendra Prabhudesai, published by Rupa & Co

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