It's no more a level-playing field when a certain Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is in the fray considering the X-factor he brings to the ground.

Sachin was unstoppable

Listen to this article

Sachin was unstoppable

00:00

It's no more a level-playing field when a certain Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is in the fray considering the X-factor he brings to the ground.

Maybe it's time his opponents start asking for a handicap while playing against him.

Imagine the kind of confidence a team will enjoy having a player with two decades of international experience behind him. And if you want to think about his stats, 47 Test and 46 ODI hundreds is an awesome thought.

An example of the Tendulkar factor was seen again in the Mumbai Indians versus Kolkata Knight Riders Indian Premier League game at Brabourne Stadium yesterday.

The Master was at his imperious best as he slammed an unbeaten 71 off 48 balls (10 fours) to power Mumbai to a seven-wicket win over Knight Riders. It was Mumbai's third win in four games.

Batting through the innings looked a small challenge considering the effortlessness and complete mastery that he displayed. He also showed that good players can score as quickly as the big-hitters even while playing proper cricketing shots. Except for a leading edge off left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, which the bowler failed to sight, there was not a single false stroke from the blade of Tendulkar.

Through his IPL III exploits, he has proved that he has lost none of his aggression. An example of this was seen in Mumbai's second game against Delhi Daredevils where he scored his half-century at such a rapid pace that even Virender Sehwag seemed to suffer from a complex.

Yesterday's innings of R Sathish (21 not out off 11 balls) explained the X-factor his skipper brings to the team. When Sathish walked in to bat, Mumbai needed to score at 8.06 runs an over. Asked if he felt the heat, he said: "There was no pressure as Tendulkar was at the other end."

On the other hand, Tendulkar's India teammate Ishant Sharma learnt what's it like to be playing against the Mumbai champ. Tendulkar clobbered him for six fours in his first two overs and Sharma was a pale shadow of the bowler he was in the earlier games, proving to be the most expensive of KKR's line-up with 44 runs in four overs.

"Tendulkar has done that to many bowlers over the years and hopefully, Ishant will learn from it," said KKR skipper Sourav Ganguly, who has been Tendulkar's partner in many duels for India.
u00a0
Next up is the clash against Chennai Super Kings at the Brabourne on Thursday. Tendulkar has enjoyed his battles with the southern city in domestic cricket. And the IPL is an Indian domestic competition. Fasten those belts.