Sachin Tendulkar scores 74 on second day of second Test against West Indies at Wankhede Stadium in what may have been his final innings in international cricket Sachin Tendulkar walked forlornly back to the pavilion, removed his helmet, span around to wave his bat in the direction of all his disciples and then he was gone, leaving a billion broken hearts around India as his dream of saying farewell to cricket with a century died here at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. Oh, but how close he came and what drama the little king provided amid an atmosphere the like of which sport can rarely have imagined. When he was finally out for 74, a funereal hush descended where only minutes before there had been only joyous pandemonium. The killjoys, the men who ruined this craziest of parties in Sachin’s 200th and final Test, were the Guyanan spinner Narsingh Deonarine and his West Indiescaptain Darren Sammy, who conspired to dismiss the 40-year-old just when it appeared destiny dictated he would bow out with a 101st international century for India. After a morning of fabulous theatre, with each run as he set out on an unbeaten 38 being greeted with manic acclaim, Tendulkar, in between some sumptuous shots, had survived close shaves and a wonderful ding-dong with India’s new favourite pantomime villain Tino Best for an hour and quarter before he finally seemed to be in handsome control and cruising to the ultimate landmark. Then, maybe there was a momentary lapse of concentration. The ball seemed flatter but perhaps jumped on him slightly as Tendulkar’s thick edged cut plummeted into Sammy’s hands at first slip. There was no great celebration from the West Indies and no immediate comprehension from the 32,000 full-house. Say it wasn’t so, Sachin. The eerie silence hung for a moment until they realised they had to give their hero the send off he deserved. With India already having sailed past West Indies first innings total of 182 with just three wickets down, the realisation dawned that this could very easily be the last time they would ever see him bat, particularly in light of most of the Caribbean visitors not appearing to be overly ready for the fight. With the honourable exception of Best, of course. The standing ovation, accompanied by hundreds of waving Indian tricolour flags, was heartfelt. A couple of the West Indian players slapped him on the shoulder and congratulated him. Up in the President’s box above the pavilion, Tendulkar’s mum Rajni, watching him from her wheelchair for the first time at any stadium, looked close to tears as her boy departed up the stairs. How proud she could have been, though. For if this was his last innings, there had been enough priceless little mementos in there to remind not just mum, but the cricket world, of his pomp. His 74, compiled off 118 balls, had featured 12 largely delicious boundaries. If you had said before this game that he would depart with a half-century, then it would probably have satisfied most of his fans but everyone had begun to feel greedy after he went past the half-century mark for the 388th time in all forms of senior cricket. The atmosphere was quite extraordinarily feverish. There was no chance of any spare seats on this day after a few thousand had failed to turn up on the opening day. Sitting among the supporters in the North Stand was one of the great sports watching experiences, especially when the Best-Tendulkar show was in full flow. The day had begun with the Hindustan Times declaring on its front page “On 38, with a billion prayers” and that is exactly how it felt as the sun began to pound and Tendulkar resumed with a firm, solid push off the middle of the bat as Best steamed in. Shane Shillingford looked to be the danger man but when he dropped one short, Tendulkar cut him away mercilessly for four and then paddle swept him for another in successive balls. Then Best came roaring in. Sammy had said his men were motivated by being the Eric Hollies figure, the man, who like Bradman’s conqueror at the Oval, would have his name etched in the history books. Yet only dear old Tino looked fired up to play that part. When Sachin wafted at a shortish one, Best went wheeling away in delight, convinced that he had got his man on 47 caught behind. Tendulkar looked away, anguished, as if he sensed the fun was about to be terminated. Yet Richard Kettleborough, the umpire who a couple of decades ago used to bowl to Sachin in the nets during his Yorkshire spell, remained quite unmoved. The official had explained in an interview with the Telegraph that he would do his old friend no favours if a hard decision had to be made. “If I think it’s out, then he will have to go,” Kettleborough had said. Fortunately this time, he really did not believe he was – and replays suggested he was absolutely right.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 13:03:27 +0000