Adieu Sachin.Hello Rohit, Pujara

WANKHEDE STADIUM: When skipper MS Dhoni announced at the pre-match Press conference that he had something special planned for Sachin Tendulkar in his farewell match, he did not give a hint of the action in store – first a scintillating knock of 74 by a vintage little master himself, then a keenly accumulated century by Cheteshwar Pujara, followed up by an unbeaten and spicy 111 in 117 balls by Rohit Sharma and finally three quick Windies scalps at the end of the day.

And, this is just the second day of this very happening SRT200 occasion with not just the crowd getting to see the brilliance of their hero but also returning in the cushion of a possible match and series win by India — perhaps, in three days flat.

In most sense, it was a Raymond match, comprehensive and complete — but for those 26 runs that Tendulkar fell short of, paying heavily for a momentary lapse in concentration. Just that much more, and he would have crafted the hugest century of his career, more romantic and more valued than even his 100th 100. No demand would have ever been made of him again and he would have walked out of cricket without a tinge of regret.

But that complete satisfaction was not destined and the nation had to make do with a syrupy 74 that Sachin engineered through his blade, punctuating these last-match runs with style, variety and old magic.

But really, other than his missed last ton, everything else was perfect to a fault at Wankhede. While Pujara, the emerging icon of long hauls, waited patiently for his moment to come after the legend had had his fill, made 113 runs in 137 balls, adorning his effort with 12 boundaries, Rohit Sharma scripted a quickfire 111 in just 117 even as the crowd rooted for Dhoni to declare and give their master blaster another chance to take guard.

Tendulkar’s sublime knock was witnessed by a host of celebrities, including Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Bollywood superstars Aamir Khan and Hrithik Roshan.

While Pujara’s ton was a soiree of keenly picked balls and sound technique, Sharma’s was a show of aggression. He decimated all hues of bowlers, including Best, lifting him to a majestic upper cut six, much like the Tendulkar of yore all those years ago. He marked his 100 with another grand six over, time over long on as Samuel looked at the ropes nonplussed.

The big Sachin moment overshadowed the Pujara-Rohit effort which put India in a solid position with some help by Mohammed Shami who stayed put under Rohit’s guidance till he completed the century.

For Rohit, this was his first home Test and the occasion big enough personally too. He keenly guided the tailender in Shami (they put an 80-run partnership on board) while inching towards his century – the second successive one after Kolkata where he had starred just as brilliantly. But for a minor breach of security when Shillingford overstepped his catch at 85, his century was a joy to watch.

While the two centurions announced in Sachin’s farewell match that India’s generation next had arrived to carry on their icon’s campaign of 24 years, the Windies too made a small little mark with a dogged Shane Shillingford recording a five wicket haul in 43 overs. Deonarine took two scalps, one being of Sachin Tendulkar.

India packed up for 495, putting the Windies to bat and squirm. At the end of Day 2, the struggling visitors were three down for just 43 runs with a 270 run mountain staring them down for Day 3 and Chris Gayle (6) still at the crease.

Brief Scores

West Indies: 182 and 43/2 in 12.2 overs (Darren Barvo 11; R Ashwin 2/12) trail India: 495 all out in 108 overs (Cheteshwar Pujar

Source: The Pioneer, November 16, 2013