Legend Sachin Tendulkar ct Sammy b Deonarine 74!

Wankhede Stadium: Day 2, Mumbai is on leave and Twitter buzzing with queries on spare tickets. All roads leading to Wankhede (read Sachin Tendulkar) are blocked, and all leading away from him (read Wankhede) are deserted. Marine Drive is having a population explosion, much before 8.30 am. Everyone wants to be in before Sachin walks in to extend his score from Day 1’s 38.

In the stands, they are talking about small targets — a 50 by the master being the first one. It’s over number 34.5 when Tendulkar faces the first ball of his Day 2 innings. The crowd roar hasn’t subsided for the past five minutes of his walking down the pavilion stairs and it’s Tino Best trying to rile the master with pace and length. Tendulkar defends, with one single.

Over No 35. There’s an eruption. Tendulkar sends the ball packing to the boundary twice in a row, reaches 47 from last evening’s 38, and then sweeps his way to 48 — all against Shane Shillingford, his Kolkata tormentor. He is in a hurry, cautious but not under pressure. The crowd has its heart in the mouth.

Over No 36.5, Tino Best is at it again, huge appeal for caught behind but Tendulkar stands his ground, umpire is unmoved, much like Chris Gayle at first slip. Best at his fighting worst, stares down the umpire and then Tendulkar in the next ball, a bouncer. Boos are instant as stands break into chagrin. Tendulkar is just two short of 50 and no one is taking nonsense against their hero.

It’s a troubling over though. Best at his best, bouncing the ball at 140km/h plus, three times in the over going above Sachin’s head forcing him to duck. But at ball no 5, the maestro lets the bat do the talking, straight drives Best to the long off boundary without opposition — first target crossed, the 68th half century of his Test career which comes in 91 balls, 106 minutes and with nine boundaries. At 52, the master raises his bat to the pavilion and then to the crowd which is breathless with joy and anticipation about the next target — a possible 100, a possible miracle, a possibility!

Over No 39.5, Shillingford is punished yet again as Tendulkar gives room and steers it effortlessly into the boundary over backward point. No one attempts a chase. It’s boundary No 10, his lucky number over the years comes in archival style.

Over No 40, the Best-Tendulkar duel under the Mumbai sun continues. The Bajan, known to be a fighter to the end, is flying at 140-plus, attempting bouncers and baiting Tendulkar to succumb to risky aggression — the crowd is anxious and on its feet — leave it alone Sachin, just stay, forget the upper cut. He has attempted twice off Tino but has fortunately not made contact or miscued.

Over No 43. Tino is back at Tendulkar. Driven through the covers this time, in a backfoot beauty. No one moves yet again. It’s boundary No 11, a bouncer follows but falls by the wayside. Tendulkar is 64, just 36 runs short of his 101th.

Fifth ball of the over, Kieran Powell drops him at short leg, Best agonises, almost breaks down mid pitch. Crowds survive a heart attack, Tendulkar a tense moment. It’s cut throat in the middle, tachycardia attacks the stands as pulses race uncontrollably. Anjali holds her hands tight. Longevity Tendulkar, remember that’s your best asset. Just stay there, the crowd tries to communicate.

Over No 44. Phew! Best  takes a rest and everyone else a breather. Tendulkar is by now 67. And yes, he has scored a century of sorts — has played 109 balls in this innings. By the way, Pujara is 50 too, in 77 balls. Applause, however, comes his way for being a rock to Tendulkar. Personal achievements can be feted on another, less Sachin-centric occasion. Pujara would agree.

Shannon Gabriel replaces Best to bowl the 44th. Last ball of Gabriel’s over. Tendulkar raises the pulse again this time by his classic uppish straight drive to the ropes behind the bowler. Mid-on dives way behind the racing bullet. Boundary No 12, Sachin is now 71 and an excited Aamir Khan in his lucky T-shirt is ready to fall off the balcony in sheer tension.

Son Arjun is at the ropes with his cricketing mates, restless in whites. Hrithik in his psychedelic gogs is trying to hide his emotions sitting next to Rajiv Shukla — and its drinks, the first break in a scintillating contest. Tendulkar still 71 in 115 deliveries, Pujara 58 in 85 and the partnership 139 in 200 balls. India is looking handsome at 216/2, leading the Windies by 31 runs.

Break over. Tendulkar in rotational mood, snacks on Deonarine with twos and a single but breaks have always been unsettling for the master. Oh no! It’s over, that great run. Just when heartbeats are settling down, just when assurances start flowing out of Tendulkar’s full bat, he fine cuts Deonarine’s fifth ball of the 45th over into the hands of a surprised Darren Sammy at first slip and begins, perhaps his one last walk back from the crease to the pavilion.

It’s pin drop silence, even the Windies aren’t celebrating. Tendulkar’s gone from the crease — God’s left forever! From an epochal match being savoured for every second, in just one miscued stroke, it plummets to being just another Test match again.

Tendulkar, meanwhile, winces at his fault, takes off his helmet, tries to stop a tear and then turns around at the ropes to ovate the crowds. Stunned silence gives way to a farewell applause and a rhythmic clap follows the maestro into the pavilion and to the dressing room, away from the longing eyes of a worshipping nation. The 101th was not ordained. Alas Sachin, couldn’t the God in you intervene? Just one last time!

Thus, the scorecard: Tendulkar ct Sammy, b Deonarine, 74 runs, 118 balls, 150 minutes, 12 fours.

Time to bookmark your history book. Don’t angst, it’s still a legendary entry to have.

Sachin jr performs as ball boy in dad's farewell Test

Twenty six years after Sachin Tendulkar performed as a ball boy at the Wankhede Stadium, his son Arjun was on Friday seen on the ground doing the same duty in the legendary batsman's farewell Test here. 

14-year-old Arjun, who was part of Mumbai's under-14 squad last year, was on the ground when the cricket legend was batting in his landmark 200th Test and also when he was caught at slips by Darren Sammy off Narsingh Deonarine. 

Interestingly, Tendulkar had performed the job of a ball boy at the age of 14 during the India versus Zimbabwe match during the 1987 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium. 

Source: The Pioneer, November 16, 2013