Superstar Tendulkar writes the perfect script He's 35 years old and owns practically every batting record in the game, but you couldn't escape the feeling that this was probably Sachin Tendulkar's finest hour  December 15, 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As Graeme Swann prepared to bowl the second ball of his 29th over, more than 20,000 people in the stands abandoned their plastic chairs. They were on their feet, creating the sort of bedlam and noise I last witnessed at this very venue seven years ago, when Harbhajan Singh's squirt past point clinched the most famous of India's series victories. Swann bowled. The batsman came forward and patted the ball back with almost exaggerated flourish. The crowd was momentarily quieted but the primal scream started again as Swann went back to his mark. Again, there was sharp turn, but the paddle-sweep that greeted the ball was emphatic. As it streaked to fine leg, the batsman ran down the pitch and punched the air in celebration, before being held aloft by his equally delighted partner. He's 35 years old and owns practically every batting record in the game, but you couldn't escape the feeling that this was probably Sachin Tendulkar's finest hour. To score the winning runs in a record-shattering chase was special enough, but when that last stroke also brought up your 41st century, it became ineffably so. Boyhood dreams are made of this, and it says a lot about Tendulkar that he has never lost that child-like passion for the game. Even in a world where cricket was played in isolation, this would have been a breathtaking effort. Given all that's gone on over the past three weeks though, this was so much more than just a match-winning century. Kevin Pietersen said it best after the game. "Who can write Sachin Tendulkar's scripts any better?," he asked. "The man from Mumbai came in and scored a sensational hundred. He batted like a superstar." Those that reckon this will heal the wounds of the past don't know Tendulkar well enough though. The scabs ofBarbados 1997 and Chepauk 1999 will always be there, especially given he had done so much in both games to take India towards victory. As the years passed, theories and opinions came and went, with people pointing to the absence of a defining fourth-innings knock from the Tendulkar repertoire. Brian Lara had the peerless unbeaten 153 at the Kensington Oval. What did Tendulkar have to offer as response? An awful lot really, but those intent on nitpicking will inevitably find a way. As the afternoon progressed though, the feeling intensified that we were witnessing something extraordinary. With Pietersen not inclined to crowd the batsmen with close-in fielders, Tendulkar was more than happy to pick off the runs with a nudge here, a deflection there and the odd paddle-sweep for variety. The contrast with Virender Sehwag couldn't have been more acute. Sehwag's 83 contained 11 singles and two twos, whereas 61 of Tendulkar's runs came in singles (45) or twos. It was a consummate innings. He defended purposefully, especially against the always menacing Andrew Flintoff, but there was no getting bogged down either. Every time there was a lull, either he or Yuvraj Singh would pierce the field.
Though dehydration became a factor as the afternoon sun beat down, he continued to scamper between the wickets with the same urgency he showed as a teenager. It's that enthusiasm that's so infectious. Sitting in the stands for an hour this afternoon, there was no doubt what the only people that really matter - the fans - think of him. His every stroke was cheered as though it was a century, and the chants of "Sachin, Sachin" reverberating around were an illustration of an adulation-obsession that sport has never seen, not even when Diego Maradona was playing at La Bombanera. Vijay is a doctor who was in Chennai on a short trip. On Sunday night, he found himself with a pass for the final day's play. With a late-afternoon train to catch, he wasn't sure whether to go or not. There was another reason for his hesitancy too. Like millions of other sports fans who have been scarred by defeat, Vijay was afraid that he might jinx his team and his favourite player. But after watching the first session on television, he decided to take his chances. Over the next three-and-a-half hours, he didn't leave his seat, not even for food and water at tea time. He made his train with 10 minutes to spare. "I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if I had given it a miss," he messaged me later. Those that aren't Indian struggle to fathom exactly what Tendulkar means to so many millions, and it's doubtful whether even those that live here really comprehend just how much a part of the national consciousness he has become. He is such a unifying force, a personality capable of stirring the emotions in every nook and corner of a vast land. And in these times of distress and anger, it was so very appropriate that it would be Tendulkar who put the smiles back on at least a few faces. © Cricinfo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Tendulkar's finest hour
David Lloyd: Cricket has been a terrific healer
India v England, 1st Test, Chennai, 5th day
David Lloyd: Cricket has been a terrific healer
December 15, 2008
What a day of cricket it has been and I am absolutely privileged to have been here and witnessed a great player, a truly great of the game, play for his country.
At the start of the day, India were at 131 for 1 needing another 256 runs for victory. Who would have known which way the game would go? Andrew Flintoff, predictably, opened the bowling for England and quickly accounted for the wicket of the out-of-form Rahul Dravid. It is sad to see Dravid scratching around for runs: he just cannot seem to get a run, but he is another great player. After Dravid's dismissal, enter Sachin Tendulkar who was the key player in my opinion. All the talk before the Test - and I don't want to sound disrespectful here - was about the starry players like Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But the one who came under the radar was Tendulkar - the Mumbai man.
Gautam Gambhir played so well for his 66 before chopping James Anderson to Paul Collingwood at gully. VVS Laxman received rapturous applause as he entered the arena and what a formidable pair they are - Laxman and Tendulkar. India went in to lunch still needing another 174 to win with seven wickets intact. There was still no decisive winner at lunch, but England were desperate for another breakthrough.
Kevin Pietersen had to have semi-defensive fields because of the inability of his attack - apart from Flintoff - to bowl maidens and create pressure. I first heard this a long time ago from Shane Warne who said: Bowl maidens; take wickets. England were unable to put any pressure on India at any stage.
There was only one wicket that fell in the afternoon session and then Yuvraj played with the maturity seldom seen previously. I will say this: when he came in, I thought that England had got one end open because Yuvraj is temperamentally unsound. But he had a great ally in Tendulkar who literally talked him through every over in his innings. Tendulkar was imperious.
Tea was taken with India on 304 for 4 and 83 runs were still needed. If you were an England fan, you would still have given England an outside chance but it was imperative they picked up wickets. The game finally ended in a flurry and there were no more wickets.
It was an epic performance and Tendulkar, quite rightly, made a century. It was very fitting the Mumbai man tickled the ball down to leg side to bring up his century. He had been on 99 for what seemed like an eternity.
People say there is no need for Test cricket in India, but there were 35,000-40,000 people in the ground today. I am absolutely privileged that I was there too. Tendulkar got his hundred; Yuvraj got 85; the partnership was worth 163 runs and the game was won by India.
Romantics would say this was the right result, but I'm not done yet. Ravi Shastri interviewed Tendulkar and Yuvraj after the match was over and Shastri said Tendulkar's hair was standing when he said he did this for Mumbai. He felt that this was one of his best-ever innings - technically and emotionally. The crowds stood to him, to Yuvraj and to India.
I will say this again: It has been an absolute privilege to be here. Some people said the series shouldn't have been played but the truth is that we cannot bow down to the cowards who inflicted so much pain in Mumbai. Cricket has been a terrific healer - ask the 35,000 people who were in the ground today.
England's spirit of cricket
| India v England, 1st Test, Chennai, 5th day England can still walk tall December 15, 2008
At the start of this match, it was universally agreed that, win or lose, England would be regarded as victors simply for turning up en masse and playing in the aftermath of the Mumbai terrorist attacks. It's hard to imagine they'll find much solace in that solidarity tonight, after a defeat that scarcely seemed plausible until Virender Sehwag's safe-cracker of an innings on the fourth evening. Nevertheless, let's give them their due in their hour of disappointment. For five days in Chennai, cricket has been the unequivocal winner, and for that the whole world, and not just the Indian public, should be grateful. Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh may have put the seal on an historic run-chase - the fourth-highest in history, and more than 100 runs better than any previous effort in India - but without England's efforts earlier in the match, there would have been no opportunity for such a magnificent grandstanding finish. From Andrew Strauss's formidable resolve and Paul Collingwood's appetite for a scrap, via Graeme Swann's sparky debut and a seam-bowling masterclass from the perpetually under-rewarded Andrew Flintoff, England provided a core of cricketers who rose above the confused circumstances of this contest, and demonstrated that the 5-0 beating they received in the one-day series was not the true reflection of the state of the game in the old country. In the final analysis, however, their best efforts were trumped with vigour by a team that took its time to be roused to the same intensity levels that were on display against Australia two months ago, but - with the mark of a champion team - produced them nonetheless when it most mattered. For Sachin Tendulkar, a Mumbaikar born and bred, to seal the deal in such a glorious fashion was a moment that transcended the pain of defeat. England's players will look back one day and be grateful that they were there. And that's not something they thought they'd be saying two weeks ago. Tendulkar's innings was his 41st Test century but, quite possibly, his finest yet. Only minutes have passed since the players left the field and so a more considered reflection must wait for another day. But, when you consider the scale of the chase he completed, and factor in the murmurings that have accompanied his previous anonymity during India's greatest performances, there is a definite case to be answered. The theatre of those final moments was something else as well. The eruption of emotion that greeted his winning hit brought to mind Steve Waugh's last-ball-of-the-day hundred at Sydney in 2003 - then as now, the acclaim for one of the true legends of the game has rarely seemed louder or more heartfelt. The Man-of-the-Match award, however, quite rightly went to Sehwag, who brutally transcended the pitch conditions to make that last-day heist possible. Once he had wrenched the safe doors open, India resumed the final day needing a mere 256 to win - at which point the skills and certainties of their one-day education came flooding into the foreground. In fact, a change in mentality overcame both sides because, for the first time in the match, there was a finite target to be focussed upon, rather than a nebulous balance between time, runs and wickets. England found that balance especially hard to get right during their momentum-squandering second session on the fourth day when they mustered just 57 runs, although it would be wrong to pin their defeat on that passage of play - with Zaheer Khan in the zone and swinging the ball both ways, a more forceful approach could well have resulted in a smaller target and even more time to chase it. And then what would Ian Botham have had to say? Nobody, however, benefited more from the certainties of the impending finish than Yuvraj Singh. Roughed up and ripped out by Flintoff and Steve Harmison in the first innings, today he was able to fix his thoughts on that distant figure of 387, and treat the whole day like an extension of his imperious one-day campaign. What is more, the effect worked both ways, because the impact on Kevin Pietersen's fledging captaincy was detrimental as well. Suddenly there were gaps in the field and singles to be snaffled, as England found themselves unable to attack with the same fearlessness that their first-innings dominance had permitted.
Pietersen was not helped by a rusty bowling performance in which only two men, Swann and Flintoff, ever looked like genuine wicket-taking options. At this juncture, it is only fair to insert their mitigating circumstances - the chaotic (and cricket-free) build-up to the Test match may have helped some of the players to clear their minds, but for those bowlers who need overs to establish their rhythm - Harmison and Panesar in particular - it was self-evidently detrimental. Nevertheless, for the second time in three Tests, starting with Graeme Smith's Edgbaston epic in August, England have failed to defend a seemingly impregnable fourth-innings target. And whether he was match-fit or not, Panesar's paralysis in conditions that make spinners salivate was a serious concern. His inability to bowl dot balls left Pietersen with no option but to remove his close fielders, and when he set about bowling into the rough outside Tendulkar's leg stump, he did so with little conviction. If Stuart Broad is ready to return at Mohali, one of India's most seamer-friendly surfaces, there's no question on current form which of the spinners would have to make way for him. But ultimately, it would be wrong for England to gaze at their navels right now. The team as a whole should walk tall in the brief interlude between matches, safe in the knowledge that their mere presence has helped, not only to lift the mood of a nation after last month's atrocities, but to promote the pre-eminence of Test cricket at precisely the moment it needs all the good publicity it can get. Right now, India are the team to beat in world cricket, in all forms of the game. An under-prepared England team gave it their best, and provoked the best possible response. Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo © Cricinfo | ||||||||||||||
