Alas, poor Sachin and his adoring, global army of fans will have to await the coming of another day upon which to salute the once unfathomable landmark of 100 international hundreds.
Sachin Tendulkar inching his way towards his 100th 100. He was soon out, six agonising runs short.
Poised on 94, in India, in Mumbai, against the West Indies on a billiard table of a wicket, Tendulkar guided Ravi Rampaul into the hands of Darren Sammy at second slip. The Wankhede fell silent. India fell silent.
Has the approaching landmark started to take its toll on the Little Master? As the great Sir Jack Hobbs approached the landmark of 124 First Class centuries laid down by one WG Grace, he stuttered. By his impeccable standards, he stuttered badly, too.
As much as the greatest love to deny that they aim for such groundbreaking landmarks, they undoubtedly take their toll as public interest swells.
As Hobbs passed the good doctor’s record at Taunton after something of a wait and in the eye of a media storm that had drummed up such great fervour and expectancy, I’m sure Tendulkar will pass the ton of international tons.
The longer he endures the wait, and the resulting scrutiny, however, the harder achieving this goal will become.
Tendulkar has three centuries to his name in 2011. One Test ton against South Africa, and two World Cup hundreds against the Proteas and England. Since that last century, on March 12 (that seems a very long time ago now!) he has established four great chances to reach the landmark.
A score of 85 against Pakistan in a World Cup semi final would have been the most emotional way of bringing it up. 91 at The Oval against England was another case of ‘not to be’ for Sach. And in this current series he has amassed scores of 76 and 94 against the West Indies.
India’s next assignment is in Australia. With their bowling attack the way it is, it would be a brave man who bets against Tendulkar bringing up another century Down Under.
By Miles Reucroft
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Pakistan tried it’s best to allow Sachin to score a hundred at Mohali by dropping the little master atleast 5 times, if not more! but he still felt short, so I guess, the Indians can not ask for more hospitality from their arch rivals…against England he looked out of sorts and had he scored a hundred at Oval, it would have gone down in history as one of the most useless hundreds along with Agargar’s ton at lords 2007 and Chris Lewis in Madras in 1993..
I think it would be best for his fans if he can hold on till the ODI series against WI and score a hundered at Boxing day test and maybe retire at SCG along with Ponting (I’m sure he won’t do it but I personally feel that it’s time for India to try new players, I’ve grown older watching the same middle order since 1996).
Yeah that’s a heartbreak but only for the media who is going berserk over the much hyped ‘??????’. Media fails to realize that the five-day game is bigger than an individual milestone. Although Tendulkar has learnt to take the media frenzy in his stride, I’m sure if the crazy media had not created this hype, Tendulkar would have gone past the 100 – century mark by now. The opposition must thank the delirious Indian media for helping them.
I agree with Omar he did not look great again the English and against Pakistan it would not have looked good with those drops. Lets hope he can do it in style when it comes.
Far more interesting than the Tendulkar soap opera is the performance of the West Indies in their recent visit to India. They were competitive in each of the test matches and contributed hugely to a wonderful match. At the time of writing I’m still purring at the top quality performance of both sides in the last 50 over game.
How refreshing to witness a TEAM game played by two evenly matched sides. One of the curses of Indian cricket is the cult of personality which seems to affect the crowds so adversely. I sometimes wonder if Indian supporters are supporting India or Tendulkar.