By Madan Mohan
Sachin Tendulkar endured a fairly long drought of centuries, by his standards. That could have been a dreadful way to sign off a glorious career, having experienced its high point only last April. At least the record is now his. He has, in any case, owned the record of most international hundreds comfortably, but a hundred hundreds has a nice ring about it.
Published: Mar 16, 2012, 08:00 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 16, 2012, 08:00 PM (IST)
Sachin Tendulkarâ s trademark big grin was missing, though he struck all the right poses, including gesturing at his helmet, as if to say the feat was the pride of not just Tendulkar but Indian cricket. Perhaps, the criticism in the press got to him more than he cared to admit ©AFP
By Madan Mohan
The much-awaited landmark for Sachin Tendulkar – his 100th international hundred – was finally achieved on Friday. But against Bangladesh after a rather cautious effort in an Asia Cup fixture. Tendulkar may not have said as much, but he probably wished to attain it in Australia against the backdrop of that elusive Test series win in Kangarooland. Neither of those dreams would come true.
His own reaction on achieving the feat gave it away. His trademark big grin was missing, though he struck all the right poses, including gesturing at his helmet, as if to say the feat was the pride of not just Tendulkar but Indian cricket. Perhaps, the criticism in the press got to him more than he cared to admit.
All that is in the realm of speculation. What we do know is it could have been worse. He had endured a fairly long drought of centuries, by his standards, and in an alternative universe, could have wound up unsuccessful in his chase of the perfect 100. That could have been a dreadful way to sign off a glorious career, having experienced its high point only last April. At least the record is now his. He has, in any case, owned the record of most international hundreds comfortably, but a hundred hundreds has a nice ring about it.
What’s more, he has the opportunity to cut loose and possibly go out with a bang. Sports fans are romantic at heart and we would all wish to see one last glimpse of the Tendulkar of old before he’s done. It might possibly be an unrealistic expectation, but if he had been all that realistic about the world when he was 19, he probably wouldn’t have a hundred tons to his name 20 years hence.
The proverbial monkey’s off Tendulkar’s back now. What lies ahead is the next best thing (at least for Indian fans) in ODIs to a World Cup – India vs Pakistan. India lock horns with their old foe on Sunday and are fully expected to meet each other again in the final. The stage is set for Tendulkar to make a statement.
On Friday, no sooner than he had struck his hundredth run did he start going for his shots again. Perhaps, if he bats positively in the upcoming matches against Pakistan, he might, to some extent, erase the memories of the disastrous tours of England and Australia. Not that the team ought to forget about those debacles, but let us stick to the realm of ‘what is’.
India are much stronger in the subcontinent than overseas, as a rule. Hence, if Tendulkar does play a sparkling role in an Asia Cup triumph for India, it may not objectively be such an astounding achievement.
But nobody’s going to remember those 10 years later. People only talk about tennis legend Pete Sampras’s last hurrah at the 2002 US Open; they don’t tell you that he overcame an ageing Andre Agassi, apart from such ‘stars’ as Greg Rusedski and Tommy Hass to do so, in a dull year for men’s tennis.
Likewise, the fine print will disappear with the passage of time and only the glory of victory will endure….IF Tendulkar can pull it off. Hand in hand, it could well offer him a great opportunity to call time on his monumental ODI career.
The greatest overs-limit batsman ever, and by some distance, deserves a triumphant send off. Destiny offered him one last April. He turned it down and here again is another chance. But the decision, of course, is his and we do not know what exactly are his thoughts on the matter. But here’s hoping that Tendulkar can once more bat like the Tendulkar we know and love, unhindered by the pressure of expectations.
(Madan Mohan is a 26-year old chartered accountant from Mumbai. The writing bug bit him when he was eight and to date, he has not been cured of it. He loves music, cricket, tennis and cinema and writing on cricket is like the icing on the cake. He also writes a blog if he is not feeling too lazy at http://rothrocks.wordpress.com/)
Complete coverage of Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th hundred
List of Sachin Tendulkar’s 100 international centuries
