There will never be another Tendulkar in the game, Aleem Dar, Pakistani umpire says.
Mamata Banerjee
Mumbai: The faithful thronging Wankhede stadium on Thursday, incessantly chanting the Master Blaster's name cheered as Sachin Tendulkar walked in to bat at 3.32 pm to a guard of honour from the visitors. But for all the frenzy surrounding his 200th and last Test, Sachin was the epitome of calm in the cauldron of noise in south Mumbai as he batted for the next hour and 22 minutes until the draw of stumps.
All the distilled wisdom and experience of 24 years at the international crease were evident in a batsman who seemed mentally in the 'zone' already, blotting out everything except the task at hand.
He scored six exquisite boundaries off 73 balls in his final match, holding centrestage as his entire family and childhood coach Ramakant Achrekar watched from the stands. On Friday, every seat will be taken. The decibel levels at Mumbai's cricket shrine will be unbelievably high if the 'God' of cricket goes on to seal his 24-year career with his 52nd Test century and his 101st in international cricket on the very date he made his Test debut in Karachi November 15, 1989, the chronological coincidence perhaps prophesying another of cricket's most cherished landmarks to the Little Master. Paying tribute to one of the greatest bats men in the his tory of cricket, the BCCI had 'Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar 200th Test' embossed below the Board logo on the national team's jersey.
Tendulkar, who usually wears a black grip on his bat, had a tri colour around his sponsor's logo, specially designed for his final appear ance.
Those figures will almost cer tainly never be surpassed, sim ply because of the sheer unlikelihood of a player break ing into an international side aged 16, staying in it until the age of 40, and spend ing almost all of the intervening period at the very top of his game,“ Wall Street Journal in an article titled 'Farewell to Cricket's Little Master'
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( Source : dc )
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