Perfect Finale For The Retiring Legend: Sachin Tendulkar Awarded Bharat Ratna, Team India Gifts Him 2-0 Series Win!

Mumbai, Day 3: All shades of emotions were in spontaneously glorious display at Wankhede Stadium this morning as Sachin Tendulkar took the last bow out of cricket after India thumped West Indies by an innings and 126 runs in the Second and Final Test of the Tendulkar Farewell Series within the first session of play. There were cheers and tears; standing ovation and absolute adulation; ecstatic outbursts and pain of parting and unbridled show of pride, love and affection. Not only in the stadium where at least 25,000 people were there to watch their hero one last time, but everywhere across India and the world of cricket. Our newsroom was no exception as all of staff forgot to mind their work for one rare occasion and crowded around the television sets to watch and listen to the master-blaster. After all presentations and mementos the God of Cricket spoke to the whole of the world of cricket for nearly twenty minutes thanking his mother, his wife, his coach, his Wankhede where he started his cricket career exactly 24 years ago, his cricket Board, his team mates and colleagues, his therapists and doctors, and of course his millions of fans and cricket lovers. A man rooted to his culture Sachin walked to the pitch and did his prayers for the last time. Then his triumphant team mates who felt ecstatic being able to gift him a 2-0 Series win against West Indies carried him on their shoulders marching around the ground in gratitude and affection.   The final golden touch of the day was yet to come.

Just about two hours after the match the President of India announced the Award of Bharat Ratna(The Pearl of India) to Sachin Tendulkar. Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian honor of the country and Sachin becomes the first ever sportsperson to get this. Whole of India, particularly his home state Maharashtra, celebrated across homes, offices, streets and markets. Scientist CNR Rao was also conferred Bharat Ratna for his contribution particularly in the recent Mars Mission.

Thus an illustrious career lasting exactly 24 years and a day in which he played 200 Test Matches, 463 ODIs and a lone T20 scoring 34,357 international runs came to a glorious end today. The 40-year-old maestro, who had rarely let emotions show on his cherubic face, began to break down after being presented a souvenir stump by his teammates. Wiping tears, he trudged back to the dressing room but not before acknowledging the fans and shaking hands with the West Indian cricketers at the boundary line. Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar retired from international cricket quietly, so did Dravid and Laxman holding their customary press conferences. Ganguly and Kumble got a farewell but it was much muted by those standards. But when it came to Tendulkar, who has truly transcended all boundaries, it was only fitting that a billion people would be swayed by emotions.

In the second innings there was just one half century by D Ramdin (53 not out) as West Indies crumbled to a pathetic 187 in 47 overs giving India a huge victory margin for the second consecutive time. Pragyan Ojha was declared the man of the match for taking 10 wickets (5 for 40 and 5 for 49) and debutant Rohit Sharma the man of the series for two consecutive and brilliant centuries. Ashwin took 4 wickets and one by Mohammed Shami. The Scorecard:

Sachin Tendulkar euphoria is not going to subside soon. After the announcement of the highest award for him fans would expect him to speak to them again and an endless of stream of felicitations leading finally to the Award Ceremony.

Tendulkar Farewell Series: Sachin Dazzles Short Of Century, India Poised To Wrap It Up Tomorrow!

Mumbai, Day 2: The morning session of the 2^nd day of the 2^nd and final Test between India and West Indies perhaps has beaten even an India-Pakistan cricket thriller in terms of viewership, suspense, expectations and excitement. And the fans, ex-cricketers or organizers, Bollywood superstars, Chief Ministers, central ministers, political bigwigs and business tycoons who thronged the Wankhede stadium or millions of television sets were not disappointed by the God of Cricket. The master-blaster almost found his golden touch delivering glorious straight drives, elegant square cuts, lofted shots—he tried even the flick over the head of the wicket keeper that was made official by Virender Sehwag in one-day cricket. He added 36 more runs to overnight 38 crafting a partnership of 148 solid runs with Pujara to lift India out of the woods. He got out for a majestic 74 falling to Deonarayan and although fans wanted him to go on for a memorable century they were not disappointed either. It was a standing ovation for the cricket legend all the way back to the pavilion. In all probability this was the last of Sachin Tendulkar as far as playing cricket is concerned. It is still painful though to think that he will never be seen playing with his heart out hitting all around the park.  

The Indian cricket Board officials and curators were perhaps rather too eager of presenting a winning farewell series, because like the first Test this one is also set to get over in two and half days tomorrow. Inspite of the Tendulkar nostalgia and show of tremendous passion the strong-ever Pujara (113) kept his end in perfect order and notched up his 5^th Test century crafting another momentous partnership with Virat Kohli (57). After the heroic knock of 177 in Kolkata Test Rohit Sharma (111 not out—two consecutive centuries in his first two Tests) proved again how useful a cricketer he has become for India by achieving another century off just 118 balls. The Indian first innings throughout had the perfect one-day cricket look and style (495 in 108 overs). With all these healthy knocks India gained a massive lead of 313 runs and captured three West Indies wickets for 43 runs at stumps on second day. Ashwin struck immediately with two victims and hopefully for West Indies Gayle is patiently not out at 6. West Indies off spinner Shillingford made it a fifth consecutive five-wicket haul in Test cricket and this is indeed a great plus for the definitely weaker team in this Series. The Scorecard:

Finally it is going to be a very happy ending for Sachin Tendulkar and his fans with India poised to wrap it 2-0 tomorrow with a huge victory margin once again. Do not lose heart; you can still watch your God of Cricket in action tomorrow too.

Tedulkar Farewell Series: West Indies Scuttled Out For 182, Sachin Tendulkar Batting!

Pragyan Ojha 5 for 40

Mumbai, Day 1: Indian captain MS Dhoni surprised many and disappointed more by electing to field first after wining the toss in Sachin Tendulkar’s 200^th and the second and final Test against West Indies in Mumbai today. The Wankhede track is known to take turn from the 3^rdor 4^th day making things difficult for the team batting last. However, it is also known to contain some juice and Dhoni perhaps wanted to exploit early morning conditions with his new look fast bowler pair Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami. Had the catches been taken early on the Indian captain’s decision could have been justified immediately. Finally, on the first day itself the crowds had the best of both worlds. They witnessed their team dominate West Indies completely and relished the retiring legend coming in to bat remaining unbeaten at stumps.

The Indian fast bowlers, particularly Shami, maintained tight line and length reaching the speeds of around 145km per hour. Shami got the danger man Chris Gayle (11) out early while quite a few catches were dropped at slips of Kieran Powell (48—highest individual score) and DM Bravo (29).  But the spinner duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha clicked immediately compensating for the lost chances. It was surprising to see the ball spinning and keeping low right on the first day. West Indies had had another unpredictable collapse with not partnership building up and not even a single half century in the entire innings. West Indies could not last even two full sessions and got all out for a paltry 182 before tea break. Ojha had the best figure of 5 for 40, Ashwin 3 for 45 and the pacers with one each.

India started on a brisk note with openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay notching up 77 runs in almost one-day style. And then in the 14^th over off spinner Shillingford struck twice getting both openers out. Cheteshwar Pujara came in his usual position and with 2 wickets down for 77 there was pin drop silence and suspense around the stadium. With more than twenty overs left for the day a night watchman could not possible be sent in. It was also too risky to send in Tendulkar as billion hopes were associated with his batting, possibly for the last time ever as India was set on course for a big lead like in the first Test in Kolkata.

Sachin Walks In To Bat Perhaps For Last Time

But it was indeed Sachin Tendulkar who came in with crowds loving the moment. Tendulkar too seemed to have understood the urgency of the billion hopes and batted cautiously slowly and steadily opening out and finding his rhythm. The master-blaster remained unbeaten at 38 with Pujara not out on 34 and India at 157/2 trailing just by 25 runs. The Scorecard:

Since early morning today the atmosphere in and around Wankhede Stadium was charged with admiration and passion demonstrated spontaneously by fans, cricket organizers and ex-players and huge number of media crews for the cricket legend who was playing his 200^th and last Test on his home ground. He was felicitated with memento by the cricket Board; Dhoni presented him a cap with 200 embossed over it; the coin for the toss was also special with Sachin Tendulkar’s photo on it and the Indian Posts and Telegraphs issued today a special stamp in his honor.

His cricket fans all over India and the world at the moment are pinning their hopes on their beloved player to deliver a strong and fitting farewell knock tomorrow, the 101^stinternational century most preferably.  

Mumbai Celebrating Sachin Tendulkar!

The retiring cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar fever has consumed his home city Mumbai with temperatures increasing as the second Test between India and West Indies after which the legend is to make the final goodbye to cricket nears. Everywhere fans are talking about him, the media channels producing special programs on him and the newspapers carrying special features on his achievements and glory. At different levels of cricket organizers and the state government felicitation programs are being held routinely or planned during the next few days.

The Maharashtra Government had already formed a special felicitation committee with the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Ministers as members. Last evening a grand naming ceremony was organized at a Mumbai suburb where the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) dedicated a sprawling world-class sports facility as Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana. In a colorful and vibrant function the legend participated expressing his deep gratitude and genuine cricket emotions. Union Ministers, state Ministers including the Chief Minister, cricket biggies, celebrities and fans were present on this great occasion.

Side effects of the raging fever were also visible. Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium where the historic second Test is scheduled to start on 14^th November is much smaller than Eden Gardens in Kolkata and has a 32,000 capacity. Out of these possible tickets 17,000 were given to the cricket fraternity including associations and clubs all over the globe,: 8000 were given to sponsors and government officials and after some more adjustments just 5000 tickets were offered online for the general public. Imagine, Mumbai alone has a population of about 14 million. To make things worse for the fans the website selling tickets crashed yesterday due to unprecedented hits and this drove irate fans to the Wankhede Stadium in hope of finding tickets there. But there were none. Today morning online sale opened and immediately the sold out sign came on.

The master-blaster, rather unexpectedly for the fans gathered at the stadium, came out for net practice with most of his team mates today afternoon and the crowds were gratified beyond words. Members of the West Indies team had their session too earlier. The atmosphere at the Wankhede Stadium has got electrified already.

In the first Test in Kolkata India defeated West Indies by an innings and 51 runs and it was all over within three days. The fans there enjoyed their idol running around the field, bowling a few overs too and taking a wicket. However, they could see him bat only once and that too was cut short by an umpiring error. Apparently the curator of Eden Gardens wanted to make it sure India won that match as a mark of gratitude for their legendary team mate.  Fans in Mumbai are hoping Sachin Tendulkar bows out finally with a thundering batting performance at his home ground to make the ‘cricket’ part of the celebrations too as memorable as ever. A full five-day Test will also be the right finale for a historic event.

Tendulkar Farewell Test Series: Rohit Debut Ton Rescues And Puts India Ahead!!

R Ashwin and Rohit Sharma Unbeaten at Stumps Day 2

The fans in Kolkata just about managed to have everything they wanted of their idol. They saw him jumping and running around the field, enjoyed him bowling and reveled as he took a wicket too on the first day of the first cricket Test between India and West Indies. On the second day today they wanted to see him bat early and therefore even cheered the fall of the first two wickets. Sachin Tendulkar came in to bat within the first hour of today’s play and he seemed to be in a good nick hitting two beautiful boundaries. But this wish of the fans to see him have a long innings was cut short by 'Llong'--umpire Nigel Llong to be exact--who ruled him out leg before even as the ball that hit his back thigh seemed to be going above the off stump. Problem is off spinner Shillingford—the wicket Tendulkar captured yesterday—actually beat the retiring legend and the best batsman of the world has in fact been beaten around his leg consistently over the last one year. Apart from the focus of the Series cricket in the first two sessions was abysmally poor with the Indian top order caving in meekly basically to the spin of Shillingford who took four huge wickets.

Reverse swing and some amount of turn were visible on the pitch right from the morning today with the ball keeping low most often run making was difficult. Combining his skills of having an unpredictable bounce and a perfectly disguised doosra Shillingford troubled all the batsmen reducing India to 83 for 5. It could have been worse if a catch of Dhoni was taken at that stage. Debutante Rohit Sharma then took full charge and with his captain laid the anchors for a much needed partnership. At lunch the score was 120/5. However soon after lunch Dhoni fell to Best for 42 at India 156/6 and it was still an uphill task with not even a half century till then by anyone. Fresh from his double ton in the final ODI against Australia and inspired by the Test cap achieved after nearly three-year-long wait Rohit got to the first fifty of the innings and with able company provided by R Ashwin rescued India to 229/6 at tea. The second session was the better as nearly hundred runs were added with the loss of just Dhoni.

Rohit-Ashwin partnership went from strength to strength crossing hundred runs in the last session making it the best session of the day and a lead over West Indies was slowly and steadily growing. Rohit made a magnificent debut of an unbeaten 127 with 16 fours and 1 six while Ashwin who made his only Test century against West Indies played elegantly and fluently to remain unbeaten on 92 with 10 fours at stumps on Day 2. The duo rescued and made India strong with an unbeaten 198-run partnership for the seventh wicket. After having India in a tight corner WI captain Darren Sammy seemed to have lost the plot completely. He did not even utilize the known slow bowlers like Gayle and Marlon Samuels, under bowled Permaul and almost over bowled himself. What is significant for the future course of the Test India already amassed a lead of 120 runs and at 354/6 look to add more tomorrow. Considering the behavior of the pitch this lead could well be decisive.  The Scorecard:

Tendulkar Farewell Test Series: Shami Debut Destroys West Indies!

Mohammed Shami

West Indies got dismissed cheaply for 234 runs just after tea on the first day of the first cricket Test between India and West Indies at the majestic Eden Gardens, Kolkata today. This was brought about largely by a tremendous burst of swing bowling by Mohammed Shami who made his Test debut too being preferred over Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav due to his good performance in the recently concluded 7-match India-Australia one day international Series. Shami took four wickets for 71 runs and was also instrumental in a run-out. The second debutant for the first Test was Rohit Sharma who was finally given the Test cap thanks mainly to his Series winning innings of 209 runs in the final ODI against Australia in Bangalore. Test specialists Murli Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, spinner Pragyan Ojha, and of course Sachin Tendulkar featured in Team India.

West Indies (WI) won the toss and elected to bat first on the slow pitch at Eden Gardens. The pitch hardly helped the bowlers—be it pacers or spinners—but WI openers could not take advantage as the danger man Chris Gayle (18) got out early to Bhuvaneshwar Kumar while Kieran Powell (28) gave Shami his debut break. However, the uneven bounce in the pitch held something in store for the bowlers and it happened sooner than expected. After forty overs the umpires changed the ball and immediately the pacer duo got some reverse swing. Even then, it was not the bowling but the suicidal mindset of the WI batsmen that contributed largely to the debacle. A big partnership was in the making between Samuels (65) and DM Bravo (23) when the Shami burst had the former bowled. Bravo complicated matters by getting run out in a horrible mix-up. West Indies were reduced to 143/5 when Ramdin’s stumps were uprooted by Shami getting his third scalp. For a team used to unaccountable collapses there was no fight back and the full team got out for 234. Chanderpaul (36), the consistent tormentor for India, did linger on and was the ninth down at 233.  

The Scorecard:

Sachin Tendulkar, the legend for whom this cricket Series has been organized, was prominently visible throughout on the field giving encouragement to bowlers and running around fielding with zest. To the delight of the crowd he took his 46^thTest wicket too trapping Shillingford leg before. With this wicket Sachin increased his international tally of wickets to 201 (154 in ODIs and 1 in T20I). At stumps on the first day India reached 37 for no loss in 12 overs with Shikhar Dhawan on 21 not out and Murli Vijay on 16 not out. Fans eagerly wait now for tomorrow when their idol comes out to bat.