All those doomsayers and ignoramuses writing the cricketing epitaph of Sachin Tendulkar would be scrambling to hide under the rocks they came from as the little champion unfurled a stirring and thrilling range of shots to get to his 41st one-day century. It was a slap in the face for all those doubters, though of course Tendulkar himself would never say or do anything to all those who were taking him apart. When you reach the stage where the little champion is, you don’t go out on the field wanting to silence anybody or to prove anybody wrong. You go there to simply prove to yourself that you can still do it. It is a challenge to one’s own self-esteem and one’s own temperament. Sure there might be the occasional self-doubt for after all you are human and though you may not read the papers nor watch TV, you still are aware about what is being said and written. Public memory may be short but you expect those connected with the game, be it administrators, former players and regular cricket media to be a little more understanding and aware. Unfortunately in India, when somebody is down there are very, very few who lend a helping hand to get the person up and there are many, many more, especially from the above mentioned categories to kick you down and keep you down.
From the Chennai one-dayer, Tendulkar’s body language was different. He was looking a lot more relaxed and at peace with himself and that reflected in his batting there. He got out when looking good for a hundred there but here at Vadodara he didn’t miss out as some butter fingered West Indian fielding helped him to get to the three figure mark off the last ball of the innings.
There were questions raised about the Indian skipper too and like Tendulkar, he too does not have to prove anything to anybody. Players of that class and caliber are rare and only in India are they continuously doubted and looked down upon after a couple of ordinary innings. Another such is Sourav Ganguly who was not only doubted but vilified with a whispering campaign that will go down as a shameless chapter in Indian cricket history. They all have got runs and shown that there is nothing to match experience.
Even though Yuvraj did not get a chance to bat as the skipper quite rightly sent Dhoni in to bat and how brilliantly the keeper batted, it was good to see the left-hander bowl, for that proved that his knee injury was alright. Bowling requires the pivoting of the knee and that’s what Yuvraj did with no sign of any discomfort and that’s good news for Indian cricket. He also took a brilliant catch off Irfan Pathan’s bowling, which will help the left-arm medium pacer to retain his place in the side. After all if he hadn’t taken a wicket there could have been questions asked as to why he should stay when Joginder Sharma was dropped after just one match.
The West Indians would be disappointed at the margin of defeat for the pitch was a beauty to bat on. Agarkar bowled splendidly, as did Kumble and Yuvraj also got the ball to turn appreciably. The Indian crowd would have been disappointed at the lack of a final flourish from Brian Lara probably playing his last game in India but he was decidedly unlucky and when he fails the West Indies rarely win.
A good all-round effort from India and back on familiar territory, they showed that they are a side that are pretty impossible to beat.
