Sachin's Masterclass

One of my fav clicks!

There's a dream that every Indian cricket fan carries with him- To witness that scene of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar walking down the middle of the pitch, slowly removing his helmet, raising his bat and then looking up and thanking the heavens as the whole staidum roars in applause. It's an enduring image that defines the past 2 decades of Indian cricket. Many were lucky to watch it in the stadium, quite early on in his career. But, for some like me, it had off late become a dream that was slowly slipping away considering his advancing age and the probability of matches coming in your backyard. And that's when the Bangalore test match against the Aussies happened. The 1st day was a disappointment for us as the Aussies won the toss and batted through the day. We were to be content with watching Sachin on the field and cheering loudly and clicking whenever he touched the ball. We didn't get tickets for the second day.

3rd day morning. Sachin was on crease, nearing his half century. That's when Raja asked me, "why don't we go?" I had my own doubts considering the fact that it was the day after sunday(:P) and we were not college kids anymore. Also I had that big fear of Sachin getting out, the moment we stepped into the stadium. It had happened when he played in Bangalore for the last series against Australia. But then something told me to "take my chances"(and I had that song "take your chance" written by our dear friend Michael playing in my mind that time). And, so we headed to Chinnaswamy stadium on a sunny "day after sunday". We could hear the roars in the stadium, even before we reached its vicinity and we were sure Sachin was still at the crease. As we ran in, he was on 80. For the next few minutes, we sat there biting our nails and joining in the collective "ooooohs" whenever a ball swung in dangerously. Sachin on the nervous 90s raises the blood pressure of the nation for sure. Then on 93, we all had our hearts in our mouths, as he struck one high over long on. We had a huge sigh of relief and a big roar to give as we realised it had sailed on over the ropes. Before long, on 99, he did a repeat of the same shot and this time our hearts nearly stopped. It was wild elation all around when we saw the result was similar to before. The moment we were waiting for, had come. The man removed his helmets, raised his bat and thanked the heavens. BLISS! Cloud 49! Dream fulfilled, we sat there to witness Sachin mentoring Murali Vijay on the way to his maiden test century. As we went back that day, we knew we had taken our chance and fulfilled a dream.

Sachin, at his defensive best.

Sachin-Symphony of destruction

The six over long on, that he hit when he was on 93...

and then the next, while on 99..

The moment arrives...The raised bat and then the thanks to the heavens...all we dreamt of seeing for real for the past 2 decades..

Eat this...

Sachin the mentor- A pat on the back for Murali Vijay for his brilliant century..

And the next morning, we decided to take our chance, yet again. Sachin was on 191. Maybe, a triple century? This time, we had two more to our gang, Muthu and Jijo. And we reached the stadium quite early to see the stands slowly filling up and Sachin practising in the nets. I wonder, why this man needs to practice! :D The stands were full by the time he came out to bat. Sachin's biggest fan Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, who follows the Indian team wherever Sachin plays, was there too, with his trademark tricolor painted body and 'Tendulkar' written on it. We didn't have to wait for long for the double century. He reached the landmark with a cheeky single. Blessed twice in as many days, thats what we felt. He celebrated it with a straight four. We were slowly warming up for the triple century. But then, he got bowled soon on 214. The man quietly acknowedged it all, as the whole stadium stood up and applauded the masterclass. I wanted to leave the stadium at that very moment but stayed on as they still had hopes on a Dhoni magic. But sadly, the tail was wrapped up even before Sachin removed his pads in the dressing room. But, we were still content, as we were lucky to watch the Sachin double and also India taking the lead over the Aussies.

Single minded determination. Sachin practising in the nets on the 4th day morning...Unbeaten at 191, he came back to complete the double hundred.

A nation stands up to applaud. Sachin completing the 200th run.

Never getting tired of raising the bat..The double hundred

The leg glance

Sachin gets cheeky

And a majestic innings of pure class, comes to an end. Bowled!

Sachin looks back to see the stumps rearranged and the bails flying off..

5th day. Match could swing both ways. We were still undecided with Aussies on an overall lead of 200. We all know the nasty behaviour of Indian pitches on the 5th day of any test match. And to confirm our doubts, Sehwag was back in the pavilion just as the innings started. Smelling a thrilling finish, we made yet another trip to the stadium. the third time in as many days. This time we had two others joining in, Nikhil and Rahul. Debutant Pujara, who got a real nasty ball in the first innings, was playing the innings of his life. He, along with Murali Vijay, took India into a comfortable position. We reached on time to see Sachin at the start of the innings. Pujara departed after an innings that showed high temparament in high pressure. A class move by Dhoni there by sending him in place of Dravid. Soon, we had India's trusted combination of Sachin and Dravid at the crease, toying with Aussies. We smelled another 50 from Sachin. And we were again treated to that shots over long on, which he played during his century. The Aussies had given it up by then. And, it was yet another 50 from the master. It was a matter of time before the master and the wall clinically dismantled the brains of the AUssies. With 2 runs needed, they played out 2 maiden overs. Yeah, Just for fun, cos they can :P. We weren't complaining, as the solid defence from these stalwarts were a treat to watch. Before long, Sachin took a two and finished off the formalities. The full to the brim stadium erupted in joy. We stood there, finding it hard to believe our luck-A sachin double century in 1st innings, an unbeaten 50 in the 2nd innings, him hitting the winning run to complete a whitewash of the Aussies and then him winning the Man of the match and Man of the series. It was our wildest dreams coming true over 5 days.

The repeat! Sachin's six over long on in the second innings.

Yet another 50!

Sachin acknowledges the crowd after completing the winning run as the stadium erupts in wild celebrations.

Sachin and Dravid celebrating the win, as the dejected Aussies move in to congratule them..

Presentation ceremony- Sachin being called in to recieve the man of the match and man of the series.

Sachin with his man of the series trophy with an applauding Sunil Gavaskar behind him

The left handed sign!

Sachin displaying the trophy to the crowd during the lap of honour.

Here's a song for the man...motherjane's "before one million comes one". Infact, the band dedicated this song to Sachin when they played an unlugged concert here in Bangalore last week. This song was originally written about Mother Teresa.

There was one
who gave dignity to the dying
who brought hope to the living

There was one
who gave to a different degree
who proved with certainty,
that before one million comes one.

There was one
who gave a handful and a smile
who brought rest for just a while

There was one
who did what was possible
who took small sacrifices
and built a miracle

There was one, now there are a million
There was one, now there are a million

Coz when the horizon of a desert speaks of an ocean
A rain cloud is god sent, a raindrop is ecstasy
before one million comes one,
each similar to a different degree.

your crusader Praveen