India vs West Indies 2013: 2nd Test, Day 3

He said he’ll never forget the chants of “Sachiiin, Sachiiin” and the crowd went mad.

But before Sachin Tendulkar probably broke the record of making most number of people cry simultaneously, there were a few things on the cricket ground that made the day memorable.

The overs by the Man of the Match

Sachin Tendulkar bowled a few long hops and a good googly

MS Dhoni didn’t budge even as everyone kept chanting Sachin’s name during the first innings, almost pleading the captain to give him the ball. But in the 2nd session, he knew he couldn’t avoid it. And Sachin got to roll over his arm again with India 2 wickets away from an innings victory, albeit only for two overs.

There were a few long hops in it, and an intended off-spinner sent down as a full-toss. But he bowled the googly, a bit shorter in line than what was ideal, which darted back towards Shillingford, and he managed to block it just in time. A loud ‘ooohhh’ went around the ground. That was it, and Dhoni went back to his main bowlers.

It would have been a dream if Sachin had taken the last wicket, but that emotional move to bring him on, just for the right time, and then reverting back to his best options, was typical Dhoni, timing his moves with perfection.

The over by the Player of the Match

Pragyan Ojha bowled a brilliant over of classical left-arm spin to Darren Sammy

Pragyan Ojha grabbed his first 10-wicket haul in a performance which wouldn’t be talked about for a while, but the team would know its importance. He was the destroyer-in-chief this morning, picking up three wickets in an hour. But his best came against Darren Sammy, his last victim in the match.

Sammy didn’t have a good series and he wasn’t comfortable at all for his first four deliveries. Having defended the first two somehow, the next three, Ojha slipped past his outside edge as the ball turned square.

He offered a straight bat, and it missed the edge by a whisker; he poked at it next, and ended up nowhere near its pitch, missing it completely; he drove the next one, connecting thin air.

Then the next delivery, Sammy confidently placed his front foot across the stumps, ready to smother the spin, but the ball came in straight, turned ever so slightly and hit him plumb in front of the wicket.

It was a classic Test match dismissal. Sammy was set up for it, and Ojha cut him nicely into tiny little pieces. Easy pickings.

The second half-century

Denesh Ramdin scored the 2nd half-century of this series for West Indies

Denesh Ramdin scored only the 2nd half-century by a West Indian in this series today. After Marlon Samuels in the first innings, he registered the 2nd highest individual score in this series by a West Indian, scoring 53.

Four innings and two fifties. That’s the story of West Indies in this series right there.

The stump-breaker

Mohammed Shami finished off the proceedings

Pragyan Ojha had just completed his 2nd 5-wicket haul of the match, and Shillingford had just become the 9th victim of spin bowling in the innings off Ashwin’s bowling.

But as soon as the penultimate wicket fell, Dhoni called Mohammed Shami into the attack. After the Kolkata high, there hadn’t been much help for Shami on this track, but he retained his line and length for most parts of the match.

But now the ball was a bit older, and Shami had shown signs of getting a bit of reverse earlier. Dhoni got an unusual field for him. There were 2 leg slips and a leg gully. No slip fielder on the off-side. VVS Laxman compared it to the Bodyline field placing on air; it was indeed something unique for an Indian captain.

5 balls were negotiated with some close calls in that over, but the last one sneaked through No. 11 Shannon Gabriel’s slow defence and fell the middle stump which landed some distance from its original place. It was fast, and it swung in. It was quintessentially Mohammed Shami. He just laid the stump out for Sachin to pick up.

The moving guard of honour

A special guard of honour for a special man

Tendulkar got a guard of honour from West Indies when he came onto bat in this Test in the first innings. Now, it was his own team which organised one. And what a show they put up!

All the extras in the squad came onto the ground, and the 14 other players who are part of this Test team applauded as he walked past them.

But a special man needed a special guard of honour, and believe me, whoever came up with this idea, is not getting any abuse for a long time to come from the Indian fans.

All the way to boundary, the 14 players moved along with Sachin Tendulkar, forming the guard of honour for his complete path.

On his way back, under the big hat, Sachin Tendulkar wiped away some tears, took his hat off and with moist eyes, acknowledged the crowd. Maybe the realisation hit him that it was his final walk back to the pavilion. It was indeed, very moving.

He ended the day with a speech to remember for generations. It may not have been impromptu, but it was emotional, and from his heart. 24 years is a long time. But the real horror will probably be realised only 24 hours later, when the feeling finally sinks in.

Sachin Tendulkar will no longer play cricket. All the best getting used to it.