The Tragedy of the 90s, A Disappointing Ending, And a Moment to Celebrate!

Most of us can only imagine what it must have felt like when the Don was out for a duck in his last test inning.

Not the feeling of sadness that a splendid cricketer and the greatest batsman ever had played his last inning, but the feeling of tragedy and the sort of frustration that might have crept inside avid statisticians of the time, can hardly be fathomed by us today. It is not everyday, after all, that a batsman misses out on averaging a 100 in test cricket by just 4 runs!

Something that might just come close to that sort of feeling is probably what cricket followers world over must be going through right now, looking at Tendulkar’s rut of falling in the 90s. A question creeps into the mind; a rather cheeky one which a friend had asked not too long ago.

Didn’t we all want Sachin of the nineties?

Funny as it may sound, it’s also true! The man has been batting as if he is possessed. I personally feel he is at the peak of his batting prowess, since this is the best that I have ever seen him bat. He is not breaking a sweat at all when he is scoring his runs.

The astonishing fact is, unlike a few months ago, when the scene of a cramped up little master limping back to the pavilion at The Oval haunted fans all over the globe, in his last few innings, he hardly seems as if he is tiring, and certainly looks good for plenty more.

All the appreciations aside, if there has been anything concerning about all the innings, it’s been the way he has gotten out. If it took a brilliant stumping from Gilchrist at Nagpur, it took a rather excellent catch from Kamran Akmal in Mohali to see the back of him, and good straight delivery from Umar Gul in Gwalior. Apart from brilliance by these three gentlemen, it also took a great lapse in concentration from Tendulkar that made him miss all the tons.

Poor shot selection on all three occasions some what took the sheen off sparkling innings by the master.

He has scored truck loads of runs in the last four tournaments. He is also nearing milestones like 16,000 runs, and also 1,500 runs for a record third time in one day cricket at the highest level.

After 18 years of test and one day cricket, it's mind boggling how the runs still keep flowing. Hopefully, this form will be carried into the test series as well.

But for now, lets all raise a toast! Exactly 18 years in Indian colours! Has there ever been a bigger advertisement for the beautiful sport?