I know the world (I am talking about
the Sachin fans) wishes Sachin to get the 100th
international ton. So do I. I have witnessed the most of this records
and certainly, this record is one milestone that others can only
dream of.
Most of the records including the
double century (which was recently broken by his follower Virender
Sehwag) came unexpected. But the 100th international ton
was marketed and publicized by the media and his followers to such an
extent that it aggravates the pressure on the little master. The
champion had faced several pressures and hurdles, he had single
handedly faced the teams and his wicket could cost India the match.
Such was his wicket price.
Though few realize that 100 is just a
number, the hype surrounding it doesn't die. A couple of days back,
at the Melbourne cricket ground, when I saw Sachin walking down the
pavilion into the ground, there was a tremendous applause from the
crowd. It was not just the Indian crowd at Australia but also the
Australian crowd who has tremendous respect for him. I adore that
kind of respect they have for the batsman; no expectations and they
just adore him for the class of a batsman that he is. Ofcourse, he is
considered as a God by so many people but there is a match that is
more important to it than Sachin getting his 100th
international ton.
Sachin proved, once again, why he is a
master blaster. He hit the shots all over the ground with such ease.
A gentle wrist work to put the ball into the fence raises a question
over other players' performance. The only batsmen to complement such
performance are the likes of Dravid and Laxman. The wicket was doing
well for the seam bowlers, offering them a lot of movement and
bounce. An awesome ball and a gentle trick got the wicket of the
master blaster but truly, if there is one batsman who kept the
bowlers in a panicky mode (and ofcourse Sehwag) is Sachin Tendulkar.
