Perfect place for Sachin Tendulkar to reach ton

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THE dream scenario has Sachin Tendulkar at the crease on 94, Muttiah Muralidaran bowling his 63,144th and final ball of international cricket for Sri Lanka and India, nine wickets down, needing six to win the World Cup.

That would be a very bad time to get a sales call, although one suspects that there will be few people working in the call centres of Bangalore tomorrow.

If India's semi-final against Pakistan early yesterday was the most-watched one-day international in history, the final will set a new standard.

The finalists have a lot in common, apart from being only the second and third hosts of a World Cup to reach the deciding match, after England in 1979. Fifteen years ago, Sri Lanka won the World Cup with an opening pair that burnt brightly but very briefly. Sanath Jayasuriya had a strike-rate of 130 runs per 100 balls, but was only its fourth- highest run-scorer, while the memory of Romesh Kaluwitharana as a glorious pinch-hitter masks that he made only 73 runs in six innings, albeit off 52 balls.

Sri Lanka's openers in this tournament have the fireworks, but they also have staying power. Tillekeratne Dilshan is the competition's leading run-scorer with 467 at a strike-rate of 93 that seems impossibly pedestrian compared with Jayasuriya.

Upul Tharanga has 393 runs to his credit and, like Dilshan, two centuries. They have compiled two opening partnerships worth more than 200 and have struck 116 boundaries.

India's openers have been similarly effective, although they have taken it in turns to fire, with an average stand of 61 to the Sri Lankans' 112. Virender Sehwag, who began the tournament with 175 against Bangladesh, has made 380 runs off 308 balls, while Tendulkar has 464 runs at a strike-rate of 91.

Among them have been two hundreds, taking the "Little Master" to 99 in his international career.

He has now had three chances to set a landmark that may never be broken and the disappointment, despite him making two match-winning fifties in that time, is palpable. It brings to mind the headlines from 1925 of "Hobbs fails again" when Jack Hobbs was stuck on the same number of first-class hundreds as W.G. Grace for six matches.

What better stage, though, to make his 100th hundred than in a World Cup final in his home city of Mumbai?

Pakistan tried to help Tendulkar to his century on Wednesday, spilling four chances, but Shahid Afridi ended his innings with a fine catch when on 85.

Sri Lanka has its own long-serving hero who seeks a last hurrah, even if Muralidaran has to come out on crutches. The off-spinner, who will be 39 this month, has been struggling with knee and hamstring injuries, and has taken 15 wickets.

The limbs may be creaking, but Murali's eyes still flash and magic still comes from his fingers. The stage is set for a fairytale finale. Who will take the central role?

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Sachin Tendulkar versus Muthiah Muralidaran in final showdown

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SACHIN Tendulkar v Muthiah Muralidaran - that's what it's come down to in the World Cup final.

It's the batsman who has made more runs than anyone against the bowler who has taken more wickets than anyone.

Even though there will be 10 other talented combatants on each side, if either of these two megastars defeats the other, it is highly probable it will determine the outcome.

Even the many gods who oversee fate in all its forms on the subcontinent seem to be split about who to support -- each player has had their blessing this week.

Murali, who will retire after the match, snagged a wicket with his final delivery on Sri Lankan soil, trapping New Zealand's Scott Styris lbw to ensure victory in the semi-final in Colombo.

And Tendulkar was dropped four times and survived two tight decisions by the TV umpire in an innings of 85 without which India probably would not have won its semi against Pakistan yesterday. It reeks of divine intervention.

Cricket fans should be grateful because it gives tomorrow night's showpiece occasion a focal point that couldn't be replicated by any other two players.

One must hopeMurali delivers the bulk of his allotted 10 overs to Tendulkar, which prompts a question that has always puzzled me about limited-overs cricket. Why is a batsman permitted to occupy the crease for 100 per cent of the innings, if he can, but a bowler can deliver fewer than half the overs on offer from either end?

It's just more proof that, as everyone knows, cricket in all its forms has always been a batsman's game.

For the record, Tendulkar has 14,692 Test runs and 18,093 in one-day internationals for a total of 32,785. Murali has 800 Test wickets and 534 in one-dayers for 1334. They are monumental numbers that may never be bettered.

If only because he has about a billion people barracking for him as against Sri Lanka's 20 million in this David and Goliath contest, Tendulkar is under significantly more pressure. Unlike Murali, Tendulkar has never played in a winning World Cup team in five attempts.

He admits he dreams fervently of doing it, but when he got the chance in the 2003 final against Australia he failed, making four, while Ricky Ponting scored 140 not out in a performance that remains his proudest moment.

It is one of the few blank spots in Tendulkar's stupendous record.

Now, though, the stage is set for a triumph of a magnitude that even his adoring scriptwriters could not have imagined.

He has the opportunity to score his 100th international century in the World Cup final in his home town, Mumbai, in the month of his 38th birthday against the world's greatest bowler. Wherever he is, even Don Bradman will take his hat off if that happens.

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Gritty Tendulkar put team above himself

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Cricket coaches across the world will, in future, show their pupils videos of Sachin Tendulkar to teach them the finer points of batting. They would make a serious mistake if they do not include, in the must-see package, his innings of 85 against Pakistan in the World Cup semi-final at Mohali.

It is easy to bat when you’re at your best. It’s when you are struggling that, no matter how gifted you are, you simply don’t know what to do. Tendulkar’s innings was an education in how to respond to such a situation.

He began beautifully, hitting the pacers firmly through the covers, point and mid-wicket in the initial overs. The moment Saeed Ajmal came in, it was apparent that he was uncomfortable. The LBW decision that was reversed, and the attempted stumping, added to the sense of discomfort.

Even after that, he had a hard time reading Ajmal’s straighter one and his doosra, and, trying to play on the on-side, got an outer edge more than once. The only reason it did not result in a catch was that, having got the measure of the wicket – it was slow, with the ball stopping before coming on to the bat – Tendulkar was playing with soft hands. But the catches too were offered soon after, and were not taken.

The natural instinct of a batsman, at various points in such a knock, especially in a big, knockout limited overs game, is to hit his way out of trouble. The bigger the player’s reputation, the more likely it is that he will be tempted into doing this, in order to show the bowlers who’s boss.

Tendulkar did not do that. His mind doesn’t work like that.

To know how it works, come to his hometown.

There is a saying in Mumbai cricket, to be borne in mind by batsmen all the time: no matter how uncomfortable you look at the crease, just stay there and get runs for your team. How you look and feel doesn’t count; the runs do. So, struggle if you will, but play to win.

And, if you give your wicket away because people seated in the gallery or in the stands may not be saying the best of things about how you’re doing out there, you’ll have much, much worse to hear back in the dressing room.

Tendulkar knew, as wickets fell at regular intervals, that his presence at the crease was crucial for his team. He also knew that the way the wicket was behaving, even a score of 250-260 would be a fighting one, so it was important to hang around and accumulate runs smartly.

So he fought on, not entertaining any thoughts of ‘let me show them who they’re bowling to,’ but showing respect for good bowling and for the situation.

Some of the most talented players have been humbled by the great game in their quest for ego-driven glory; Tendulkar, on the other hand, believes in grit – that one quality emphasised by the Mumbai school of batting over all else – and not in mistaken notions about the projection of one’s cricketing stature.

In the end, those 85 runs turned out to be among the most valuable he has ever got for his team.

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Sachin Tendulkar: From ball boy to champ

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If a Sachin Tendulkar ton can help MS Dhoni hold aloft the World Cup, the journey from a ball boy to a World Champion will have been a fruitful and emotional one.

"Who writes your scripts," former England opener and captain Graham Gooch asked his legendary teammate and all-rounder, Ian Botham after the latter dismissed Kiwi opener Bruce Edgar off the first ball he bowled at The Oval in 1986.

Botham was playing his first Test following a year's ban for using marijuana. Edgar's scalp earned Botham his 355th Test wicket and put him on par with Aussie great Dennis Lillee's record tally of 355 wickets. Hence the inquiry from Gooch.

Some of the current Indian team members can askSachin Tendulkar the same question. Like Botham, who always loved a stage, the Indian legend too enjoys putting on a show when the entire world trains its eyes on him. And they will be on Tendulkar when India take on Sri Lanka in the World Cup final at the Wankhede Stadium, in the Master's hometown, Mumbai, on Saturday.

Many feel it's a travesty that Tendulkar's massive talent and impeccable conduct off the field haven't yet culminated in him being in a world champion side. What better way and stage or venue for him to win cricket's ultimate prize than in front of his numerous and passionate fans, and in the process, bring up a century of international centuries.

If it happens, Tendulkar will complete a full circle as he was a ball boy when India played against England at this very venue in the semifinal of the 1987 World Cup. He must have picked up numerous balls from the boundary line as England opener Graham Gooch simply swept the hosts and tournament favourites out of the contest. Watching India crash out of the semis, albeit from the sidelines, must have been heartbreaking for the then 14-year-old, like it was for the rest of the country.

Eight years later, he suffered the heartbreak of seeing India crash out of the semis again as they lost to Sri Lanka by default in Kolkata. This time though Tendulkar didn't watch from the sidelines. He scored a fine 65 off 88 balls on a turning pitch at the Eden Gardens and, in fact, it was his wicket that started the Indian slide.

India have busted the semis hoodoo while playing on home soil in the 2011 edition. If a Tendulkar ton can help MS Dhoni hold aloft the World Cup, the journey from a ball boy to a World Champion will have been a fruitful and emotional one. Now to the million dollar question: Who writes Tendulkar's scripts? Want a clue? Here it is: He opens in ODIs and bats at No. 4 in Tests.

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Not one of his best innings, But Sachin had hung on: Gavaskar

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Sachin Tendulkar plays a shot during the Cricket World Cup semifinal match against Pakistan in Mohali. (TOI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Former captain Sunil Gavaskar has praised Sachin Tendulkar for hanging on to anchor the Indian innings to a challenging total though he might not have played one of his best innings in the high-voltage World Cup semifinal clash against Pakistan at Mohali.

Tendulkar got six reprieves in his 115-ball 85 to take India's score to 260 for nine which later turned out to be a winning total, and Gavaskar patted his contribution to the team's cause.

"He was not at his best but he kept on hanging around. He did not throw his wicket away. Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag gave the Indian innings a flying start, that also made the difference," Gavaskar said after India beat Pakistan by 29 runs on Wednesday.

"Had not for the quickfire opening stand, the score might have been 230 or so," he said, adding that initially after the Indian innings he thought the home side was 30 runs short.

Gavaskar said he also thought initially that India had committed a blunder by leaving out Ravichandran Ashwin and including Ashish Nehra instead in the playing eleven.

"I thought it was a mistake to include Nehra in place of Ashwin. I thought it was not right to include somebody who had been punished heavily in an earlier match (against South Africa).

"But fortunately, Nehra did well today though he was lacking in confidence from what his body language showed. The important thing I thought was the beginning of the Pakistan run chase. Zaheer Khan and Nehra and later Munaf Patel did not allow them to start with a flourish," said Gavaskar.

Asked about who should be in the bowling attack in the summit clash against Sri Lanka in Mumbai on April 2, the former captain said the team management would have to take the call according the conditions at Wankhede Stadium.

"It will depend on the conditions there at the Wankhede though I normally say don't change the winning combination. From what I gathered the Wankhede looks like it will have some carry, so it could be Nehra there also instead of Ashwin.

"If India have to go with two pacers and two spinners, it should be Zaheer, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh and Ashwin. I definitely would prefer Munaf to Nehra. You need the left-right bowling combination of Zaheer and Munaf," he said.

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