Australia put through 'Sach Ka Saamna'

Hung up as we are on records and personal milestones, the entire nation was perhaps hoping that Sachin Tendulkar would just score the seven runs that he needed to complete 17,000 in one-day internationals at Hyderabad.

In the event, he scored a stunning 175 to prove that his genius is not dimmed either by advancing age or the scepticism arising because of a spate of low scores in this series.

Even if in hushed tones, in the past fortnight there have been debates about his timing, footwork, position in the batting order etc, but all these were dispelled in an innings such ambition, authority and dexterity that the hardy Aussies were put through a gruelling Sach Ka Saamna  in defending a mammoth 351.

Tendulkar started circumspectly as Viru Sehwag took on the gauntlet to run down the massive target. Soon, though, he was forced to be not only the fulcrum but also the aggressor as strokeplayers Yuvraj and Dhoni fell cheaply and followed Sehwag into the pavilion. It was now Tendulkar or none to lead India to victory.

This required not just bravado, but also mastery and control of the situation which became evident in the way he ran his singles and twos, and intermittently attacked with fours and sixes to ensure that the run rate never got out of reach. The ability to pick gaps or clear the close-in ring with lofted strokes when the fielding side is defending so vigorously demands not just a good sense of geometry, but also of bowler psychology.

Has there been a better one day innings by an Indian? There will be heated debate on the pros and cons, but this one would feature among the top few certainly. If I have to recall my best right away, these would be Tendulkar’s 148 against Australia in Sharjah in 1998, his 93 against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup and Kapil Dev’s 175 against Zimbabwe in 1983 Wells 26 years which was so crucial in Indian winning the World Cup.

It is, of course, only a co-incidence that the scores are the same, but there are parallels between Kapil’s innings at Tunbridge Wells 26 years ago and Tendulkar’s on Thursday, not the least in the their swashbuckling, heroic response to a stiff situation.

Though his innings came against Zimbabwe, my vote would still go for Kapil Dev because of the difficulty quotient he faced (India 9 for 4 when he walked out to bat), because he was not a specialist batsman, because of the seaming track and because, all said and done, India won the match.

But Tendulkar’s 175, though it came on a flat track and against a weakened Aussie attack, is still worthy of being discussed in the same league for its sheer panoramic range, and for the impact it could have on the future: this innings, more than anything else, has capped a fortnight of superb cricket that has brought alive the magic of one day cricket.

It is a travesty of justice that an innings of such extraordinary dimension should have finished on the losing side. But that is taking a narrow philosophical view of sport, as indeed life: India may have lost, yet cricket was still the winner, and this conclusion would have been impossible to reach without Tendulkar’s tour de force.