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It was a thundering Thursday and the whole city was pouring badly. Nothing much to do in office either, I thought of going home. Took permission from my boss, went home, relaxed, had lunch and was ready to watch the clash between the two titans. Yes it was the 5th ODI between India and Australia at Hyderabad. There was nothing great except for little news on India’s favor.
India had already lost 2 matches in the same ground. Only Yuvraj Singh had scored 2 hundred on those matches. Apart from this, like the others, I was also eagerly waiting for the Master Blaster’s another milestone.Yes he was hardly a few runs short of his 17000 runs in ODI Cricket. Australia had scored 350 runs and India had to chase 351 in 50 over’s. With a good batting line up, India started chasing slowly; it was good but a small partnership between Shewag and Sachin. Though India lost Shewag soon, Sachin made his milestone with some classic cuts and drives. He was the first cricketer to reach the 17000 ton of runs in ODI Cricket.
Tendulkar reached the milestone of the 17th delivery on his 435th limited-over match. As he completed the 17K mark, applause came from all around the stadium, Aussies whispering their congrats, and crackers bursting in the skies, one could also here Sunil Gavaskar’s comments, this little master, was the first to score 11000, first to score 12000……. And the first to score 17000.
What can one say about his classic game? He had scored 175 runs out of 141 balls, a splendid, innings like the one we saw in Sharjah in 1998. The Aussies were all down until this happened. Tendulkar trying to flick a shot was caught by the wicket keeper, and the whole crowd stood applauding the master for his wonderful innings , bearing in mind, will India win this game or not?
The lower order players failed to make up the required 19 runs to win he game, and India lost the match with another 3 runs short.Although Sachin was recognized with the Man of the Match title at the end of the match, he humbly said he would have been satisfied if they had won the game. There were many critics before the match and earlier regarding Tendulkar’s game but the master had proved everyone that all are wrong.
Wishes from every one flooded, the first was The CM of Maharashtra (Ashok Chavan) sending him a congrats letter, the Big B wishing him more success, rival captain Ricky Ponting mentioning that he is amazed of his longevity in International Cricket , team mates wishing him , that he break’s records on monthly basis. Quoting what Sachin said, it would have been a lot happier had India won that game. Long live Sachin! The more you play the more India wins…..
Note: The Original version of the video’s downloaded from you tube.
No one would have expected the shocking news from the Indian Test Captain. Hardly a few over’s to be bowled in the third test, which eventually ended up in a draw, Anil Kumble (Jumbo) had announced his retirement from International Cricket. The 38-year-old man is the third highest Test wicket taker in the world, with 619 wickets in 132 tests.
The little finger injury that he had from the first test and his physical fitness has made him to take such a decision, he explained to the media. He was neither disappointed with the decision he took nor did he have any pressure from the selectors or BCCI. He was happy for taking such a decision in Feroz Shah Kotla, the ground where he had taken a 10-wicket haul against the rival Pakistan. Kumble was the second cricketer after Jim Laker to have this privilege.
Being a Mechanical Engineer, Jumbo started his career as a medium pacer. His first test was against England and ODI was against the Lankans. It was in his second test against South Africa when Jumbo became a quality spinner, taking 21 wickets in 3 test matches. Then things seem to be different all these 18 years. He took 50 test wickets in just 10 tests and was the second fastest Indian bowler to take 100 wickets. He is the only Indian to take 5 wickets in a test Innings more than 30 times.
To his credit he is the one of the prestigious recipient of the Arjuna Award and the Padma Shri award from the Government of India. This decision from Jumbo was not only a surprise to all of us since one such announcement was expected from the senior players as they were under pressure before the series against Australia had begun. I accept the fact that all players should retire one day but according to me, the decision should be made by the players themselves and should not be forced or threatened by the BCCI or the board of selectors to retire and giving them options. This will not only spoil the sport but also it will have an adverse effect among the players. They wont be able to bring in their original form during the game, every time they go to play they will lose concentration, in the fear of performing or not performing.
As Sachin claimed, it was they who choose to play this game and it should be left to them to decide when to retire. He has also said that the senior players in the Indian team must be respected for the “major contributions” they have made over the years. With Saurav and Jumbo having made decisions, we have only 3 senior players in the squad. And it wouldn’t be surprising if all the three or one among them decides to quit after the Nagpur Test. Now will the Indian Team be able to perform, as before, like the seniors under the captaincy of Dhoni, is still a question, which cannot be answered at this time?
Bidding Adieu!
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