Friday, 15 November 2013

Cricket: Sachin Tendulkar Pulls the Curtain on an Incredible Career with 74 runs Against West Indies,



Sachin Tendulkar was close to a fairy-tale ending to his career in Mumbai, playing some beautiful strokes and looking very much in the driving seat for a century against the West Indies.

Bowler Deonarine initially had no reply to some terrific boundaries from Tendulkar, and the West Indies seemed reluctant to turn up the heat on the legendary batsman.

But Tendulkar initially went for 74 runs, after a masterful catch by Darren Sammy at slip. Sammy refused to celebrate and looked pensive after bringing to an end the Little Master's 200th and final Test match in Mumbai.

The sold-out crowd was silent, with Tendulkar's mother watching her son from the sidelines for the first time in a Test match, but the batsman's final walk had the crowd on their feet with an emotional ovation.

Tendulkar had begun the day on 38 and and quickly added nine runs, taking a single from the first over of the day off Tino Best before hitting successive fours off Shane Shillingford.

Tendulkar survived a scare off the fifth ball of Best's second over when he failed to get anything on a rising delivery and umpire Richard Kettleborough gave him not out despite committed appeals from the West Indies players.



A straight driven four off Best's next over gave Tendulkar his 68th Test fifty as he moved on to 52 not out as India replied to West Indies first innings total of 182.

The 40-year-old, whose impending retirement has sparked an outpouring of emotion in his homeland, was bidding for one last hurrah before bringing the curtain down on his 24-year international career.

An enthusiastic welcome from the 32,000-strong crowd set the scene for the Little Master on Friday and he did not disappoint. Having reached his half-century Tendulkar set his sights on the next landmark and a 101st career century at international level.

But there was to be no century as he perished for 74 when he was caught by Darren Sammy attempting to cut Narsingh Deonarine. Tendulkar's tally of 100 centuries is just one of many records he has amassed since making his debut for the national side on November 15, 1989.

Tendulkar holds dozens of batting records, including most runs and centuries in both Tests and one-day internationals.

He has amassed nearly 16,000 runs in his Tests career - a total that comprises just part of his 34,000-plus runs across all forms of the game at international level.

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