Is there anything this man can’t do? Is there any peak he can’t scale? Is there any hurdle he can’t cross? If so, bring it on! Thirteen days after his coronation at the Wankhede Stadium, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar returned to thank 28,000 faithful Mumbaikars in inimitable fashion by striking his first century in the Indian Premier League.
He’s done it a staggering 99 times for Mother India. He’s done it for Aamchi Mumbai. He’s done for Rest of India and West Zone and India Blue. And on Friday, Tendulkar did Mukesh Ambani’s Mumbai Indians proud by producing an imperious 66-ball effort to register his 138th ton — yes, that many — in all forms of big-ticket cricket.
Riding on the Master Blaster’s lesson on batsmanship (100 not out; 66 balls, 12x4, 3x6) and Ambati Rayudu’s selfless but bludgeoning knock, the city-based outfit posted a mammoth 182 for two against a hapless Kochi Tuskers Kerala team. Rayudu’s innings (53; 33 balls, 3x4, 4x6) was gallant because he ran himself out to give Tendulkar the strike in the final over. But prior to that, he batted like a man possessed.
Tendulkar was on 90 when Vinay Kumar ran in to bowl the last over. Rayudu slogged away to deep square-leg and his effort fetched him what the crowd wanted — a single. Tendulkar was foxed by a slow bouncer off the second ball but the umpire was, perhaps, a touch harsh in not ruling it a wide delivery. The maestro then beat a diving Ramesh Powar, stationed at short fine-leg, to pocket a boundary. Then, Rayudu ran himself out while attempting a second run but the good thing was that Tendulkar was on strike. Tendulkar, now on 95, struck another boundary before a single off the last delivery earned him yet another feather in the cap. Kumar tried everything — he stuttered like R Ashwin does, he copied Lasith Malinga’s round-arm action, he bowled like he usually does, but to no avail. The Karnataka medium-pacer’s shenanigans earned him a bowling analysis that read 4-0-48-0.
Skipper Mahela Jayawardene made two immensely bold decisions. First, he dropped his long-standing trump card, Muttiah Muralitharan, before allowing the mighty Mumbai Indians line-up to make first use of a batting beauty. But Murali’s replacement — Powar — was brought in as late as the 15th over. S Sreesanth, too, was benched.
No one seemed to care, though. It was all about Sachin...Sachin...Sachin!!!
