Sachin's leaves

Now everyone know about India's wonderful chase against Pakistan in the 3rd one dayer and also about Dhoni's outrageous batting. Call me superstitious but as soon Sachin got cramps I suddenly remembered that unforgettable night in centurion, SA in WC against Pakistan and rushed home to see India pulling off the win. Just as that day
- Sachin got cramps and played one of the best one day innings even better than 'that' one
- Sachin got out in 90s producing another one for the list of non centuries that won a match.
- Dravid and Yuvraj Singh reached us home in that match and Youvraj Singh and outrageous Dhoni in this match.

It might be blasphemous but at this point Dhoni is as good as the incomparable Gilchrist in winning the matches. Dhoni was declared MOM on split decision but as Imran said on the 'Straight Drive' in Ten Sports , Sachin's innings was one of the best he played. The following blog on Cricinfo sums it up well.

"With that as the backdrop, you can understand my queer feeling when I watched the game today. Here, right in front of my eyes, was the great Mr. Dravid, yes the wall himself, being turned inside out, struggling against the darting cutters and generally looking a mess against the new ball. And there was the great Mr. Tendulkar, against the same bowlers on the same pitch, judging line immaculately, shuffling nimbly at the crease and shouldering arms just at the right moment.

Here was Dravid, playing and missing, poking, almost choking under the seaming handcuffs. And there was Tendulkar, alert and cool, determined and completely assured, reading the angularities, predicting the bowlers’ tactics, thwarting, thwarting, thwarting. Asif and Gul were jagging it all over the place, breaking through the defensive fortress that is Dravid but against Tendulkar they had not a chance.

For nearly seven overs, he dodged and no amount of movement appeared to matter. His 95 runs made the vital difference between India’s victory and defeat but nobody should forget those snaking deliveries that he harmlessly let go, helped remove the shine and laid out the easier path for the rest of the batsmen.

Tendulkar letting the ball go was a sight in itself. Tendulkar letting the ball go, while Dravid groped in the darkness, made the sight that bit more astonishing. "

Read the full post here.

Cricinfo - Tour Diaries: