When Sachin made India smile again...

If you are asked to pick the best Tendulkar innings ever, what would your answer be? To pick from 20 years and 595 matches and 30000 runs and 87 centuries at the highest stage of cricket, it is never going to be an easy job. That desertstorm 143 at Sharjah or that heartbreaking 136 at Chennai or the whirlwind 98 at Centurion or the recent 175 at Hyderabad? We have in our hand a never ending list. With due apologies to the aforementioned classics, here I start off writing about my favourite Tendulkar innings.

It's the one which I deliberately left out of that list - that classic match winning 103* against England last December- the last of his three immortal efforts at Chennai. In a way, it was Tendulkar’s reply to Lara’s unbeaten 153 some ten years ago. Scoring a fourth innings hundred in a historic chase! And that was not all. For fans of Ponting and Jayasuriya, it might be nothing but for one billion Indians it was everything. It was special. It was different.The reason was simple - because it came with a number of emotional tags attached to it. We all needed something different to try and forget and to compensate what was lost during the Mumbai attacks a fortnight earlier, the worst ever terrorist attack on the country. Much before the game began, we all saw his outrage over the attacks, thanks to a TV commercial. "I play for India," he proudly said.. "Now more than ever." It was like an address to the nation. And in the end, the cherubic little boy-turned-superstar from the suburbs of Bandra emerged victorious, exhibiting true grit and resilience, something which the Mumbaikars are long known for.

Also it was the one Tendulkar ton I got to watch live in the stadium and the best I've seen from him, before or since. Pure vintage stuff on a turning and equally tricky last day's track. Post 26/11, the stadium was near empty for the first four days with armed men all around and the mood of the nation, as a whole, at an all time low.

When I had left the stadium the day before, having seen the end of that Sehwag blitzkrieg, I expected India to surrender meekly, something on the lines of Mumbai 2006. So I decided not to go for the last day's play. Like millions of others, I too was scarred of defeat.

The next day - December 15, 2008 – my S3 results were to be declared. I was expecting an ‘F’ and with personal tragedy at a striking distance,I switched on our old Onida, instead of my PC. Having watched the first half an hour's play on TV and with Dravid gone, I foresaw something special happening (?! :P) and left the place almost immediately. An hour later, the lush green top of Chepauk welcomed me and believe it or not, the stands, this time, were jam packed despite it being a monday and , the Barmy Army was being pushed into oblivion. So were the gunmen. However, the very next ball Gambhir was gone. 183/3. A couple of overs later, Laxman followed suit, pushing a leaping off-break to forward short leg. 163 runs still to get.

With only one recognised batsman left - Yuvraj singh, forget Dhoni, India was staring down the barrel. The crowd was getting restless. For almost all of them and the little man in the middle, it was the perfect chance to erase the ghost of that tragic '99 Test and more importantly, lift the spirit of the nation. The duo defended purposefully. With Flintoff and Harmison running in like bull dogs, well complemented by KP's sledging skills and a pitch exhibiting uneven bounce, the Poms and the Barmy Army had reasons to celebrate. But the euphoria didn't last long. Thankfully, Yuvraj, in the company of his 'grandpa' was a different guy altogether that day. He was in no mood to get into any altercation with Fintoff or KP, who were looking so desperate for a duel.

Two and a half hours later, every dot ball played out by Yuvraj was being cheered by the crowd like they were being dispatched out of the park. Yes it was because Tendulkar was into his 90s and India, something like 10 adrift of the target. Every stroke from the master’s blade was being cheered as though it was a century, and the deafening chants of "Sachin Sachin!" reverberating around almost endlessly. The golden moment finally arrived when India was 383/4 - He needed one; India needed four.

The third ball of the 99th over, Tendulkar paddle swept a sharp turning off break from debutant Greame Swann and in no time the ball raced to the fine leg boundary, the part of the ground where I was seated. The stadium erupted emphatically as Sachin jumping in joy and pumping his arms in the air, signalled India's victory and his century. The little master had orchestrated one of the greatest chases of our times, hardly ever looking under pressure. Sehwag started it. Tendulkar nurtured and finished it. 387 conquered! It couldn't have come at a better time.

Not very often you see cricketers shaking hands with ground staff and vice versa. A lady in a red saree and a polio stricken young man, among others, went upto Sachin and exchanged handshakes and few words in a language which I'm sure Sachin wouldn't have understood but he definitely got the message loud and clear. That day, the feel-good vibe caused by Tendulkar, spread like wild fire and the nation knelt and bowed in front of its wunderkid, like he was Jesus Christ. Mind you, he was no more a demi god; something even bigger. Rightly so, the newspaper next morning read - "With Sachin, India smiles again" and my exam results were out by then and I was smiling too, though with a heart as heavy as his MRF bat.

If ever god was to grant me a wish, there is one thing I would surely ask for - to see Tendulkar hold aloft the ICC World Cup in 2011, the one trophy which has been eluding him for a very long time. That would be the ultimate jewel in his crown, and something that would keep the little master feel happy and satisfied for the rest of his life. God willing, it will happen. Yes, God willing.