Jhakas | Sanjay Jha
He played a knock which was calibrated, chiseled and classily peppered with his characteristic traditional penchant of immaculate shot selection. Sachin Tendulkar made an emphatic statement to his swelling rank of new-found detractors with a much-needed century at Vadodra, in the last match of the India-West Indies ODI series. The whole country heaved a collective sigh of relief as the Little Master walked up to receive the Man of the Match and Man of the Series Award, a dual distinction well deserved, and hard earned under difficult personal moments of self-doubt creeping in.
The Vadodra victory also reconfirmed that the experienced trio of Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar continue to remain the formidable, foundation caucus for India as they begin to mentally prepare for the Caribbean islands. Continue reading below
Sourav ‘s towering performance and masterly aggression during the series, makes him an automatic choice to be the ideal partner to a destructive force called Virendra Sehwag, who is probably going to be resurrected soon. Ganguly has become the country’s most revered, respected and regal player ever since his extraordinary return from virtual wilderness, thanks to his indomitable spirit, a gutsy attitude, and flamboyant stroke-making.
Rahul Dravid, ever-reliable, forever consistent and constantly innovating, was equally brilliant as together with Sachin and Sourav, they effortlessly accumulated India’s highest score of 341 against the West Indies. Robin Utthappa and MS Dhoni seemed hell-bent on making fireworks in broad daylight.
It was good to see almost all Indian bowlers come good against a struggling West Indies clearly out of sorts and in a frantic hurry to board the British Airways. But for India it was payback time after the West Indies had clearly fractured their fragile confidence even further in the last few seasons. Psychological game-points in India’s favor, surely.
It’s funny how sports icons dominate public imagination. A resounding 3-1 victory in the series notwithstanding, what remained etched in most minds was Sachin Tendulkar. 100 not out.
He conquered.
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