The queues lengthened outside the gates and inside the Wankhede Stadium, the ‘Sachin, Sachin' chorus proved to be the favourite on Thursday morning. The fine print of a match being in the balance was seemingly lost as fans waited for that singular ‘I-was-there' moment as and when Sachin Tendulkar notched up his 100th international hundred.
Finally when bad light curtailed day three of the third Test between India and the West Indies, Tendulkar (67 batting) was at the crease, yet to register the milestone but as always he continued to be the carrier of dreams.
And when Friday dawns at the venue, the 20,000 fans who thronged the stands will multiply manifold and the wait will continue for that ‘one' moment.
Ashwin takes five
Tendulkar's knock was another key component in India's adequate batting display while replying with 281 for three after the West Indies scored 590 in its first innings with R. Ashwin grabbing his second five-wicket haul in this series.
Apart from the mind-boggling numbers that have always shadowed Tendulkar, the bigger picture is that India needs another 110 runs to avoid the follow-on.
Before Tendulkar became the focal point at his second home, Gautam Gambhir (55) and Rahul Dravid (82) marshalled the Indian first innings. Gambhir and Virender Sehwag true to the pattern they have set through the series with starts of 89, 51 and 66, laid the base but as a pair, failed to surge ahead. A 67-run partnership was crafted upon Sehwag's belligerence and Gambhir's tenacity.
Missing the line
Sehwag punched Ravi Rampaul and smote Darren Sammy while Gambhir, was a mix of fluidity and fragility outside the off-stump.
More importantly, Gambhir (55) hung in but Sehwag missed the line against Sammy as the West Indies skipper sneaked in a delivery to knock back the stumps.
After lunch, Gambhir enjoyed a reprieve on 31 when Kirk Edwards felt a snick off Sammy, brush his fingers and race away.
To make it worse for Sammy, Gambhir later crunched fours past mid-wicket and long-on.
Gambhir also shared a 71-run second-wicket partnership with Dravid until Rampaul breached the alliance.
A short delivery, climbing rapidly elicited an impulsive pull from Gambhir but replays showed that there was no conclusive evidence for the approval given by umpire Bruce Oxenford for a caught-behind verdict.
Gambhir trudged back while Dravid continued his productive outing that rode high on decisiveness at the crease. Dravid was tentative prior to lunch but once the angst vanished, he played with remarkable authority. Fidel Edwards, pre-occupied with the memory of castling Dravid with a delivery that darted in at Delhi, tried to work on that angle. Dravid patted the ball back with authority and when Edwards over-pitched, an on-drive sped towards the billboards.
An innings that seemed destined for a hundred, meanwhile pocketed a few statistical highs for its creator. Dravid crossed 13,000 runs in Tests and also went past 1000 runs in the current year. The optimism he reflected through a lofted four off Devendra Bishoo lingered on and it also undid him as he rocked back to cut Marlon Samuels when the delivery did not offer that luxury. A bail tumbled down and Dravid walked away while the spotlight remained on Tendulkar.
Dominant mood
The maestro was in a dominant mood that was epitomised by an upper-cut for six off Edwards in the first over after tea. The wrists were brought in to play as balls were whipped towards mid-wicket and even the batting gods favoured him as a snick off Bishoo popped out of Carlton Baugh's gloves. Tendulkar, then on 58, marched on and in the company of Laxman, will have to help India skip past the follow-on bogey besides hopefully gifting delirium to his million fans with that much-awaited ton.
Scoreboard:
West Indies — 1st innings : A. Barath c Dhoni b Ashwin 62 (148b, 8x4), K. Brathwaite c Kohli b Ashwin 68 (184b, 8x4), K. Edwards c Dhoni b Ishant 86 (165b, 13x4), D. Bravo c Dhoni b Aaron 166 (284b, 17x4), K. Powell c Dhoni b Ojha 81 (149b, 9x4), M. Samuels c Dravid b Ashwin 61 (103b, 9x4), C. Baugh b Aaron 4 (6b, 1x4), D. Sammy c Dhoni b Aaron 3 (6b), R. Rampaul c Kohli b Ashwin 10 (14b, 2x4), F. Edwards (not out) 11 (27b, 1x4), D. Bishoo b Ashwin 12 (21b, 2x4); Extras (b-8, lb-16, nb-2): 26; Total (in 184.1 overs): 590.
Fall of wickets : 1-137 (Barath), 2-150 (Brathwaite), 3-314 (Edwards), 4-474 (Powell), 5-518 (Bravo), 6-524 (Baugh), 7-540 (Sammy), 8-563 (Rampaul), 9-566 (Samuels).
India bowling : Ishant 32-9-84-1, Aaron 28-4-106-3, Ojha 48-10-126-1, Ashwin 52.1-6-156-5, Sehwag 16-1-61-0, Kohli 2-0-9-0, Tendulkar 6-0-24-0.
India — 1st innings : G. Gambhir c Baugh b Rampaul 55 (99b, 8x4), V. Sehwag b Sammy 37 (50b, 3x4, 1x6), R. Dravid b Samuels 82 (149b, 11x4), S. Tendulkar (batting) 67 (133b, 5x4, 1x6), V.V.S. Laxman (batting) 32 (53b, 3x4); Extras (b-1, nb-4, w-3): 8; Total (for three wkts. in 80 overs): 281.
Fall of wickets : 1-67 (Sehwag), 2-138 (Gambhir), 3-224 (Dravid).
West Indies bowling : Edwards 15-0-70-0, Rampaul 12-1-42-1, Sammy 22-3-67-1, Samuels 11-0-48-1, Bishoo 20-4-53-0.
