Classy Tendulkar leaves SL a mammoth target
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Sachin Tendulkar rolled back the years, and then some more. He stroked, ran and yearned for runs like it was the 1990s but, unlike those days, he didn't need to take any chances or risks on the way to his 86th international century. By the time Tendulkar was done, he had given India a strong chance of ending a run of five straight defeats in completed tournament finals to Sri Lanka, according to the website cricinfo.
This was Tendulkar's ninth international century since May 2007, to go with seven scores in the 90s. Judging by this form, 100 international hundreds have become a distinct possibility. Today admittedly he was helped by MS Dhoni winning the toss at one of the worst ODI venues, in terms of the toss influencing the result of the match. But what followed the toss was an absolute master class. A measure of the bowlers' helplessness lay in the fact that the first time he hit a ball in the air was to reach his fifty, that too off a free hit. With Tendulkar batting the way he was, who needed aerial shots?
He shared valuable partnerships with Rahul Dravid, Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, though the especially crucial one was the stand with Dravid. Tendulkar and Dravid, 73 years and 762 ODI caps (before this match) between them, took charge of what has looked a shaky batting line-up: their 95-run opening stand took them to No. 6 on the all-time partnership aggregates in ODIs.
Score:
India 319 for 5 (Tendulkar 138, Yuvraj 56*, Dhoni 56) v Sri Lanka
This was Tendulkar's ninth international century since May 2007, to go with seven scores in the 90s. Judging by this form, 100 international hundreds have become a distinct possibility. Today admittedly he was helped by MS Dhoni winning the toss at one of the worst ODI venues, in terms of the toss influencing the result of the match. But what followed the toss was an absolute master class. A measure of the bowlers' helplessness lay in the fact that the first time he hit a ball in the air was to reach his fifty, that too off a free hit. With Tendulkar batting the way he was, who needed aerial shots?
He shared valuable partnerships with Rahul Dravid, Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, though the especially crucial one was the stand with Dravid. Tendulkar and Dravid, 73 years and 762 ODI caps (before this match) between them, took charge of what has looked a shaky batting line-up: their 95-run opening stand took them to No. 6 on the all-time partnership aggregates in ODIs.
Score:
India 319 for 5 (Tendulkar 138, Yuvraj 56*, Dhoni 56) v Sri Lanka