At Bristol, cricket was a soothing balm for Sachin

He was wearing glasses that were darker than any I had seen him wear and when he spoke to me, a little voice within me said, “I don’t want to see his eyes.” I have known them to be cheerful, impish, intense but never sad and I don’t want to see that day. Somebody who was born to spreadhappiness should not have sad eyes.

Whatever doubts I had were dispelled within the first few minutes. Once he had played that exquisite straight drive off Thomas Odoyo (have you ever wondered why it requires so much skill to make something look so simple?), he did not once look anyone other than the Tendulkar we know.

And there is a lesson there for young men who look at their stance in the mirror and convince themselves they are the next Tendulkars. For a start, it is a bit premature to look at the next Tendulkar when the current one is only 26! But all those who aspire to be half the cricketer he is, and that is a huge dream, remember this game is played between the temples as much as it is between two sets of stumps. If Tendulkar keeps reminding us that he is a champion, it is because he is as strong in the head as he is in the middle.

I have always been a Tendulkar fan; as much of his cricket as of his ability to carry his fame on his shoulders. It is difficult to judge what his strongest hurdleis: the opposition attack or the expectations of his countrymen. He has countered both with skill and dignity and yesterday at Bristol, he overcame what to normal minds would be a third obstacle.

But as his innings flowered I started to ask myself, and I don’t know if I have the answer, whether it was an obstacle at all? Was his mental state a barrier to success or was it a catalyst? Did the tragedy burden him or did it become the reason for his astounding performance?

I suspect cricket was a soothing balm. Cricket has made him famous but yesterday it nursed him. It was on its wings that he flew away from tragedy, for the only antidote could have been the sounds of a stadium. The sound of bat on ball, the buzz around the ground, the cheers that accompany every move, even his partner saying `two’ as the ball slid off the square.

Cricket has always been an integral part of the Tendulkar family. It has always been one of Sachin’s closest friends. Yesterday, it moved an inch closer.