Game and set for Sachin, match on Sunday

During the game, as Uthappa-Kaarthick tried to break serve and remain in the contest, coming back from 0-40 to 30-40, Tendulkar walked to the net and said, “You know what’s this thing about 30-40? It means we still have a chance,” and then went on to win that point and hold serve. Tendulkar kept adding his one-liners after almost every point, and tried to be cheeky in a game of total one-up manship—just as much as he intended to be on Friday morning.

For years, he always tried to practise what he has to do, but Friday morning he practised what he didn’t have to do in the remainder of the series. He called on Robin Singh to help him in this special experiment. “Just bowl outside my stump, I want to try and leave the balls as much as possible, judge the bounce and want to try and get some singles off those balls there or here,” he told Robin pointing to cover region and third-man area. For the next 30 minutes, Tendulkar kept leaving the ball outside off and tried a few cheeky shots down the third man area or a simple push away from that imaginary cover fielder.

He’s been troubled by the Australians with the ball outside off stump, especially by Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark and Tendulkar wants a quick solution to that. Tendulkar’s practice sessions on this tour has been bizarre and broken quite a few conventional theories—unlike all players who tune-up at the nets, he doesn’t bat in the nets on the eve of the match. He is content with a few throw-downs and fielding practice. Right through this tour he’s kept himself to indoor sessions, facing up to the bowling machine and hitting the ball to some throws.

It’s quite interesting to see him garner as much enthusiasm to match the 18 years of experience. The elder statesman has blended amazingly with this young bunch just as he has recognised his responsibilities to be around them.

He would walk up to Gautam Gambhir and tell him an idea to hit Sreesanth over the keeper to break his field set-up in the last 10 overs, and get his happiness that his ploy worked. And then, suddenly his face would turn serious and he would try and leave the balls outside off. It’s the role that Tendulkar is now trying to embrace—it’s important for him to bat through the overs, get the cheeky singles to keep the scoreboard ticking before handing over to the big bashers.

They say practice makes a man perfect and this man is a perfect role model for this bunch of youngsters.