Journalism of Courage
As the birds and cattle crossed the field in adjoining farms as they made their homeward journey in fading light,a loud lbw appeal emerged from the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Stadium. Over-reaching for a sweep in the second-last over of the day,Sachin Tendulkar had missed the line and the ball had struck his pad. Off-spinner Jayant Yadav let go a shrill shout,and the close-in fielders joined the chorus. About 8000 sets of eyes had darted from the strikers end to the non-strikers in an instant. The collective pulse rate in the stands returned to normal after the umpire opted for the majority decision.
Mumbai,and Tendulkar,had survived to extend the battle by another day. The calm of the countryside wasnt returning to this stadium in the middle of the grasslands,for now.
A defiant partnership
Thats something they also did on Tuesday. With Haryana on 224/9 overnight,the Tendulkar moment wasnt far away. A turnover and couple of wickets wouldnt take long in the morning session,the locals know. A defiant partnership between Kaustubh Pawar and Ajinkya Rahane meant that Tendulkar took the field only when the dew had dried and the fog had cleared. Not that this made Tendulkars stay easy. Skipper Ajay Jadeja,with a bunch of committed and discipline pacers,did his best to pressurise Tendulkar and Mumbai. Off spinner Jayant Yadav complemented the other bowlers well,and was a constant threat.
Tendulkar was feeling the heat. He changed his gloves,his bat and applied anti-perspirant powder on his sweaty hands. His footwork was unsure,he was late on his flick,and one of his paddle sweeps early in his innings hit his pad and trickled to the wicketkeeper. An attempted backfoot punch into the covers became a mistimed lob that just cleared the inner circle. And when he squatted after missing a Mohit Sharma ball that kept low,the crowd said not again. The bail stayed on its groove. The ball missed everything and raced to the fence for four byes.
The image of an edgy and uncertain Tendulkar wasnt what the fans wanted to carry home. A young man,seated in the VIP section,broke the uncomfortable silence. Sachin,go easy, came the plea straight from the heart of a Tendulkar fan. Approval echoed from those around him. The young fan connected with many,it seemed. The transformation was to come late in the final session.
cut to chase
It took time for Tendulkar to gather his thoughts and sort out the numbers in his head. Ahead of his final two Tests,in the middle of promotions,felicitations and farewells,he had a real tough cricketing situation to deal with. A fourth-innings chase on a lively track,with his partners rapidly changing identity. The challenge on the pitch must have overridden the peripherals as Tendulkar took the chase by the scruff of the neck. At the start of the final session,Mumbai needed 109 runs in 34 overs. He made a brief attempt to go all guns blazing. The option was shelved after he walked out of his crease to pacer Harshal Patel and drove straight to cover. He realised it was a day to dig trenches and not to make a run at the rival camp.
The long stay saw the return of Tendulkars sureness while dealing with a very disciplined Haryana attack. The departure of Pawar,Abhishek Nayar,Aditya Tare and Hiken Shah didnt bother the man. He seemed desperate for one more day on the field wearing Mumbai colours. Lahli didnt mind that,even if flora and fauna,accustomed to quieter surroundings,might have.
Brief scores: Haryana 134 and 241 in 70.2 overs (Rahul Dewan 44,Sunny Singh 63,Jayant Yadav 45,Harshal Patel 33; Zaheer Khan 4/62,Dhawal Kulkarni 2/46,Vishal Dabholkar 4/54) vs Mumbai 136 and 201/6 in 75 overs (Kaustubh Pawar 47,Ajinkya Rahane 40,Sachin Tendulkar 55*; Mohit Sharma 2/65).
