Sachin steps out, with a little help from his coach

The last time Tendulkar scored a half-century in even time was 26 ODIs and 22 months back, against Australia at Melbourne.

Today, his 93 came off 96 balls but it was the first 50 that brought back memories. Especially seven strokes—a six and half a dozen fours—that seemed like a replay of his greatest hits (see box).

The man who seemed totally out of sorts at the Challenger Trophy days ago was in such dominating form that captain Rahul Dravid said: ‘‘It was impossible to think that he was coming after an injury break, it seemed he’d been in prime form during the last six months.’’

Actually, his return to form was first sighted at the practice game in the Bangalore camp last week but still the doubters pointed out that the true test would be on the international stage.

Today, his very first shot — a drive that bisected the cover fielders — ended the debate. For the next 90-odd runs he played with a smile on his face and a rhythm in his batting. When on 83—17 short of his 36th ton—he stepped out as soon as the ball left pacer Mahroof’s hand.

Not only was it a shot straight out of his past, it also sought to dispel persistent talk that, latterly, he’d begun to play with both eyes on personal records.

It would be easy to put this innings down to genius and, though it had that defining inexplicable air to it, there seemed to be another hand hovering protectively over him: The hand of his coach.

For the past few weeks, Chappell has — in every statement, every interview, every throwaway soundbyte — stressed one fact: Sachin is the team leader, the mentor. The subtext was: Play your game, don’t worry about your place in the side.

When Sachin was included in the ODI squad after failing in the Challengers, Chappell was asked to explain the contradiction. His reply was pointed: Sachin needs a bigger stage to prove himself.

Even the juniors welcomed his presence in a dressing-room short on experience. ‘‘His return has given us youngsters a lot of confidence’’, said Suresh Raina during the camp.

For a batsman short on form, nearing the end of his career and recovering from injury, and also being constantly compared with younger tyros, the gentle reassurance would have gone a long way.

The day before the match, the think-tank took an unusual decision by dropping two players from the 15, one of whom was specialist opener Gautam Gambhir. It was another vote of confidence in Tendulkar.

Given the mandate, Tendulkar cast off the shackles and did his thing.