Sachin, the master at work again

He was supposed to dominate and maximise returns during the powerplays. Instead, his showing against the new ball was...

He was supposed to dominate and maximise returns during the powerplays. Instead, his showing against the new ball was scrappy 8212; the raw pace of Brett Lee unsettling him, Nathan Bracken and Mitchell Johnson beating him time and again. But he chose to remain subdued.

Sachin Tendulkar was stacked up against all odds: the uneven bounce at the pavilion end, the early morning juice in the pitch and, above all, the pressure to deliver in this big match from the team8217;s point of view.

It8217;s not everyday that he takes so long to score his first boundary. But today, it was unusually long until his 43rd delivery which he cut through third-man region off James Hopes to get his first of the seven boundaries he got. But the best of that lot was a rasping cover drive, off Lee when he leaned into the shot to keep it all along the ground.

Through the innings of 79 on Monday, Tendulkar preferred to remain clinical rather than blazing in his period of assertion, though that period started very late and came in with frequent interruptions. He reached his 50 in 91 balls after a painstaking 136-minute stay at the centre 8212; and then went past a barrage of records.

The 34-year-old holds the record now for scoring the maximum number of half-centuries in ODIs, overtaking Inzamam with his 84th. Tendulkar also became the maximum run-getter against Australia with 2321 runs, overtaking Desmond Haynes, who tallied 2262 in 61 matches against them. He also became the second Indian after Sourav Ganguly to tally 1,000 runs and more in a calendar year.

But more than the records, Tendulkar would be proud of the fact that he hung around despite runs coming in singles and twos to raise India8217;s highest opening wicket stand of 91 with Sourav Ganguly and then playing the anchor role to take India to its highest total in this series.

However, Tendulkar8217;s innings ended when he was run out after non-striker MS Dhoni rightly refused a call and Lee hit the stumps direct from short-fine. This knock definitely isn8217;t the most popular and entertaining 8212; Robin Uthappa and Dhoni overshadowed it with their blazing knocks 8212; but the relevance of it was not lost in the dressing room at the end. Even without the brashness of the young, Tendulkar remained an asset that he has always been for Team India.

Suffers mild strain

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8226;Sachin Tendulkar failed to take the field right through Australia8217;s innings after suffering from a strain on his knee while batting in the fourth one-dayer. India team physio John Gloster, while revealing that 8220;Tendulkar suffered from a mild strain8221;, reiterated that there was 8220;no serious concern as of now and he would be fit for the next game.8221; Gloster, however, said a final assessment on his recovery would be made in a day8217;s time.