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Regular-article-logo Wednesday, 16 July 2025

Time to join Sachin party

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INDRANIL MAJUMDAR Published 16.11.09, 12:00 AM

Ahmedabad: For a nation gripped by the euphoria of him completing 20 years at the international level, Sachin Tendulkar continues to be an enigma.

Not a 159-Test veteran, he was at the Sardar Patel Stadium in nearby Motera with the dedication and enthusiasm of a 20-year-old striving for his maiden Test cap. With wife Anjali, who has specially flown down for the occasion, watching from the sidelines, he was a picture of concentration during nets.

The insatiable hunger for runs, the passion, the silken touch that has been the hallmark of his batting, the uncanny way of perfecting every stroke, it was all visible during the 20-odd minutes he spent at nets.

No wonder then that the icon will try and celebrate the milestone in his special way on the field. As Mahendra Singh Dhoni said, the event wasn’t a distraction, but would prove to be an inspiration for the team going into the opening Test of the Jaypee Cup against Sri Lanka.

“What Sachin has achieved is phenomenal. He has been a role model for all of us. I never dreamt of playing alongside him, so it’s an honour to share the same dressing room … I hope he gets a century here. That will be the ultimate,” was the captain’s compliment.

If the Lankans have been slightly unnerved by the Sachin factor, they weren’t showing it. For them, winning in India would be akin to the Australians’ conquering the “final frontier”.

The visitors are yet to win a Test in India, let alone a series, in the 14 matches so far. If that is one driving force for Kumar Sangakkara’s men, the other, much like India, is achieving the No.1 Test ranking.

They have spared no effort in their preparations and are hoping against hope that India would crack under pressure. They have been practising with 180 SG balls (which India use at home) for the last two months as part of an intense build-up.

“Hopefully, that will give us an edge,” said the Lanka captain.

Sangakkara didn’t wish to read much into his team’s strengths. “I won’t say we have a massive advantage over earlier teams. We have a much improved pace attack. We have the balance in the team to play two or three specialist spinners and still have two fast bowlers playing.

That Muttiah Muralidharan and Ajantha Mendis took 47 wickets between them in three Tests to trigger their collapse, in Sri Lanka last year, must be weighing at the back of the Indians’ minds. But Murali hasn’t had much success since while Mendis is certainly no more the riddle the Indians had once failed to unravel.

Moreover, there’s a strong possibility that Mendis could miss out on a place in the final XI, with Thilan Thusara and Rangana Herath partnering Murali.

The Indians have mixed memories of this ground. The hosts, under Virender Sehwag after Rahul Dravid had to be hospitalised with fever, won by a whopping 259 runs with Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh sharing the spoils.

The brownish wicket this time, as Dhoni said, was “very different” from the seaming one that was prepared for the last Test here, against South Africa. India succumbed by an innings and 90 runs in three days in that game after being shot out for 76 on the first morning.

“The wicket is a bit sticky at the moment because of watering, but it will dry up in this hot weather and will be good to bat on,” was Dhoni’s reading.

That a 2-0 victory in the series would put them ahead of South Africa should also spur Dhoni’s men on. The return of Zaheer Khan to partner Ishant Sharma is good news while Amit Mishra is likely to be picked ahead of Pragyan Ojha.

Sangakkara was diplomatic about the wicket. “The best way to judge is to play on it. You make a spot decision and then decide how it will play. When you really start playing, you know how it behaves. So we have to really wait until the match starts. But right now it looks like a good Test wicket and should be good to bat on initially.”

It remains to be seen how quickly the hosts adjust to the longer version having played their last Test seven months ago in New Zealand. That could truly decide the outcome of this series.

TEAMS

India (likely): Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma.

Sri Lanka (likely): Tillekaratne Dilshan, Tharanga Paranavitana, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Prasanna Jayawardene, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thusara, Muttiah Muralidharan, Ajanta Mendis/Rangana Herath.

Umpires: Daryl Harper, Tony Hill.

Match Referee: Jeff Crowe.

Match starts: 9.30am.

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