The last hurrah
Sunil Narula

Perfect Ten: In what will probably be his last World Cup,
Sachin Tendulkar will want to go out in glory

OF course, it is difficult to believe but even Sachin Tendulkar has still not achieved a couple of things in cricket. For instance, he has never been part of the World Cup winning team (Also, he has never scored a triple hundred in Tests).

The likes of Dhoni and Yuvraj, at least, have the consolation of knowing that they have won the T20 World Cup (in South Africa in 2007). But Sachin was not part of that team.

This will be the sixth World Cup for Sachin and the team members are saying they want to win this one for the little genius. If India can win, it will be the perfect gift for Sachin Tendulkar. Sixth time lucky.

The closest Sachin has come to winning the World Cup was in 2003 in South Africa when India reached the finals and Sachin was the top run-getter of the tournament with 673 runs.

But in the finals against Australia, it was Ricky Ponting, who did the damage with a classy captain’s knock of 140 (off just 121 balls) as his team piled up a mammoth 359/2 in 50 overs.

India were chasing this colossal score for the title triumph and all hopes rested on Sachin’s shoulders. But it was not his day and a soft miscued pull saw him fall to Glenn McGrath after scoring just four runs. India went on to lose the final.

In the next edition of the World Cup in the Caribbean Islands in 2007, India were dealt a severe jolt in the opening game itself when they lost to Bangladesh. Coach Greg Chappell and Sachin had their differences of opinion. Greg wanted Sachin to play in the middle-order while the batsman himself was loathe to relinquish his place at the top of the order. Net result: chaos and confusion.

Sachin reluctantly played in the middle-order and did not click as was expected of him. India won the next game against Bermuda but were beaten again in the league stage by Sri Lanka and made their sorry exit from the last World Cup.

It is safe to assume that this will be Sachin’s last World Cup. In terms of stats, there isn’t much left for him to achieve. Centuries in Tests and ODIs have become par for the course for this genius.

But a World Cup title victory remains elusive. It seems like a minor aberration in the long and embellished career of this great player. But it’s an aberration all the same, one that Sachin fervently wishes to correct. And on home soil, it will be the perfect platform for Sachin to correct this irksome anomaly.

Almost every cricket lover is hoping that come April 2, Dhoni and his players will be holding the cherished cup in their hands at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. And Sachin will finally have a World Cup title victory against his name.

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