8:02 AM
Editor
he God of Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar will be cynosure of all eyes when he lands in Ahmedabad for the World Cup quarterfinal against Australia at the Motera on March 24.
The diminutive dynamo, who has more than 14,000 runs in Test cricket, is just 45 short of completing 18,000 runs in ODIs. Besdies the 48 ODI hundreds, he also has 51 Test centuries to his credit and therefore is on threshold of another rare milestone — ton of tons in 21 years of international cricket during which he has played 627 matches (177 Tests and 450 ODIs).
When Tendulkar played last at Motera in the India-New Zealand Test in November 2010, he was at the doorstep of his 50th Test hundred, but the Amdavadis were deprived of that special moment as Tendulkar failed to hoist his 'half century'. Even as the Gujaratis rooted for him, it was one of their own who spoiled their Diwali. Navsari boy Jeetan Patel, who now plays for New Zealand, caught Tendulkar off his own bowling for just 40 to bring a premature end to all the hype, expectations and celebration.
Motera has been a mixed bag for Tendulkar. It was here that he scored his first double hundred in Tests, a magnificent 217, as the skipper of the side, against New Zealand in the third Test of the 1999-2000 series. He went on to score five more double hundreds in his career after that.
Tendulkar completed his 20th year in international cricket here in November 2009, but the historic moment was spoiled by Sri Lankan seamer Chanaka Welegedara by dismissing him for just four runs. During his short stay, Tendulkar dispatched the seamer to the cover boundary but then he shouldered his arms to a ball that squeezed through between his bat and pad and knocked the off stump. Tendulkar responded with a second innings hundred which not only gave the Amdavadis something to cheer but also earned India a draw.
Motera has also been the stage where Sunil Gavaskar reached his 10,000 runs in Tests. Among others who reached some milestones in their careers were Kapil Dev who surpassed Richard Hadlee's 432 to become Test cricket's highest wicket-taker when he dismissed Hashan Tillakratne in 1994. Thursday might well be Sachin Tendulkar's day.
The diminutive dynamo, who has more than 14,000 runs in Test cricket, is just 45 short of completing 18,000 runs in ODIs. Besdies the 48 ODI hundreds, he also has 51 Test centuries to his credit and therefore is on threshold of another rare milestone — ton of tons in 21 years of international cricket during which he has played 627 matches (177 Tests and 450 ODIs).
When Tendulkar played last at Motera in the India-New Zealand Test in November 2010, he was at the doorstep of his 50th Test hundred, but the Amdavadis were deprived of that special moment as Tendulkar failed to hoist his 'half century'. Even as the Gujaratis rooted for him, it was one of their own who spoiled their Diwali. Navsari boy Jeetan Patel, who now plays for New Zealand, caught Tendulkar off his own bowling for just 40 to bring a premature end to all the hype, expectations and celebration.
Motera has been a mixed bag for Tendulkar. It was here that he scored his first double hundred in Tests, a magnificent 217, as the skipper of the side, against New Zealand in the third Test of the 1999-2000 series. He went on to score five more double hundreds in his career after that.
Tendulkar completed his 20th year in international cricket here in November 2009, but the historic moment was spoiled by Sri Lankan seamer Chanaka Welegedara by dismissing him for just four runs. During his short stay, Tendulkar dispatched the seamer to the cover boundary but then he shouldered his arms to a ball that squeezed through between his bat and pad and knocked the off stump. Tendulkar responded with a second innings hundred which not only gave the Amdavadis something to cheer but also earned India a draw.
Motera has also been the stage where Sunil Gavaskar reached his 10,000 runs in Tests. Among others who reached some milestones in their careers were Kapil Dev who surpassed Richard Hadlee's 432 to become Test cricket's highest wicket-taker when he dismissed Hashan Tillakratne in 1994. Thursday might well be Sachin Tendulkar's day.
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