If there only were the sandstorm

The teams were the same. There are very few remnants of those teams in both the sides. Some of the victims (Kasporowicz/ Bevan) are now commentating. More than ten years back Sachin Tendulkar was having his penultimate course of the Aussie meal for the year in Sharjah. With most of this partners out, he somehow managed to drag us through to the Final. No shot went wrong. There was even a forward defensive shot that split the field and raced away to the square boundary. No one who saw that match will ever forget how he harried Laxman into taking quick singles. A man completely in control of the game sandstorm or no sandstorm.


Yesterday was like a repeat performance. Yes, there was no Warne. Yes, Raina prob hoicked a few more than Laxman did. But still you could see, the cornerstone of the chase was Sachin. As long as he was still at the crease, we were not going to lose the match. All the shots seemed to be coming back - the aerial shots, the shots through the covers, the hooks, the pulls, the running between the wickets. That this was a man who has been playing international cricket for 20 years was hard to believe. 


There have been mentions by the greatbong and cricinfo that this performance was like the performance of the team in the mid 90s. Prob true in context of this particular game, but not the case in general. We are no longer as highly dependent on Sachin as we were earlier. Though the day he retires, there doesn't seem to be anyone in the current team that can come anywhere near as close as what he did yesterday.


That knock yesterday has to be one of his best knocks - way up there with the Sharjah back to back and the second innings century against the Pakistanis in Madras (which also we lost once he got out). Almost reaching the sublime levels of the Laxman - Dravid 2nd innings at Eden Gardens or even the Sachin - Azhar onslaught on the saffers in the afternoon session at Cape Town in 96-97.


The look on Sachin's face when he went to go pick up his MOM awards was such a look of disappointment. The first time that his true emotions have prob leaked through to the media, possibly explaining what is still keeping him going all these years. The last occasion I remember a similar reaction was after Dravid got his maiden century at the Wanderers in 1996-97 and we weren't able to get Daryl Cullinan out on the last day  to take the match.


Bring back the memories. And make some more.