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2nd Test, Mumbai

India v West Indies, 2013-14


Sachin Tendulkar is carried on a lap of honour around the Wankhede, India v West Indies, 2nd Test, Mumbai, 3rd day, November 16, 2013
Sachin Tendulkar is carried on a lap of honour around the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai © BCCI
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Tour and tournament reports : India v West Indies, 2013-14
Series/Tournaments: West Indies tour of India
Teams: India | West Indies

At Mumbai (Wankhede Stadium), November 14-16, 2013. India won by an innings and 126 runs. Toss: India.

It was never going to be a tearless farewell. As soon as Tendulkar walked out to bat in his 200th Test - a world record - with 20 overs of the first day remaining, anxiety set in. His every move was watched, noted, and interpreted as his innings spilled over into the second day. It was the story of his career - and it was about to come to an end.

Pujara, who batted with Tendulkar throughout his two and a half hours in the middle, later told of how distracted he became by the extreme reaction of the near-full house, and of his admiration at how composed his partner remained. Pujara and Tendulkar had come in after the fall of openers Dhawan and Vijay within three balls, both offering catches off Shillingford.

And although Pujara walked out at No. 3, it was Tendulkar who faced a ball first - after he had threaded his way through a guard of honour formed by Pujara, the West Indians and, a touch controversially perhaps, the two umpires. Early in Tendulkar's innings, it wasn't entirely clear whether the crowd wanted him to be on or off strike, such was the nervous tension every time the bowler ran in. Luckily for them, Tendulkar did not appear to succumb to any emotion until he walked back unbeaten on 38 at the close, and allowed himself a wave of the bat to the crowd and his loved ones.

The second day marked precisely 24 years since Tendulkar's Test debut at Karachi. Hearts were in mouths when, on 48, he tried to upper-cut Best, but missed by some distance. He once said he never batted while harbouring negative thoughts. And so, next ball, he hit that straight-drive: the inimitable punch played with minimal movement or flourish.

As he passed 70, anxiety levels started to spike once more. Two years ago, against the same opponents on the same ground, he had walked back in disbelief as he fell six runs short of what would have been his 100th international hundred. Sammy, the man who had caught him superbly back then, was standing at slip now. The players had taken drinks after the first hour. The ground was filling up fast. There was a lot of movement in the stands. Tendulkar tried to cut hard and fine against the off-spinner Deonarine, and Sammy picked up a smart catch with both hands in front of his face. It took a few seconds for the crowd to react. Then they stood as one and gave a rousing ovation.

The rest of the match - before and after Tendulkar - followed the same pattern as Kolkata. In their first innings, West Indies' impetuosity bordered on criminal. The wicket f Darren Bravo, who had flailed against Bhuvneshwar Kumar but come through it, sparked a collapse of nine for 96 to the spinners. Sammy, who had spent much of his captaincy talking about batsmen taking responsibility, heaved across the line second ball and spooned a leading edge. There was even the rare sight of an Indian pace bowler - Mohammed Shami - operating with four slips and a gully. The Indians used these pliant opponents to enhance their Test records: Ashwin became the fastest bowler to 100 wickets since Clarrie Grimmett, and Dhoni the seventh keeper to 250 dismissals, while Ojha drew level with Ian Botham on three five-wicket hauls at the Wankhede (and passed him in the second innings).

Soon after Tendulkar's dismissal, Pujara had a lucky escape on 76, when third umpire Vineet Kulkarni somehow ruled Powell had not got his fingers under a catch at short leg; Pujara took advantage to press on to his fifth hundred in 15 Tests. Rohit Sharma, meanwhile, was busy transforming his reputation, and joined a small group (Lawrence Rowe, Alvin Kallicharran, Sourav Ganguly and Yasir Hameed) to score centuries in their first two Test innings.

The best part of it came from 46 onwards, when Sharma was joined by last man Shami, and delivered a masterclass in how to bat with the tail: ten overs into their partnership, Shami had been exposed to only nine balls, and made none of their 44 runs. Thirty-nine came after Sharma, on 85, holed out to deep midwicket, but was reprieved because replays showed Shillingford had overstepped.

On a pitch taking turn and bounce, West Indies remained hapless against the spinners, and lost the match before lunch on the third day. Chanderpaul, who through all the Tendulkar idolatry had become the first West Indian to play 150 Tests, was cast in the familiar role of firefighter - and eventually overwhelmed by the flames. One last bauble eluded Tendulkar: Dhoni brought him on to bowl at eight wickets down in the hope that he could finish off the match. Ramdin and Shillingford survived Tendulkar's 12 balls, but barely much longer. At only 210.2 overs, it was India's second-shortest completed home Test in terms of balls bowled, following their 2004-05 victory against Australia, also on this ground. But the story was already over.
Man of the Match: P. P. Ojha. Man of the Series: R. G. Sharma.

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