A ton of reasons to be at the MCG

"Sixty-four years ago, in a preliminary to India's first tour of Australia, Don Bradman made his 100th 100. In Farewell to Cricket, he said that it was the ''most exhilarating moment'' of his career," writes Greg Baum in the Sydney Morning Herald. " ... At the start of another Indian tour, this phenomenon is again manifest. This time, cricket aficionados are holding their breath in anticipation of Sachin Tendulkar's 100th century."

Some context: Bradman's eventual tally of 117 centuries comprised 29 in 52 Test matches and the balance in other first-class cricket. Tendulkar's 99 hundreds consist of 51 in 184 Tests and 48 in one-day internationals (but ignores 27 other first-class centuries). This merely reflects the way the game's infrastructure has changed.

Bradman made his 100th hundred in his 295th innings. Tendulkar will have played at least 746. This reflects the way Bradman's standing has remained unassailable. But there is no doubt that the vibe about the imminence of the achievement is almost identical.

Also in the Sydney Morning Herald, Chris Barrett speaks to former Australia fast bowler Mike Whitney, who played against Tendulkar on his first tour to Australia in 1991-92.

Whitney remembers clearly the three-day match in the northern rivers, particularly Tendulkar's 82 in an Indian first-innings total of 209. ''Lismore was a very sporting wicket. If you have a look at the figures, Wayne Holdsworth and I did most of the damage,'' Whitney says. ''It was pretty much a greentop. I think I took six-for in the second innings. The ball was seaming and swinging everywhere, and [Tendulkar] looked unbelievable that day amongst a collapsing batting line-up.''

As we wonder whether Ricky Ponting will ever get his run-scoring mojo back, it's easy to forget where Sachin Tendulkar was exactly five years ago, writes Dileep Premachandran in the Daily Telegraph. "He may have only been 32 at the time but, like Ponting, he was into his 17th season of international cricket. And, to borrow from Dickens, it was the worst of times."

That was then. In the half-decade since, Tendulkar has piled up 4593 runs and 16 centuries at 58.9.He has been an integral part of a side that was ranked No.1 in the Test arena for 18 months and which won the World Cup earlier this year. Along the way, he also became the first man to score a double-hundred in one-day internationals, pillaging an attack led by Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. Now, months short of his 39th birthday, Tendulkar returns to Australia, the stage for some of his greatest innings.

Sriram Veera turns the attention to Ricky Ponting in the Mumbai Mirror, writing that it is hard not to feel empathy for Ponting as he prepares for the Boxing Day Test; it was not so a few years ago.

Remember Sydney 2008? Remember when he got socked in the eye at a nightclub? Remember him telling Javagal Srinath to get lost when he’d gone to ask if he was fine after being hit by a bouncer? Remember him giving AB de Villiers a cold stare when he had run up to him congratulate him on a hundred? Remember his complaints to the umpires?

But times are changing. It’s hard not to feel sympathetic towards Ricky Ponting these days, even if you’re Indian. A modern-day great is stumbling, the local press has been gunning for him, and Ponting-must-go have been headlines screaming from newspapers lying around in street cafes. It evokes compassion.