Sachin Tendulkar's ton of tons

That elusive ton. Does it even matter if or when he gets it? The "If" is hypothetical, for get it he will. Maybe not at Wankhede, maybe not even at Melbourne. Get it he will - in due course of time.

But for a moment – let’s indulge our pessimism and consider the thought that he does not in fact get there and remains stranded at 99 tons. Given the form he is in, given how sweetly he has been timing the ball, given the beauty with which he has been playing his drives - there seems no doubt that he will keep scoring runs. And like at the Kotla - his runs will contribute to wins. He might get run down by the pressure of expecting the 100th, might get out in the 90s or even before as he starts chasing a landmark that weighs on his mind.

But if in this melee - he fails to convert his form into a ton - will it really matter? 33K international runs. 200 international wickets. 22 years of batting at the top of the pile. One world cup. An ODI double ton. When time passes by and we remember - will we even remember if he got his 100th?

We will remember the moments. The sandstorm, the thwack over third man off Shoaib, the hook off Glenn McGrath in Nairobi, a pristine balanced cover drive, being lifted on their shoulders by his young team-mates, the wincing in pain but cruelly falling short 136, the pummelling of Olonga, the disintegration of Warne.

His greatness - in numbers or more importantly in our minds - will not be enhanced by yet another ton. It won’t diminish if he does not get there. Let’s just let him be. The 100th will happen - hopefully a 300 will materialise along the way - but the last thing we need to do is pile on the pressure for a landmark that will be good to have but mean nothing.

In the meantime, while he takes his own sweet time in getting there – let’s just enjoy the fact that we have a freak opener who can churn out runs in the blink of an eye, a No. 3 who - if it were not for the chronological fact of existing in the same era as our current No. 4 - would have been celebrated even more, a No. 5 whose batting is so elegant that it’s a dream to watch. The milestones will come during the journey, let’s lay off the pressure to make the milestones the journey.