No fairytale for the Little Master

SAD END: TENDULKAR FALLS 26 RUNS SHORT OF CENTURY You could hear a pin drop when Sachin was caught at slip.

prolific cricketer in the history of the game, let alone Test cricket. What are we doing here? Can we ignore Kallis? Is this debate strictly about the greatest batsman or about the greatest cricketer?

Back to Tendulkar and Lara – what if substance and staying power at the crease is of more value?

Tendulkar’s highest Test score is an unbeaten 248 against Bangladesh. He’s made six scores of 200-plus.

That 248 is lower than Lara’s first Test ton, a wonderful 277 against the Aussies on a pacy Perth surface.

Lara’s astonishing Test scores of 400 not out and 375 represent world records – and don’t forget the fi rst-class 501.

These jaw-dropping, dreamy zeniths raise the other problem - does such exploits weigh heavier than simply rattling off metronomic, normal 100s?

Isn’t the ultimate aim of batsmanship to try and re-shift paradigms on how many runs one man can gobble up in one stay at the crease?

Tendulkar carried the hopes of a nation with admirable dignity but throughout his career he had on-field support from prolific men like Mohammed Azharuddin, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly.

Lara had to carry a West Indies side experiencing a traumatic slump towards mediocrity after the heady Eighties – perfectly exemplified by his 221 and 130 in a Sri Lankan Test lost by ten wickets in 2001.

This week I got to see Tendulkar end off his illustrious timeline on his own terms, albeit soured by contrived circumstances. It left me content. But Lara always left me hungry for more.

And that unfulfi lled feeling renders Lara better … to me anyway. achin Tendulkar was dismissed for 74 in what is likely to be his final innings for India yesterday, shattering the hopes of a billion fans praying that the legendary batsman would bow out with a century.

In his 200th and final Test match, the “Little Master” of cricket was caught in the slips on the second morning of play at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, where thousands had gathered for his emotional farewell.

The 40-year-old, the world’s leading scorer in both Test and one-day cricket and the only batsman to score 100 international centuries, is leaving the game after a 24-year career.

He took to the crease to a deafening roar from the crowd in his hometown, television footage showed, with Indians across the country praying that he could finish his glittering career on a high.

The end of his innings was met with a stunned silence, which turned into a standing ovation as he left the pitch, raising his bat in acknowledgement.

Lengthy queues of fans, with painted faces and Indian flags, had snaked down south Mumbai’s Marine Drive boulevard on Friday morning in the hope of catching their idol’s final moments of glory.

With many offices and schools closed for the Muslim festival Muharram, fans across India gathered around television sets to watch a national hero acclaimed for his off-pitch humility and sporting skills.

Within 45 minutes of play he had taken his overnight score of 38 past 50, each run greeted with frenzied applause.

“On 38, with a billion prayers,” a headline read ahead of the day’s play. “India waits for the big one,” said

Tendulkar has now gone 40 innings without a Test ton, with the last of his 51 Test centuries nearly two years ago in January 2011 against South Africa.

His waning powers in recent years had led some to suggest he should have retired earlier, but his god-like popularity in cricketmad India has remained constant.

Tendulkar had walked in to bat late on Thursday to an ecstatic welcome, entering through a guard of honour from his West Indie opponents. –