There are very few things that can make a billion people teary. One of those moments came back on the 16th of November in 2013. It was the last day that Sachin Tendulkar would be on a cricket field as a professional cricketer.
Chants of ‘Sachin… Sachin…’ reverberated and echoed all across the Wankhede from time to time.
If you were not at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, you were glued to the television screens. It was a day where more than a billion people were emotional. The ‘God of Cricket’ was set to bid adieu to the game.
The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai was packed to the hilt. There was barely any empty space you could spot. All roads that led to the ground were jammed. The city of Mumbai which is known to be constantly on the run and that never sleeps almost came to a standstill. For 24 years, he dominated the game and people worshipped him like he was their own ‘God’.
664 matches, 34357 runs, 100 hundreds, 164 fifties, 201 wickets and 256 catches! These numbers just look gigantic every time someone even comes close.
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It was only a month ago that Tendulkar announced that his 200th Test will be his last professional cricket match. With India due to go to South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia in the following 15 months, the series against West Indies would be his final hurray in international cricket. Expectedly, Mumbai was picked as the venue for his farewell game.
Already 1-0 in the series, India bowled West Indies out for a mere 182 in the first innings of the second Test. Pragyan Ojha took 5/40 while Ravichandran Ashwin chipped in with three wickets. West Indies were bowled out in 55.2 overs which meant India have a session to bat on the first day.
Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay started briskly and added 77 in 13 overs. On the second ball of the 14th over, Dhawan was dismissed before Vijay followed suit in the same over. The Wankhede crowd erupted like never before. They went ballistic as their hero was about to enter for probably one last time with the bat in hand. It seemed like they would blow the roof down.
The iconic walk to the middle before scoring 74 glorious runs
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar took an iconic walk from the Wankhede dressing room, down the steps and then to the middle. The West Indies players along with the umpires and Cheteshwar Pujara gave him a guard of honour.
He played 118 balls which spanned two sessions (third session on Day 1 and first session on Day 2). The nation came to a pause to watch the great man bat for what turned out to be his final time.
Tendulkar played some sumptuous shots during his stay in the middle. The iconic straight drive, the cut, the flick, the cover drive, the sweep – Tendulkar played almost every shot that’s there in his repertoire. Every ball he faced was greeted with massive cheers in the crowd. Be it a normal defence, leave, single, boundary or even when Pujara took a single to get him on strike, each of them was treated as a big moment.
He remained unbeaten on 38 overnight and resumed normal services the next morning. The master continued to punish the bowlers in vintage fashion as he raced to his half-century. It was his 68th in Tests.
Just when he was going along beautifully and it seemed like a hundred was inevitable, Narsingh Deonarine found the outside edge of Tendulkar’s bat which flew to Darren Sammy who took a magnificent catch at first slip. The then West Indies skipper did not even celebrate as the crowd was stunned in silence.
The fans present at the Wankhede were left in shock and there was almost pin-drop silence. But that soon turned into a massive standing ovation as the crowd realized it was probably the last time Tendulkar was walking back to the pavilion. The rose to give the master blaster the reception he deserved and Tendulkar responded with a bat raise to the crowd as he walked back. He may have missed out on a ton but that 74 was one which will be remembered for ages.
Virat Kohli who then turned into his successor and carried the torch forward struck a solid half-century while Pujara and Rohit Sharma got hundreds to help India get to 492 in their first innings. West Indies were 43/3 at the end of the second day.
It was almost confirmed that Day 3 of the Test would be the last unless West Indies put up a defiant resistance. That wasn’t the case as they did not even last an entire session on the third day.
The spin duo of Ashwin and Ojha ran through the West Indies batting line-up in no time. India won by an innings and 126 runs and eventually won the series 2-0. However, the match or the series seemed inconsequential as soon as it was over. All the focus was on one man.
An emotional outpour after the end of the game
Tendulkar even bowled a couple of overs but couldn’t pick a wicket. But as soon as Mohammed Shami took the final wicket, all the cameras were on the great man. Led by MS Dhoni, the Indian team immediately formed a guard of honour for Tendulkar who walked through that. But that wasn’t it. As Tendulkar walked towards the dressing room, the Indian players constantly moved and kept forming the guard of honour. As Harsha Bhogle on commentary put it, it was a ‘mobile guard of honour’ for Tendulkar.
At the presentation, Tendulkar spoke and left everyone in tears. Be it teammates, fans, broadcasters, the young or the old, there was barely anyone who was not touched by what the master blaster had to say after the game.
“My life between 22 yards in the 24 years, it’s hard to believe that it’s coming to an end,” Tendulkar said. He went on to thank every single person who has helped him in his journey – his parents, family, coaches, teammates, managers, support staff, sponsors and whatnot. He didn’t forget the fans either.
Even after the game and the presentation ended, no one at the Wankhede moved an inch. Tendulkar then took a lap of the ground to acknowledge the crowd. He was lifted by Dhoni, Kohli and the other team members on the shoulders during that lap.
After the end of that, Sachin went back to the pitch and touched it to take its blessings for one final time. It was at that moment when it probably might’ve hit the world and Tendulkar himself that he would not be returning to those 22 yards.
His legacy is one for the ages! There are very few cricketers who have inspired a generation and an entire nation like Tendulkar did.
