Is Sachin's hundredth 100 costing India?

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NEW DELHI: Scoring one hundred runs, one hundred times has to be something special. It was supposed to be achieved during the 2011 World Cup. When he was dismissed for 85 against Pakistan in the semi-final, many said he deserved the biggest of his three-figure mark in the final at Wankhede. That did not happen. When he gave the West Indies tour a miss citing requirement of 'family time', no one grudged him. After all, the West Indies of today are not what they used to be. Sachin's hundredth hundred, it was understood, must come against a more worthy opponent. So the wait for the England series was supposed to be a worthwhile one.

Now, five innings later with scores of 34, 12, 16, 56, and 1, waiting for Tendulkar's landmark 100th is becoming nothing less than a cruel joke. Sachin's 100th hundred sounds like numerical poetry, but at the moment the pressure of achieving it is making it look a-lyrical and without rhyme and meter.

Tendulkar was caught by Anderson at first slip for one on the first day of the Edgbaston Test on Wednesday.

In India's long journey to the top of the Test rankings, to say that Tendulkar has played a crucial role will be grossly undermining his contribution. During the 1990s, he often played a lone hand and a Tendulkar innings was more often than not the silver lining in an Indian game. Things changed with the arrival of Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and finally Virender Sehwag. Together they formed the golden generation of Indian cricket. Tendulkar, still the stalwart amongst the pantheon, was not the only saviour or builder of India's cricketing fortunes. But he was arguably the most loved and the most revered.

It is, therefore, rather unfortunate that in a series where the English are wiping out India's credentials as the best Test team in the world, we are waiting only for Tendulkar's hundredth hundred; when we should actually be expecting the man to prevent India's slide from the zenith of cricketing glory.

India have had to undertake the tour to England in extreme circumstances, for which the blame needs to be shared between the players and the BCCI. Player injuries and management have cost India, so has the failure to prepare properly by not playing enough practice games. And here was Tendulkar, in England for a month acclimatising himself. The result though is so far from what one would have expected.

Tendulkar has scored most of his Test runs batting at No. 4. But with no Sehwag and an injured Gambhir ruled out of the second Test, it could have been expected to see Tendulkar walk out to face the new ball. Instead, Rahul Dravid opened the innings with Abhinav Mukund at Nottingham. This is not to say that Dravid does not make for an exceptional opener, but if Tendulkar is your best batsman - and by that logic opens in ODIs so as to get the maximum scoring opportunities - why didn't he take the bull by the horns in England this time.

There is no denying Tendulkar's brilliance and genius, but what was needed this time was for the master to come out of his comfort zone at number four and set the agenda at the top of the order. He was down with fever during the Lord's Test and his absence from the field forced him to come lower down the order in the second innings. By that time India had lost crucial wickets and the momentum. Things should have been different at Nottingham. And there's no point faulting the little master alone. This should have come from the team management as well.

Tendulkar is India's best batsman, and he needs to face up to the English bowlers first up. By the time India lose their two wickets, and Tendulkar comes to the crease the pressure begins to tell. Tendulkar then is chasing both a personal milestone and having to shoulder the responsibility of building India's innings. The two are so intertwined that they should not be looked at in isolation. But at the moment, it does seem that the pursuance of one is costing the other.

This is by no means a cricketing obit of the man. It is only a question mark on the proceedings so far in England. And the only hope while writing this piece is that Sachin Tendulkar will respond to his critics in the way only he can. In style and with dominance, and hopefully soon!

Keywords: Latest sports news, sachin tendulkar, 2011 World Cup, Tendulkar, English bowlers, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sachin's 100th