One down three more to go for Sachin Tendulkar

Zee Media Bureau/Chaitan Papnai

Kolkata: Indian openers were looking solid by the end of Day 1 of Kolkata Test. And most of the ticket holders were of the impression that Sachin Tendulkar would come to the crease to play his 199th Test innings somewhere around lunch time. But both the Indian openers failed to live up to the expectations and were back in the hut within the first nine overs of Day 2. After the fall of second Indian wicket in the form of Murali Vijay, walked in the man of the hour – Sachin Tendulkar. Crowd went electric and the decibel level touched new heights. A perfect standing ovation by the spectators followed at the historic ground of Eden Gardens for the man who is playing in his penultimate Test. After a well deserved reception, started the real battle between bat and ball. Shillingford the off-spinner was looking dangerous after picking up the wickets of both Indian openers but Tendulkar first played him cautiously and then hit two boundaries off him in an over, to ease the pressure. He was looking solid at the crease. In the mean time, Cheteshwar Pujara who came to bat at number three, tried to play an upper cut and only managed to give a simple catch to the wicketkeeper. In the very next over, Shillingford bowled a doosra and beat Sachin completely. The ball hit the back thigh and umpire raised his figure, without giving it a second thought. Sachin was unhappy with the decision as he knew that the ball could have missed the stumps due the height factor. Crowd was stunned and Shillingford became the villain. Sachin only managed to score 10 runs before walking back towards the pavilion. Sachin is expected to play in four innings in his farewell Test series. First battle has certainly been won by the West Indian bowlers. Now three more innings are left for the man, who terrorized the bowlers throughout his illustrious career with his attacking batting style, to give his fans one last reason to smile by his on-field heroics.