The return of the King

By: Arunava Biswas
After nursing an injured elbow for six months, the Bombay Bomber was back in action in Malaysia for what he is best known for ‘blasting centuries’. The best part of Sachin`s 40th one-day century is that it would contribute to the collective confidence of the team. As a child growing up in Mumbai, Sachin was obsessed by cricket and dreamt of wearing his country’s colours. Now 33 and lauded as the best batsman since Sir Donald Bradman with a world record 35 Test and now 40 one-day centuries, proved he has fully recovered and lost none of his winning instincts.

Opening the innings, Sachin dispelled all doubts to prove that he was in full command of his old mastery as he blasted his way to an unbeaten 141 - announcing his comeback with 13 fours and five sixes in his innings. The entire nation was waiting with bated breath to see how the little maestro would fare on his comeback to international cricket after surgery on a troublesome shoulder earlier this year.

With his elbow strapped in a blue brace, he started nervously and wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh spilled a catch when he was on five. But from there, there was no holding back Tendulkar. He got a grip, went for his strokes signalling his intentions by lofting a short ball from Dwayne Smith over the square leg fence for six.

There were reports that Tendulkar was not his old aggressive self anymore. Expert opinion was however divided on whether this is due to his increasing years or the lingering after-effects of injuries over 17 years at the highest level. On 10 December, 2005, at Feroz Shah Kotla, he delighted fans with a record-breaking 35th Test century, against the Sri Lankans. But doubts were raised once again when he averaged a mere 21 over three Test innings when India toured Pakistan in 2006.

On 19 March 2006, after scoring an unconvincing 1 off 21 balls against England in the first innings of the third Test in his home ground, Whankhede, Tendulkar was booed off the ground by a section of the crowd, the first time that he ever faced such flak. While cheered on when he came for his second innings, Tendulkar, was the top scorer of the second innings and yet was to end the three-Test series without a single half-century to his credit, and news of a shoulder operation raised more questions about his longevity.

When Sachin was only 16, the selectors chose not to send the boy on the tour of the West Indies for fear of exposing him to the "villains" of fast bowling. That was in the 1988-89 season. In Kuala Lumpur, the present generation of West Indies fast bowler "villains" were forced to run for cover. Baptised into international cricket the following season when he was sent on the tour to Pakistan, the Mumbai boy, who was sent to play cricket by his family to keep him out of mischief has become one of the country`s great sporting heroes.

This is not the first time that Sachin is making a comeback from lay-offs forced by injury. Remember that troublesome back and the prolonged treatment it required before it was mended? No single back, or shoulder, has evoked such interest. The excessive weight of Sachin`s bat has been blamed. One is not sure if he is now playing a lighter bat. But even it is a few ounces lighter its punch is as authoritative as ever. The ace batsman’s authoritative innings made the West Indian captain Brian Lara say, "For a guy coming back after six months, it showed how much of a genius he is. We just had to watch him and appreciate him. It was a very special innings by him."