Will Delhi witness Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th ton?

A member of the West Indies team management at the Ferozeshah Kotla seemed bemused by the complete lack of buzz leading up to Sunday’s first Test.

Cricket on these shores is supposed to be chaotic frenzy, at worst. Or passionate celebration at best. The eerie silence and missing mobs which greeted both teams here on Friday seemed odd and out of place.

Sachin Tendulkar has gone without a century since March 12, and the gap between the 99th ton, and the anticipated 100th, has now encompassed a World Cup win, a disastrous England campaign and waning public interest.

The official was informed that deserted stadiums greeted England in the recent one-day series. That the hosts had been playing non-stop since the World Cup win. That the nation had been in pregnant pause for nearly eight months, waiting for a significant individual cricketing milestone.

He took it all in and whispered, “All hell will break loose if he does it here, won’t it?”

For once, the game is hoping it will. Sachin Tendulkar has gone without a century since March 12, and the gap between the 99th ton, and the anticipated 100th, has now encompassed a World Cup win, a haze of matches and tours, a disastrous England campaign, a Tendulkar injury and eventually, waning public interest.

For cricket’s falling TRP graph, as usual there’s no one to turn to for an upswing but Sachin. This series against the West Indies is merely the means to an end.

For Tendulkar, this is just another chapter in a continuing story. The face gives away nothing. At the team’s nets session, he seemed happily ensconced in his favourite bubble of concentration, emerging occasionally to joke around with teammates, have an animated chat with coach Duncan Fletcher, obsess around with his back foot and bat swing, and even give the team’s young spinners a whacking or two.

When he bats well at nets and fusses around, younger batsmen in the team pause and watch. It’s usually a good sign, and with the Kotla being amenable to cricketing milestones, there’s hope yet of special things in store.

Sachin in Numbers
Innings without a hundred in Tests
Innings	NO	Runs	HS	Average	50	0	Period
17	1	403	64	25.19	2	1	Dec. 10, 2005 to Jan. 6,2007
14	1	383	88	29.46	2	1	Jan. 24, 2008 to Nov. 2, 2008
Innings without a hundred in ODIs
75	10	2126	84	32.71	17	3	Dec. 18, 1989 to Sept. 5,1994
36	1	1425	99	40.71	13	3	Feb. 11, 2007 to Feb. 26, 2008
Without an international hundred (Tests/ODIs/T20Is
34	1	1559	99	47.24	15	1	June 23, 2007 to Dec. 26, 2007
Last twelve international innings
Since posting 111 against South Africa at Jamtha, Nagpur on March 12,2011, Sachin Tendulkar is without a hundred in his last 12 innings as under, his aggregate being 431 runs at an average of 35.91, including four fifties:
Runs	Balls	SR	Opponent	Test/ODI	Venue	Date
2	4	50.00	West Indies	ODI	Chennai	March 20
53	68	77.94	Australia	ODI	Ahmedabad	March 24
85	115	73.91	Pakistan	ODI	Mohali	March 30
18	14	128.57	Sri Lanka	ODI	Mumbai	April 2
34	58	58.62	England	Test	Lord’s	July 21
12	68	17.64	England	Test	Lord’s	July 21
16	34	47.05	England	Test	Nottingham	July 29
56	86	65.11	England	Test	Nottingham	July 29
1	8	12.50	England	Test	Birmingham	Aug. 10
40	60	66.66	England	Test	Birmingham	Aug. 10
23	34	67.64	England	Test	The Oval	Aug. 18
91	172	52.90	England	Test	The Oval	Aug. 18

“Not if we have anything to say about it,” joked West Indies coach Ottis Gibson, but his defence seemed feeble. While India have a rookie bowling lineup, West Indies have rookies from top to bottom.Their hopes will hinge on Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s characteristic grit and a maverick spell or two from the likes of the born-again Fidel Edwards and the fiery Kemar Roach.

If the impressive Devendra Bishoo and the stylish Darren Bravo come to the party, all the better. A happy Bangladesh series would seem to be the right start.

For India, it’s more a matter of the big batting guns finding their sweet spot before the Australia tour. Along with Tendulkar, Sehwag and Yuvraj too are returning from injury. Sehwag seemed slightly rusty at nets but that’s no indication of how he will play on his home ground come match day.

As of now, though, Sehwag isn’t on anyone’s mind. “The more the hype, the more pressure there will be on Sachin. He is a quality player and he will get it at some point of time. But to get this batting lineup, we need to play seven bowlers,” said Gibson, only half in jest.

Courtesy: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournaments/west-indies-in-india/top-stories/Will-Delhi-witness-Sachin-Tendulkars-100th-international-ton/articleshow/10611870.cms