Mumbai wants local boy Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th century, nothing else

So much has been written about Sachin Tendulkar’s impending milestone-hundred that it is impossible not to see its funny side.

Another Test, another reference to the 100th international century, the fervour of anticipation just does not die down. So what if there is more to the Wankhede Test like Virat Kohli’s expected return to the playing XI or the possibility of India completing a series sweep?

Soon after the West Indies lost the Delhi Test, Darren Sammy promised to salute Tendulkar if he got the coveted milestone against any other opposition. On Tuesday, the West Indies captain went a step further and pledged that he would jump from his couch when the moment arrives.

“I think this is becoming a chorus for me now. Like I said before, as much as I admire Sachin, I would like him to get his hundred, but not against us. I would be the first one to jump from the couch whenever he gets it,” Sammy said. Don’t be surprised if he also swears to do a somersault.

Mumbai Cricket Association officials are also getting nervous. “We hope it is off his back soon. We have planned so much to make the day special. Why don’t you ask him to do it here?” an MCA official said in jest.

A senior journalist, though certain that the record is inevitable, fears that people might start alluding to the four runs denied to Sir Donald Bradman for a Test average of 100.

For the master though, it was business as usual. Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, that ardent Tendulkar fan, was in the stands, as always, blowing his conch shell as soon as he arrived. But like on Sunday, Tendulkar did not have an extended practice session and seemed to be at peace with himself.

How times have changed. The man, booed by Wankhede’s acerbic crowd in the 2006 Test against England, has now put the city on hold.

Courtesy : DNA