100th ton: Sachin Tendulkar picks Duncan Fletcher's brains
There is a fine line between having your sights set on a goal and having a blinkered vision. That's not to say Sachin Tendulkar doesn't know what he is doing. But the wait for his 100th international century has stretched to nearly one year now and the persistent bombardment of pleas, prayers, wishes and the occasional jibe might have begun to cloud his vision.
At times like these, a frank assessment is possibly the best remedy. Nudging the genius and pointing out something that might be obvious to the observer is a job that just had to be done.
On Friday at the 'Gabba, India coach Duncan Fletcher took Tendulkar next to the square and talked to him for half an hour.
There were no batting diktats, pointers on how to duck a bouncer or fine-tuning of the elbow position. Just a simply chat between two members of the Indian contingent, with one attempting to know what is churning in the mind of the other.
As the rest of the Indian team was immersed in fielding practice at the boundary ropes, the two had their little therapy session oblivious to what was being attempted in the fielding drills or in the following game of football.
At this stage of his career, the 38-year-old wouldn't gain much from any 'intervention'. However, if there is one person with who a player can discuss any part of his game with total faith in the ability of the listener, it is Fletcher.
Even when the Indian Test batting kept failing miserably, most Indian players only had good words for Fletcher, deeply appreciating his knowledge of the game and unique yet insightful views.
The Australian tour began with two words played in a trance-inducing loop - Sachin's 100. As its effects started to wear off in the absence of the triple figure score, the focus shifted completely to the disastrous showing of the Indian team.
And now that the Indians have given a fairly good account of themselves in the triseries so far, Tendulkar, it seems, has been given a chance to actually think of his game.
That he doesn't have worry about the team's performance, which has been good enough for some time, would be a huge relief as Tendulkar would be spared the sight of a team in despair and the Rs 100' monkey still on his back.
Irfan walks extra mile
While the Indian squad had a jolly time on a cool Brisbane afternoon, going through the fielding routines, one member of the Indian squad was more than eager to make each minute on the field count.
Irfan Pathan did the needful in the field and after the session wound up, the Baroda pacer again went out and bowled a fairly long spell on the practice area.
The light began to fade rapidly and when coach Fletcher came out to check if everyone was back in the dressing room to leave, the left-armer was still putting himself through the paces.
© India Today
