How Sachin Tendulkar almost missed it!

[AbhishekS]

I read the article on www.cricketnext.in

Source: CricketNext

The whole nation was holding his breath. Sachin was agonisingly close to become the first man in ODI history to reach a double century. Ironically, Indian skipper MS Dhoni hit the form of his life at the other end.

Tendulkar just one short of his double century had two overs to reach the milestone when suddenly Dhoni started taking apart Dale Steyn. As balls disappeared into distant corners of the Captain Roop Singh stadium, the whole nation for the first time perhaps in history, didn't want any big hits from the Indian skipper's bat.

Dhoni bludgeoned Steyn in the penultimate over to reach his fifty in just 29 balls. But India had never been less appreciative. The country didn't want sixes. They wanted history to be made. To make matters worse, Dhoni took a single off the last ball.

Charl Langeveldt runs in and the whole nation chants for a single. But Dhoni smashes it for a huge six. Never has there been such a subdued response in India.

Hearts started pounding louder but Dhoni connects another cleanly. Another sureshot boundary but a diving Hashim Amla stops the ball and Tendulkar shouts a loud - NO - to a second run. The whole stadium erupts. First for Amla. Then for Tendulkar.

After a dot ball, Tendulkar taps it past point and that was it. History. The greatest becomes greater.

But as it is always the case in India, everything comes with a little bit of drama.

Maybe the shrewd brain of Dhoni had a bigger plan. He wanted India to cross 400. But then, in India nothing is bigger than Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. And today he showed just why.

At the end, after reading it and by some of my personal conclusions, I say that Dhoni was greedy for his fifty and to make the team reach 400 under his captaincy.
All thanks to Hashim Amla for diving at full speed and saving that boundary from Dhoni. Even then, Dhoni wished to come back for the second, but was stopped by Sachin, which was obvious.
How greedy and selfish can Mahendra Singh Dhoni be!

 

[SaiSrini]

At that time, the team score of 400 was more important. Lets not get so delusioned by Sachin's milestones. Had Sachin taken most of the strike in those last two overs, India would not have reached 400 (380-390 would have been our score). Dhoni did well to score lot of runs and the Master got his chance at the right moment to get that 200.

India has already reached 400+ before under Dhoni's captaincy. Lets not talk nonsense. Had SA made a match out of it, it would have bitten us if not for Dhoni's innings in the end. He hit the ball stunningly (we forgot how he came back to his usual self, in the euphoria of Sachin's masterclass)

 

[Params7]

Dhoni was just taking precautions against a team that have the record for the biggest successful chase in history of ODI cricket, in a do-or-die match for them.

 

[Covvy]

What a joke thread! Dhoni was just doing the team thing of thrying to get as much runs as posible. I'm sure if he held the strike and got 30 off it for that last over Tendulkar would not have cared at all.

 

[Kshitiz_Indian]

You know the moment I saw the thread title and the thread starter I thought it was to say how Sachin virtually missed passing Sehwag in awesomeness! :laugh

Anyways, I think what happened was fine. He only needed a run, and from what I saw, taking a single was mutual understanding on that ball rather than Sachin holding him back.

 

[Cricketman]

Don't know about you guys but I was nervous beyond belief. Dhoni kept taking singles off the last ball of the over!

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Yes, the man who was doing his best to get his team to a match-winning total was greedy and selfish.

 

[Dare]

oh Indian cricket fans, you never cease to amaze us.

 

[shravi]

oh Indian cricket fans, you never cease to amaze us.

No, just 2 or 3 of them (usually Yudi).

 

[pcfan123]

Yes, the man who was doing his best to get his team to a match-winning total was greedy and selfish.

Yea the one time Dhoni is actually playing for the team he is being accused of being selfish!

 

[Dare]

No, just 2 or 3 of them (usually Yudi).

Yea sorry, should have been more specific.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Yea the one time Dhoni is actually playing for the team he is being accused of being selfish!

Oh the irony

 

[SaiSrini]

Lot of people in India dont understand whats more important - milestone or the team. I am sure Dhoni is going to have some rough comments on discussion boards and forums in the next few days for the tension he gave to the so-called fans as far as Sachin's double hundred is concerned.

 

[Kshitiz_Indian]

Lot of people in India dont understand whats more important - milestone or the team. I am sure Dhoni is going to have some rough comments on discussion boards and forums in the next few days for the tension he gave to the so-called fans as far as Sachin's double hundred is concerned.

I think that is rather debatable. Although I support what Dhoni did, I'm also with the decision because somewhere in my mind I know Sachin was only a run away and could have done that easily.

If that had been 3-4 runs however, things would have been different. We'd known Sachin was gonna go all out, cramped or not, and four hit by Dhoni or Sachin wouldn't have made much of a difference, except of course Sachin getting his 200. Chances of Sachin not hitting the four would obviously have been more, but I feel when you're at 390's something, have scored 400 in the past but there is one man, excellence of Cricket, just 4 runs away from a milestone that has never been achieved and maybe won't be achieved for so long, I feel it'd been worth the risk.

I'm ready to be flamed / ridiculed for this, but what I said was just what I felt.

 

[shravi]

I think that is rather debatable. Although I support what Dhoni did, I'm also with the decision because somewhere in my mind I know Sachin was only a run away and could have done that easily.

If that had been 3-4 runs however, things would have been different. We'd known Sachin was gonna go all out, cramped or not, and four hit by Dhoni or Sachin wouldn't have made much of a difference, except of course Sachin getting his 200. Chances of Sachin not hitting the four would obviously have been more, but I feel when you're at 390's something, have scored 400 in the past but there is one man, excellence of Cricket, just 4 runs away from a milestone that has never been achieved and maybe won't be achieved for so long, I feel it'd been worth the risk.

I'm ready to be flamed / ridiculed for this, but what I said was just what I felt.

As long as the opportunity cost of Sachin scoring a 200 is not a series or tournament loss, I am fine with it.