Burying some ghosts

The one thing in my opinion that sets test cricket apart from other sports is the time span for which players need to keep up their concentration and energy. While games like football and even T20 cricket are exciting because there is a flurry of activity every minute, I personally think test cricket is a tougher test of a player's skills, both mental and physical.

While pitches like the ones we saw in the recent India - Sri Lanka test match at Colombo are a poor advertisement for test cricket, the moment a slightly more lively pitch was prepared for the third and final test of the series (which SL was leading 1-0), we had a riveting game. Going into the last day, India was in some trouble having lost not only M Vijay and the destructive Sehwag, but also the most dependable Rahul Dravid. In most successful chases that India have managed over the past decade and a half, Dravid has been the bulwark of the innings. Not to be this time, and it all came down to the batsman who had just become the most capped test player of all time - Sachin Tendulkar, along with the 'cometh the hour cometh the man' VVS Laxman.

What happened then was simply joyful to watch. A tense battle was played out on the final day. The experience and class of Tendulkar and Laxman finally took India home with very good support from Suresh Raina.

I think Sachin is burying some ghosts from the past here. Throughout his career, doubting Thomases have alluded to his less-than-satisfactory record in the fourth innings of test matches, especially when India were chasing a target or were struggling to save a game. They have pointed out that his record in important run chases is far from his overall career record because of which some people have hesitated to put his name among the all time greats. I think Sachin has made a personal vendetta to address each of these points. Over the past 2 years or so, I have increasingly had this feeling that Sachin is out to answer all those questions raised against him. In recent times, almost every time India has been in a spot, he has put his hand up and bailed the team out. Some instances that pop into my head immediately are the 2 tri-series finals against Australia in their backyard (the best part was shutting Ponting's mouth by winning 2-0 after he publicly announced that he felt the series might not go down to the third final), the final test against England at Nagpur and the last 2 tests of this series against Sri Lanka.

To my mind, the only thing that remains is winning the World Cup. We came very close in 2003, but ran into Ponting on one of his best days ever. Sachin has also mentioned that the 2011 World Cup would be his swansong as far as ODIs are concerned. Could that be one last hurrah for Sachin? I wouldn't write that off at all, not with the way he's been playing over the past couple of years, and the way he has been answering all questions raised about him one by one. For India's sake and for the sake of millions of Sachin devotees, let's hope.