The stage is set for one of the most celebrated farewells in the history of cricket. The pitch of lavish praise has risen to a crescendo and quite naturally, given the feats achieved by the ‘little maestro’.
The ‘last’ is always special and every one ardently hopes that on the Wankhede theatre in Mumbai, Sachin will script a memorable climax that will be etched in the hearts of his admirers the world over.
But to achieve a photo finish is not all that easy and if it happens, it’s a real bonanza. A look at the way some of the greats faded from the stage of Test cricket will illustrate this.
Too Near, Yet Too Far
Bradman’s last test match was against England in 1948. It took several minutes for the thunderous ovation to die down as the Aussie captain walked to the crease at the Oval, England. He needed a mere four runs to achieve a Test match career average of 100.
But he succumbed to the second delivery he faced and got out for a duck thanks to which his average reads 99.94. The saving grace was that Australia won the match and the series.
Ricky Ponting played his last Test at WACA, Perth, against South Africa last year scoring just eight runs in his last innings that followed his dismal four in the first. South Africa won the match and the series 1-0.
Shane Warne, the wily Aussie leggie, managed to bag a wicket apiece in his last two innings of the 5th Test of the Ashes series at the SCG. But he revelled with the bat whipping 71 runs off 65 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes. Australia won the match and the series 5-0.
When Kapil Dev played in 1994 at Hamilton, New Zealand, he secured one wicket each in his last two innings and 18 runs the last time he batted.
Viv Richards scored 60 runs in his last attempt against England at the Oval in 1991 and it was gathered off 105 balls.
Sunil Gavaskar signed off on a high scoring 96 runs on a minefield of a Bangalore pitch facing unplayable Pak spinners (March 1987) but the sad part was that India lost the match and series to Pak 1-0.
Dream Finish
But none could equal the absolutely stunning finish achieved by Muthiah Muralidharan of Sri Lanka. Having taken 792 Test wickets, the world record holder for highest Test wickets announced in advance that he would play just one Test match without really bothering about the magical 800 mark.
In his last match against India at Galle, Sri Lanka, in July 2010, he bagged five wickets in the first innings and three in the second and ended up with a match tally of eight wickets. The last ball of his test career was a wicket. That last wicket signalled the end of the match and a Sri Lankan win.
It also meant that Muralidharan ended up with exactly 800 Test wickets. What a remarkable end to a career dogged by controversies on the legitimacy of his bowling action!
Now, our Sachin has every chance to emulate Muralidharan’s script. That he bids goodbye on his 200{+t}{+h} Test is, in itself, an amazing landmark.
Now imagine this scenario — India needs six runs to win the match and Sachin on 94 lofts a Windies bowler over mid-on for a towering six. Sachin coasts to one more 100 and India to 2-0.
The crowd will go crazy; why, it may even rain cats and dogs! But dreams apart, let’s be pragmatic. Whatever Sachin composes as his last Test song, let’s salute the legend and wish him all the very best.
Au revoir , Sachin!
(The author works as AGM, Powertech Engineering LLC, Muscat. Views are personal)
Correction:
This article has been modified to reflect that Viv Richards scored 60 runs in his last attempt against England at the Oval in 1991 and it was gathered off 105 balls. An earlier version said it was scored off 164 balls. The error is regretted.