On the final day of the Bangalore Test, one man was given the opportunity to play out our collective fantasies. India’s target of 299 in 83 overs was difficult; history, geography (the state of the wicket), psychology (the continued failures of a once-great middle order), economics (a bad loss might have seen mass changes and loss of income), common sense (this was the first Test of a four-match series and the team might never recover), logic (India’s recent pathetic fourth innings record), the weather (bad light or rain was imminent) were all against India.

And yet.

What would we have given for a Sachin Tendulkar to have taken the game by the scruff of its neck and shaken it up? Here was contemporary cricket’s greatest batsman, on contemporary cricket’s greatest stage. What an opportunity to shake off the recent failures, what an opportunity to save the careers of his colleagues, what an opportunity to stamp his name on a memorable Test win! Great players have to perform great deeds, rising above the conditions that would defeat the lesser players.

It is unfair, I know, but fantasies don’t have to be fair or logical. The pitch was not an easy one to bat on, but it wasn’t impossible, and here was a bunch of four players who between them had made 21,576 runs in the 76 Tests they had played together, more than half of India’s 40,966 runs. There was pressure on them to quit, pressure to score runs, pressure to justify their places, pressure to keep running so they would remain in the same place.

Yet one Tendulkarine innings would have drowned all cricketing sorrows. Had Tendulkar carried India to a win, he would have gone past Brian Lara’s record, he would have been returned by a grateful nation to the pedestal from which he has recently slipped. Wasn’t that motivation enough?

In practical terms, I suppose India could have held back Rahul Dravid as an insurance policy, asked the openers to get off to a flier and paved the way for the middle order, now given a chance to erase the memories of Sri Lanka with one calculated effort.

Sadly, despite this fantasy element, sport does not work that way. There is national pride to be considered, the loss of interest (and therefore money) in a losing team and a whole lot of other elements to be considered before a team can take on a challenge unfettered.

For long now India have been content with the bird in hand and refused to speculate about those in the bush. This, I suppose, is the right and mature way. But for once, wouldn’t it have been wonderful to have seen a wrong and immature approach that might have led to victory?

After all, millions fantasise about scoring a century and taking India to a win, but only a few get the opportunity to do so.

Sachin is a member of the Indian TEAM and therefore as the respectful player he is he would play according to the teams plan which was obviously to fight hard for a draw.

I reckon that people like Tendulkar have to endure the public mentality that abounds in the above article.. at the end of the day he is only one batsman in a cricket team. He isn't the whole team and he certainly can't take it on himself to win the test match against the wishes of his captain. If Kumble said "Go" then maybe we would see the innings imagined above. But cricket is a team sport and that is lost sometimes. Especially in India where you see half the stadium leave when Sachin gets out. You need to play as a team to win or in this case fight out a hard won draw. And India will do well in the series if they all pull in the same direction. The Aussies understand this and that is why they've been so successful.

I too was wishing sachin would take the attacking route to victory. I am almost certain that brian lara would have done it , especially if he had teammates like dravid,laxman and ganguly in case things go wrong.

Interesting thoughts indeed Suresh. Yet, if Sachin would've tried to take the game by the scruff of the neck and god forbid failed, he is after all, a mortal, the greatest batsman of contemporary era, but still a mortal, it would've been journalists like yourself baying for his and the other senior players' blood for being reckless in the hour of caution. To live n dream is a great thing, one that us spectators and journalists can indulge in, but the brickbats fall on the men who have given their lives to this game and still have to prove themselves in their own country.

Totally agree- if Tendulkar believes in himself, then he should have gone for it- taken the attack to the aussies.. He has done it in the past- rem 10 yrs ago, Sharjah 2008- when the whole of India was celebrating qualifying for the finals, there was one man who wanted to win, who went on...
But its a different time- then his glory was unquestioned already, now he is a few slips away from average mortal status..
But then, thats life. why play safe- its just a game after all...

Well, in just one lost opportunity you summed up Tendulkar's entire career!

Suresh Menon has written wat every true-blood India fan must have been thinking yesterday. Personally, I was recalling the fantastic 153 not out made by Lara as Adelaide to lead the West Indies to victory against Australia, which has been ranked as one the best all times' innings. And for all of Tendulkar's brilliance and consistency, he has never been able to shake off the 4th innings ghost.. after from stray performances like Chennai against Pakistan and Old Trafford. He had an opportunity yesterday to shake off all those misgivings and lead India to a memorable victory, but it seemed to me (and this is when I am the switch-off-the-TV-when-Tendulkar-gets-out variety fan) that Tendulkar cannot shake off his 4th innings demons..

there is only one player in the indian team who would have even had visions of that happenning, let alone possessing the nerve or skills to execute it .. his name is VIRENDAR SEHWAG .. The rest are burdened with self-doubt and failure mentality .. sorry but i have followed this team for too long to raise my hopes of witnessing anything close to unconventional.

Really worth having a go at for sure... their reputation was at stake and had india really managed to win the match it would have sort of sealed the series as it would have been the greatest confidence booster in a century. it was not as tough as it looked. had india thought about a win instead of a draw when they came out to bat it could have been easily accomplished. and im sure had it been steve waugh whose side was chasing on the final day, they would have tried for the victory and in all probability they would have won.
nice reading anyway! thanks

Yes, certainly a youthful Tendulkar would have torn the attack to pieces and won the game for India - but if that was so I don't think Ponting would have declared asking India to make 299.

But then, let us face reality, this is a more mature Tendulkar, carrying the legacy of 10 to 15 years of continuous cricket. He has had numerous problems with the aches and pains. So let us be thankful that he was there when India needed him to prevent a repetition of the Sydney debacle. Let us savour his batting and those of the Fab Four for soon they would have gone. I for one would be glued to my TV set, everytime India bats - one cannot get enough of them.

Let us be practical and grateful that they chose to entertain us.
R Sivasubramaniam from Singapore.

Millions indeed do fantasise about scoring a century and those millions are best left fantasising it. Anyone who has played a decent level of cricket would have known the possible effect a wearing pitch, a little pressure and a couple of wickets could have have had on the test match. Thankfully it was these under pressure veterans trying to save the game and not a bunch of fantasisers.

Hi Suresh,
Spot on! You have echoed my sentiments exactly as I followed the last day's play! I would have (in Kumble's place) done this: 1) Tell the team we ARE going for a win, no holding back. 2) Give Sehwag and Gambhir license to go on the rampage Get Laxman at #3 (can score pretty fast without too much risk (e.g. Sydney 2008). Retain Sachin at #4 (can again score fast if given the go ahead by his captain. Dhoni would have been at #5 (to really take the game by the scruff of the neck as you said and blast us to victory (T20 or ODI mode of batting). Then keep Dravid, Ganguly, Bhajji, Zaheer, Kumble, Ishant for dour defense if the top half fail in their run quest (pretty capable batsmen all). You are right that fans hope for this kind of thing - I certainly always do - and the one time it was realised spectacularly was in 2001 under Ganguly (maybe Adelaide '04 also). Being a devotee of this wonderful team, I will keep hoping they do it again - hopefully this series! Go India!

Ricky would have gone for it! all the way down to number 7 and thats what Australian cricket is about.

Sport is a metaphor for life and cricket the ultimate sport say, then what did you expect? did you think that life for anyone has been a predictable sequence of events following a linear locus? This is the great good of god! The chinese have a proverb(or curse) "may you live in intersting times". Tendulkar et al were merely points on the curve.

The real fantasy within the fantasy is to hope for Sachin to be part of this. If there was one man who could've led the victory march, it had to be Sehwag and I suspect he was Ponting's main concern. I used to also hope that Sachin would shake off that imposter who had possessed his body and mind and get back to the wonder-boy of old, but that is merely wishful thinking. Heck, I can't do some thing that I could very easily only 6 years ago and I'm not even that old. Let's give Sachin a break. Even in our fantasies.

Well Tendulkar did succeed in potentially saving the match for India. We have to come to terms with the fact that he is not the same player anymore. He has become very unpredictable and this raises questions about whether he needs to be in the team or not. My suggestion is he should exit with some grace after breaking Lara's record. No one is invincible and his marathon achievements will not be forgotten- they can't be.

In terms of fantasies, we all have some. But perhaps we should take heart from the fact that Tendulkar has fulfilled our fantasies before with some consistency. There is a lesson to be learnt from this failure by Tendulkar to break Lara's record and that lesson is, that he is past his prime. We have to keep reminding ourselves that Tendulkar is human after all, and maybe he himself has to realise this and bid farewell to cricket.

He will be remembered easily as the most accomplished and complete batsman seen in world cricket.

Tendulkar,take the game by the scruff of its neck? Granted Tendulkar has been one of the two leading lights in test match batting since the early 90's, but he has rarely won a match in the fourth innings, as his record of two tons and a couple 50's have shown. His game has never been based in risk taking, which is sometimes required to pull off wonderful wins or innings. He has played beautifully crafted innnings, text-book batting. Lara himself only managed 2 fourth innings tons in his career but one was the greaatest ever, the 153* in 99 V Aus. And he has 7 50's. Viv Richards also only managed two fourth inning tons but with 6 50's. Sometimes a batsman can vaule his wicket too highly and thus restict himself. Would Tendulkar (or any other batsman for that matter) hit 28 runs in one over with only 12 balls of the days play remaining like a certain Trinidadian did some time back?

"But for once, wouldn’t it have been wonderful to have seen a wrong and immature approach that might have led to victory? "
The last time Tendulkar took that approach was Chennai 1999, and the rest of the team let him down. I guess he's learned his lessons.

It would have been wonderful...India should have sent in Dhoni instead of Dravid. He might be more "responsible" and "mature" but he is certainly a lot less exciting than he used to be. He is a better batsman when he is aggressive and not when he plays like he did in the first innings. I think fantasy finishes are only ging to happen with a younger captain and lesser number of batsmen trying to keep their place....

If anyone could have done it, based on track record that'd have been Sehwag (and not Tendulkar). But I understand what you are trying to say here :-)

It is unfair to expect extraordinary things from Tendulkar because he is a batsman way past his prime. Having said that, Tendulkar remains amongst the best three batsman in India if not the best! He can remain one of the top three for another two years. He will have a lot to offer the youngsters in that time.

India were on the backfoot for most of the match so to come out with a draw is a moral victory of sorts. To have come out with a "wrong and immature approach" would have led to a sure defeat - not so wonderful! Let's not forget, this was a test match against Australia and not some backyard game to go gung-ho for victory when the odds are stacked against you.

0-0 and still three tests to go. Start fantasizing bout a series win against the world champs.

Give Sachin a brk after entertaining us for all these years..as Arjun rightly said, he tried this approach in Chennai 1999 inspite of his incredible back pain and the moment he got out to Saqlain, the whole batting collapsed. Imagine if something happened yesterday and India were 1-0 down,you guys would have been villifying Sachin for failing again in 4th innings and letting the team down. And pls remember that the pitch and the light were also bad.I for one, am pretty happy that we got out of this tough test unscathed as India have always been slow starters and gradually they pick up.Also India never do well in Bangalore.Only Sehwag and Gambhir were told to go for it as was evident from the start.Nobody are keeping their position in the team.I am convinced that even today fab 4 have no substitutes in the test side.So instead of fantasising what would have transpired,mates,just enjoy the Fab 4 for 1 last time.Thx for everything you have given us.I'm pretty sure we will win the series

of course!

of course he should've thrown caution & good sense to the winds and played aggressive high risk,low percentage cricket for an improbable win in the first of 4 test matches - so what if india was already 24 for 2, chasing almost 300 on the fifth day of a test, so what if his wicket is still the most sought after by the aussies, still has a demoralising effect on his teammates & an uplifting one on them.

of course he shouldnt have carried the responsibility of saving the match for his team and country, rather, he should have gone for 'personal glory', the 'century', the 'record' - we all believe he plays for them anyway.

of course its more important he play for our collective fantasies rather than the good of his country!

we, the armchair critics, always know the best way to play the game. havent we been watching for all these years?? he's only been playing his heart out for us at supreme levels for abt 20 years.. stupid upstart!!

of course!

I notice quite a few references to Lara's approach. Firstly, just a small correction to Anand- Lara's 153 was at Bridgetown, Barbados.That 1999 series against Australia was precisely what you're writing about...3 Lara-esque innings to take command of the series (213, 153 and 100). Ironically, Lara was criticised in the media for the 100 in Antigua for scoring too quickly! (W.I. needed 300 to win when he came in and he scored 100 at faster than a run a ball-W.I lost the match).

The fact of the matter is, all those complaining about tendulkar are spoilt and immature. He is not clinging to his past; all of you are desperately clinging onto yours. The only reason you want him to quit is that his average might fall further and tendulkar won't have the average YOU all dreamed of. Its only when compared to his younger self that he suffers. But can you tell me who might be able to do a better job? As it is he is quite valuable to the team. His performance in england and australia are proof of that.

It also speaks of the astronomical standards he has set that a timely and crucial innings to save the match on a 5th day pitch is treated as a failure and deemed worthy of criticism. The media depends on whipping up a frenzy, it's just sad that we get whipped so easily.

Tendulkar has never been a match-winner. As Gokul said, Sehwag was the only guy who could have won it for India - would have been a great day if he'd got in!

But yes, as Raj said, I think India should definitely be satisfied with a draw after losing the toss and being subject to a Hussey grind.

While I fully understand where Menon is coming from, and have fantasized just such heroics as many fans undoubtedly have, lets put this in perspective. Ask yourself what the top 6 other middle order batsmen in the world today - say Ponting, Pietersen, Kallis, Chanderpaul, Mohd Yousuf and Kumar Sangakkara - would have done if they had walked in at 25 for 2, as Sachin did. Would any of them have done anything different? All of them would be thrilled to have done what Sachin did - play out three hours and take the team to a draw. Yet, its such fantasies - and the all-too-remote possibility that they may be realized some day - that keeps us fans riveted to the game. Thanks for a nice piece that is refreshingly different from the usual "we're-the-best / we're-the-worst" oscillations.

I am an Australian. I thought it was a great performance by India on Day 5. I am sick of seeing India capitulate in those circumstances, and I thought it was great to see Gambhir, Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly earn the draw. They may just have played themselves into a bit of form for Match 2.

Well said Suresh! Being a hardcore Sachin Tendulkar fan I too always fantacize about that ONE magical knock where Sachin broke all the rules of expectations, fought all odds against the hour, played an innings which even the opposition admired (apart from being dreaded. And I feel there's nothing wrong we have such a fantasy about the greatest batsman of the modern era. Sachin is not number 2 or 3 but all-time the BEST in India and amongst the best in the world. Of course puts a lot of pressure on him and he has to play according to the need of the game but trust me if Sachin says let's go for a WIN, I'm sure not Captain would stop him. He carries an aura with him which doesn't need a captain license to unleash. His game is certainly more mature than his olden days but we want is fierce nature back. That nature which brings nightmares to even the best bowlers like Shane Warne, that nature which makes the opposition feels the match is won if Sachin is out!

Isn't that the way Sehwag always plays?

this is precisely why the crown sits on virender's head today.

Interesting article. I remember watching the tied test between India and Australia in 1986 and India was in a precarious position throughout the test. When Australia made a sporting declaration, India went for a win on the final day. It made for riveting viewing and the test match turned out to be a classic. Wish India had gone for a win in this match too. 299 in around 80 overs looks doable. Unfortunately, if India had lost the fans and the press would have reacted adversely and so the team had to play it safe.

Mr Menon, your blog is hitting way below the belt and that’s not in the right taste. Please look at the facts of the match. Aussies who is supposed to have set the trend in test match cricket scoring at 4 an over had a run rate of less than 3 in the first innings. This was when the pitch was arguably the best for batting. They did a little bit better in second i suppose. So to expect that India / tendulakar chase a fourth innings total of 300 in excess of 3 runs an over which has not been achieved in the duration of test is a true Fantasy. But please stop writing such fantasies and deriding the greats of the game. How many of us have played cricket under such circumstances. The kind of innings that you are asking is once in a life time and i guess Sachin has delivered like that in his life time already. So please understand Test match cricket is as gripping when a side plays under their skin to get an Honourable draw.

Its a good fantasy, thats what it is. We all know that India wouldn't have even thought of chasing it down. If that was the case then Sehwag should have been told to go for it. I strongly doubt that Sehwag would have been told exactly the oppositte. Even if Sehwag got out early then Dhoni should have been in then. Now these are the two most explosive cricketers in world today. And remember Dhoni, Sehwag and Gambhir are excellent runners between the wickets. If anything had gone wrong then there is always the middle order to hold on to a draw. That should have been the way India approached the fifth day. So a good article Suresh, but India probably had a better and easier way of completing the job!

beautifully summed up exactly how i felt. this could have been the redemption of tendulkar, the final blotting out of the one bugbear in his career. fantasy sadly did not mirror reality

Suresh,that was beautiful writing. Utopian perhaps but not impossible by a long way. Isn't that what sports is all about?

When a bowler runs in to bowl to Sachin, you expect that MRF bat coming hard at the ball driving down the track. But, that was 10 years back. Now I expect a doubtful prod! Sadly, he is not great enough to associate fantasies with him. Let's hope the docile Indian itches churn out another great batsman who can allow us to fantasize. Who could it be? Rohit Sharma is my call.

"It is unfair, I know, but fantasies don’t have to be fair or logical." Suresh, sports facilitates a lot of fantasy because of the gap between what we are incapable of doing, and our eternal passion to use sports to achieve a personal five minutes of fame. You, as a reasonably seasoned sports columnist must not resort to such fantasies. You, more than most of us readers, must appreciate that there is enough credit in "winning" an honourable draw for one's team. One must also accpet that with the ultra defensive fields set by Australia, there is no possibility of playing a carefree innings in any case. The difference between adventurous batting to win a match and bathe oneself in glory AND a cautious approach to achieve the team's overall cause is - just one bad shot. You then lose your wicket and regret in the pavilion ala Sehwag. The point is - you should know better than me. Still, we have this article from you

Interesting perspective and interesting comments. I, for one do not find day 5 as any less interesting than it would have been if India/ Sachin went allout and won it from 25/2. Rather, it was a really good contest which was highly enjoyable. It was really refreshing to see a few stroke makers adopting their game to the situation at hand and producing solid knocks. Once Tendulkar and Gambhir came together, Australia never looked like winning the match, inspite of Ponting constantly trying to trick the batsmen into playing one loose shot. Tendulkar in particular was very positive presenting his bat to the deliveries than trying to scratch around and survive. I thought Day 5 was one of the more enjoyable contests in recent test match games.

nice article =] and maybe im completely missing the point with what i say but im just glad they even managed to hold on for the draw considering the ground they were playing at and coz of how the sydney test turned out (the umpiring errors admittedly were a problem but the batting couldn't be considered great either) if india had gone for it and gotten all out in the process (every possiblity even without a great aussie bowling line-up) im sure there would have been a far greater outcry
but im happy that the milestone was finally reached today and in style... although i guess you might say another fantasy foiled when he didn't get the 100... but in the end let fantasies be fantasies and reality be reality

Commonsense prevailed in the Indian Team. That's why they didn't go for the win. It is as simple as that.

Thats why Lara could coz no one cared when WI lost so he could be more cavalier. And Sachin slipped off the pedestal ? hmm! i still switch the tv off when he gets out.

Suresh, it is our dream come true. India beat England chasing 387 runs on the 5th day. I replied to this very article saying it was common-sense, when India drew with Australia at Bangalore. At chennai, Sehwag defied Common-sense and you are right, it is a dream come true.

Just remembered to get back to this srticle to pay tributes to you, after India's win at Chennai.