God of Cricket

Few years back, the devastating Aussie batsmen, Adam Gilchrist was considered to be the favorite for an ODI double century. Also in the radar of expectations were the likes of Virender Sehwag, who already had two test triple centuries under his belt and a whole lot of fury and temperament for the ODI format. But that milestone was achieved finally after 40 years of One day cricket and by the person who is known to be the God of cricket, the maestro Sachin Tendulkar. He thrashed one of the better bowling attacks of this time to all the corners of the Captain Roop Singh Stadium to achieve a feet which some can only dream of.

Tendulkar reached his fifty off 37 balls and went past his century off 90 balls consistently playing with a strike rate of more than 100. He was involved in some vital partnerships including two century run-stands. In the 46^th over he went past the highest one day individual score of 194 by flicking for a two past short fine leg. But he remained calm and did not show any emotion before he reached that magical figure of 200. The highest run getter in ODI’s reached the highest individual score in ODI’s and the first ever 200 in the history of ODI. He raised his bat, took off his helmet and looked into the skies and showed his thanks to the almighty. He received lots of appreciation from Mahendra Singh Dhoni who witnessed this historical moment from the other side.

 The uniqueness of this historic innings was its flawlessness, no half chances offered, not a single opportunity given to the opposition to dismiss him. It was a perfect innings which cricket lovers will cherish for a long-long time. It was characterized by endless passion, zeal for achieving more, strong determination and last but not the least unparallel fitness. Though Sachin had cramps after he got past 150 but yet he continued without a runner. He utilized all hi experience of 20 years of international cricket by playing an innings of his lifetime. He batted for the full innings without losing focus even once, which is a difficult task for a player at an age of 36 but Sachin proved once again that age is no bar for him and he is destined to have many more years in international cricket. It was a sensational innings with top class placements and quality shot selections. It had the perfect blend of aggressiveness and composure giving South African bowlers a hard time in the middle.