After this match, there will be no switching off the television when he gets out. No Indian fan will wait for the second India wicket to fall. There will be no standing ovations that stretch from the fall of that second wicket to the time he takes strike. Sections of crowds at grounds won’t take turns in going ‘Sachin, Sachin’. For after this match, Sachin Tendulkar will never play cricket for India again.
So for one last time, it is over to the ground where it all began in 1988, for Bombay against Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy. Few international cricketers get to say goodbye on their home ground, in front of home fans. In that sense, Tendulkar and Mumbai are fortunate that the parting, in the playing sense, will be at Wankhede Stadium.
Fortunate is a word MS Dhoni has used often of late. He’s been asked numerous times how it was to play with Tendulkar, and he’s said he has been fortunate to have done so for close to a decade. There was a cartoon recently doing the rounds with Tendulkar cradling some babies – a few of his youngest current India team-mates – while the rest of the squad stood around as grinning boys. How old, or young, each of them were when Tendulkar debuted for India is a factsheet that gets thrown around a lot. But that Mohammed Shami is younger than Tendulkar’s international career is a fact that seems as astonishing each time you think about it. He’s been a colossal father figure. All the India players have grown up looking up to the man.
The opponents were hastily arranged for this farewell series and were not expected to play a big role. That is exactly what West Indies did in Kolkata, folding up in three days. The last time they played at Wankhede, they produced an exciting draw with the scores tied. This match will be known in history as Tendulkar’s final game, but West Indies will look to somehow miraculously ending up winning it.
Form guide
India WWWWW (last five games, most recent first)
West Indies LWWWW
Team news
India have little reason to change the winning combination, both debutants Shami and Rohit Sharma having performed superbly in Kolkata.
India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 M Vijay, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Virat Kohli, 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 Mohammed Shami
Playing only five specialist batsmen hurt West Indies in Kolkata. The second spinner Veerasammy Permaul could not support Shane Shillingford. Will they go in for an extra batsman who can bowl a bit? West Indies have also flown in Shannon Gabriel as replacement for Roach. Sheldon Cottrell impressed in patches on debut at Eden Gardens. There is an outside possibility of West Indies playing three fast bowlers.
West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Darren Sammy (capt), 8 Narsingh Deonarine/Veerasammy Permaul, 9 Shane Shillingford, 10 Sheldon Cottrell/Shannon Gabriel, 11 Tino Best