20 years and countless heartbreaks - 'Sach' is life

I've watched the India Australia match at Hyderabad and been priveleged enough to have witnessed one of the best limited overs innings of all time. As a viewer and a fan, I have got more than my share of entertainment. Yes, it hurts that yet again, a certain Sachin Tendulkar took India so close in a monumental chase, and then they somehow contrived to crumble in a heap at the doorstep of victory. I've shed my share of tears afer hearing Tendulkar's post match comments, will fret about what could have been and then go to sleep. Tomorrow will be another day for me, as it will be for millions of other fans.

For a moment, I try to imagine what the man himself must be feeling right now. Never have I seen him so gutted after losing a match. Can any of us imagine what a battered 36 year old veteran must be going through after spending almost 7 hours in the middle, scoring more than half the runs his side has, almost winning the match singlehandedly, only to find the door to victory shut rudely in his face because a few of his mates couldn't get a foot in the door he had kept prised open till then? When was the last time the difference between the top score and the next best score was 116 runs? To think that the valiance of the man came unstuck because someone didn't dive in when threatened by a run-out. Has a lack of basics ever hurt more? Why he, out of 1.25 billion people? Why only he, O Almighty, to shoulder the burden of others' incompetence? Wasn't Pakistan 1999 in Chennai enough? Weren't a countless other heartbreaks enough? Pray, aren't 20 years enough? How many more letdowns can he suffer? As usual, some will say that he did not finish the job he had set out to do. Which job? That of making up for others' folly? India had no right to be in the position they were in, but for Sachin. It wasn't India against Australia actually. It was Sachin Tendulkar against Australia. Like it was in the Sharjah desert more than a decade back. Some things never change.

P.S.: And Mr. Punter, you could have been more appreciative of the man at the post match presentation than "He plaaayed brilliantly". He deserved much more from the man who is attempting to chase his records. I stick my neck out and say that you could have never played an innings of such magnificence, never ever while chasing 350 under lights. Remember Nagpur barely a week ago? No, your innings batting first in the 2003 World Cup final pales in comparison.