2007
Nineteen Months Later
That the past few years had been rather lean had begun to worry Sachin Tendulkar’s fans, even as the critics sharpened their knives. The last time Sachin Tendulkar had made more than 1,000 runs in ODIs was in 2003 and in three calendar years – 2004, 2005 and 2006 – he had a mere 1,852 runs in 53 ODIs. This included just four hundreds. It was not very different in Tests, either. In 14 Tests in 2005 and 2006, he had a mere 711 runs with just one century and four fifties. Injuries and poor form gave critics a chance to ask whether Tendulkar was just pushing his career for the sake of records.
Then came 2007, when Tendulkar seemed to find both form and rhythm. Yes, he had just one century in Tests and two in ODIs, but he had six fifties in Tests and 13 in the shorter format.
But the World Cup – a competition he so dearly wanted to win for India – was a disaster for both India and Tendulkar. India lost to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and their only win was against Bermuda. Tendulkar scored fifty in this match. In the earlier two matches, he had scored 7 and 0.
Incredible as it may sound, he had six scores in the 90s – two against South Africa in the Future Cup in Ireland, two against England in the Natwest series and two against Pakistan in the ODI series in India. Those six 90s included three 99s, one each against South Africa, England and Pakistan. The second half of the year proved beyond all doubt that he still had many more years of top-notch cricket in him. Tendulkar was back!
Tendulkar Is Back
‘We were not unduly worried about Sachin. Maybe everyone else can stop worrying now so we can have a bit of peace around. But what will we discuss then?… Sachin’s innings was truly special and one of the best I’ve seen from him - Rahul Dravid, espncricinfo.com, 31 January 2007
THE SITUATION
It was the final match of a four-match ODI series against the West Indies. The visitors went in looking to level the series but it was not to be. Tendulkar’s brilliant 76-ball unbeaten hundred won India the match and the series. Sachin did a double whammy, pocketing both the Man of the Match and the Man of the Series awards.
RELIVING THE CENTURY
West Indies won the toss and elected to field on a belter of an IPCL Sports Complex ground at Vadodara. Robin Uthappa and Sourav Ganguly who opened the batting for India, put on 46 runs before Uthappa fell three balls into the seventh over. Ganguly then joined hands with Rahul Dravid and put on 101 more runs before Chris Gayle had him stumped for a well-made 68.
That was when the master walked in. Sachin waded into the Windies bowling from the word go and reached his fifty of only 46 balls, with five hits to the fence. While Dravid held the innings together at one end, Sachin went from strength to strength. Dravid fell to Marlon Samuels for a well-compiled 78 with the scorecard reading 266 in 43.3 overs. Sachin carried on the attack with M.S. Dhoni. The two put on 75 of 39 balls and Tendulkar finished with exactly 100 runs of 76 balls with a strike rate of 131.57, to notch up his 41st ODI hundred. Dhoni stayed unbeaten on 40 and India amassed 341 in their stipulated 50 overs.
Sachin’s innings was driven not so much by brute force as by skill. The maestro played genuine cricketing shots and dissected the West Indian field with unmatched accuracy. The innings comprised 10 fours and one hit over the fence.
The West Indies lost the plot early on with the hard-hitting Chris Gayle falling with only 10 on the board. Zaheer Khan did the damage and, with new-ball partner Ajit Agarkar, he kept a tight leash on the West Indians. Wickets fell at regular intervals and India coasted to a mammoth 160-run win.
Did you know…
» The last time India had won an ODI match with Sachin Tendulkar scoring a century was on 15 November 2003 at Hyderabad against New Zealand.
A Tendulkar Test Century After 19 Months
‘ I had no point to prove. After so many years, I do not have any point to prove - Sachin Tendulkar after the match
THE SITUATION
It was the first Test of a two-Test series in Bangladesh. Tendulkar’s last hundred (109) had come against Sri Lanka at Delhi in December 2005. Sourav Ganguly, too, was going through a lean patch. Both batsmen found their form again in the series against Bangladesh.
RELIVING THE CENTURY
With skipper Rahul Dravid winning the toss, India, who chose to take first strike on a damp wicket, lost opener Wasim Jaffer of the very first ball of the Test, an express Mashrafe Mortaza delivery. Dinesh Karthik (56) and Rahul Dravid put on 124 runs for the second wicket before the former fell to Mortaza, setting the stage for Tendulkar. Eight runs later, skipper Dravid, after a typically stoic 61, nicked Shahdat Hossain to keeper Khaled Mashud when the scoreboard read 132 for 3.
Tendulkar was joined by the elegant Sourav Ganguly and the two took the score to 321 before Ganguly handed Mortaza his third wicket. The southpaw had by then notched up a brilliant hundred. Tendulkar, in Dhoni’s company, carried on valiantly. The moment much awaited by cricket fans at Chittagong arrived when Sachin punched a full-length delivery from Mortaza to the right of mid-on to notch up his 36th Test hundred.
Soon after, Hossain tempted Sachin with a short ball outside of stump and he fell for the bait, only managing to lob the ball up to cover for a catch. This was Tendulkar’s first century at Chittagong, and it contributed greatly to India’s first-innings score of 387.
In reply, Bangladesh could only muster up 238, with Mortaza, the man who could do no wrong that week, playing a blistering innings of 79. For India, RP. Singh and V.R.V. Singh bagged three wickets apiece while of -spinner Ramesh Powar pocketed two. India, batting a second time, declared for 100, with Wasim Jaffer bagging a pair and Sachin top-scoring with 31. Bangladesh was batting at 104 for the loss of two wickets when play was called off.
The match was constantly interrupted by rain and finally ended in a draw.
Did you know…
» This was the fifth time Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly scored a century in the same Test.
» Anil Kumble, who retired hurt while batting in the first innings, did not bowl a single ball.
» Ramesh Powar made his debut in this Test.
A Hundred in India’s Biggest Ever Test Win
‘My entire career I have concentrated on my job only and my job is to go out and bat. Scoring hundred is always satisfying as the team wants me to do well… People look at statistics but players don’t play for the numbers, they play to score runs. I am no different. It is really good to get a century after a long time. It was important to score a hundred here. After South Africa I have not played Test cricket in a long time. I was looking forward to playing here. A century is not the only thing. How you play is more important’ - Sachin Tendulkar after the first Test at Chittagong
THE SITUATION
It was the second and deciding Test in the two-Test series against Bangladesh. The first match was drawn after frequent interruptions due to rain. Tendulkar, who had helped himself to a century in the first Test, did so again in the second, which was a run-fest for India. His 37th Test hundred was a rather laboured effort and a little short on the usual Tendulkar flourish, but it did the job, which was to win the Test for India.
RELIVING THE CENTURY
Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field first. This proved to be a huge mistake as each of the top four Indian batsmen notched up hundreds early in the Test.
Mashrafe Mortaza, who had bowled so impressively in the first Test, failed to make an impact and neither did any of the others. Wasim Jaffer, who had bagged a pair in the previous Test, was keen to restore his reputation and, with Dinesh Karthik, he pummelled the Bangladeshi attack before Karthik retired hurt in the 53rd over with the score at 175. Dravid joined Jaffer and the two continued with the slaughter. Jaffer notched up his fourth Test hundred in the 60th over but had to retire unwell at 138, due to dehydration.
Tendulkar walked in and took over. It was almost like a relay race. In the company of Dravid, he took the score to 346 for no loss in 95 overs. Dravid, batting on 97 at that point, hit a Mortaza delivery for four of the back-foot to bring up his 24th Test ton.
Dravid was clearly the more aggressive of the two, early on in the partnership. Sachin had reached only 20 while his partner had notched up a century. Dravid was the next to fall (technically India’s first wicket, since both openers had retired hurt) for a well-compiled 129. Tendulkar, joined by Dinesh Karthik, registered a half-century two runs later, and Karthik went on to score his maiden Test ton before falling to Mortaza for 129. Sachin soldiered on in the company of Sourav Ganguly before the latter fell to Rafique for 15. Sachin was just one short of his hundred at this point. He managed to get his 37th century with a nudge to the on side of a Shakib Al Hassan delivery.
With M.S. Dhoni getting to 51, India declared at 610 for 3. Sachin remained not-out on 122. For the hosts, Rafique picked up two wickets and Mortaza, one.
Bangladesh posted a meek reply, being bowled out for 118. Zaheer and Kumble were the chief wreckers with five and three wickets respectively. Following on, Bangladesh managed only 253, handing India a win by an innings and 239 runs. Though four Indians batsmen scored a century each, it was Zaheer who was adjudged Man of the Match for his seven wickets.
Did you know…
» This was the first time each of the top four batsmen in a team notched up hundreds in a Test match.
» Ravi Shastri took time of from his media commitments to be the team manager for the series.
» This was Dav Whatmores last Test as coach of Bangladesh.
» Ishant Sharma made his debut in this Test.
PARALLEL LIVES
Viswanathan Anand: It was a stellar year for Anand who, early in 2007, won the Morelia-Linares tournament and played in two legs in Mexico and Spain. He was ranked World No. 1 for the first time ever. By the time the year was over, Anand was back in Mexico City to win the World Championship. He stayed ahead of the field almost from the start and scored 9 out of 14 in the category 21 double round robin event to win the title he had first won in 2000. It made him the undisputed world champion.
In between these two stupendous achievements, Anand also won the World Rapid Chess Championship in Mainz, beating Levon Aronian for a historic tenth title at Mainz, the seventh in succession. He also won the 2007 Magistral Ciudad de Leon chess tournament, beating Veselin Topalov in the final for a record seventh time, the third in succession.
Leander Paes: Continuing with his Czech partner Martin Damm, with whom he had won two men’s doubles titles, including one at the US Open, Leander Paes stayed in the top 20. He added two more titles with Damm that year, at Rotterdam and at the Masters series in Indian Wells. At the Grand Slam, he made the final of the mixed doubles at the US Open with Meghann Shaughnessy.
THIS ALSO HAPPENED IN 2007
The year began with the European Union expanding with the inclusion of Bulgaria and Romania. South Koreas Ban Ki-Moon became the UN Secretary-General, replacing Kofi Annan.
On 17 January, there were huge protests all over India and UK against the British TV Series Celebrity Big Brother after allegations that the British participants had been racially abusive to Indian actress Shilpa Shetty.
In one of the most ghastly incidents of terror striking India, the Samjhauta Express, a twice-weekly train service between Delhi and Lahore, was rocked by two bombs near Panipat. About 70 people died in the blasts, further souring relations between India and Pakistan. Later in the year, there were bombings near a mosque in Hyderabad on 18 May and then again on 25 August.
On 18 March, the sports world awoke to the shocking news of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer’s mysterious death in his hotel room in South Africa during the World Cup.
On 14 April, news filtered in that Russian chess superstar and retired world champion Garry Kasparov had been detained in Moscow for participating in a banned march.
Meanwhile, Pratibha Patil became the first woman president of India.
The final book in the Harry Potter series - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - was released on 21 July and within the first 24 hours it had sold more than 11 million copies around the world, making it the fastest-selling book in history.
On 24 September, the Indian cricket team beat Pakistan to win the inaugural ICC World T20 Cup.
On 8 October, American track star Marion Jones gave up the five Olympic medals she had won at the Sydney Olympics after admitting to using dope to enhance performance.
Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on 3 November. Seven weeks later, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was shot dead just before a bomb blast, during an election rally in Rawalpindi.
Just as the year was ending, the Nepal government announced that their 240-year-old monarchy would be abolished in 2008.