Let me first congratulate Sachin Tendulkar for crossing the mile stone that another great man had set; highest Test runs in the history of Cricket. I did not watch every ball he played (I live on the other side of the ocean(s) and had to forgo my sleep for a while) but what ever I could, it was nothing less than a masterpiece. Adding more music to my ears was Ganguly batting with him on the other end. They were batting in tandem, heads up and shoulders freed with exquisite cover drives and sublime cuts.

A great man has crossed a milestone and its a moment of celebration, not for him but for every single Cricket lover and more that the game in itself. He quotes..

When I got out in Bangalore a few guys made it a point to remind me about the record. I knew I had done a good job there and that was important. My focus today was just to watch the ball. The journey over the last 19 yrs has been fantastic. There are stones thrown at you and you turn it in to milestones. I was not that excited to be honest. The focus was to continue and not lose concentration. Me and Sourav focussed on batting out the day. I didn’t really think of the record too many times. I try to keep the records out of my mind and my aim is mainly to contribute. It’s nice that it’s come at the right time, the Australians are a quality opposition. I planned to stay till the end but it didn’t happen. I thought i didn’t use my feet well but that’s the beauty of the game. The ball changes and so does the game.”

At a time when recession fears are lingering around with world financial markets tumbling like a pack of cards, Cricket has given me not only a breather but a deep releif. And watching my favorite cricketer was the added icing to the cake. I could not have asked for more (of course as greedy as I am, I would have wished a century from the Master Blaster) and I hope things turn out best for India as that would be the best gift the team can give back to him.