Anjali Tendulkar, a very special guest of the Cricket Association of Bengal sitting in the Lower tier of the CAB Club house, suddenly said, "Can it happen that they give him one over to bowl before tea? It will be lovely if they do. The crowd will come alive." She went on to say that Sachin was in fact bowling to son Arjun at home before he left for Kolkata.
In what is "The Sachin series" how can his wife's words not ring true? One over before tea and Mahendra Singh Dhoni threw the ball to Sachin. Anjali, excited and thrilled, pushed her wish list a tad further. "It will be really terrific if he can break this partnership." Sachin, who was unaware that his better half was in Kolkata to watch him play, did not disappoint. The fourth ball of the over landed on the spot, did not turn much, held its line and hit the batsman plumb in front of the middle stump. Sachin, jubilant and thrilled, appealed knowing well that he had his man. In the gallery, Anjali was up in joy. High fives with all the spectators around followed and many told her that she was the lucky charm who had caused the West Indian collapse.
As debutant Mohammed Shami picked the last West Indian wicket, Anjali's face had suddenly turned pensive. Jagmohan Dalmiya, sitting with her in the President's box, asked her in jest, "So do you fancy Sachin coming out to bat today itself?" The answer startled everyone present. "Not at all! I sincerely hope he doesn't have to come out today. In fact, I am flying back to Mumbai tonight. There's no way I can sit and watch him bat. There's just too much pressure." True to her words she did leave by 9W 628 for Mumbai, not waiting for her husband to come out on Wednesday to enthrall 70,000 fans at the Eden Gardens.
If Anjali was nervous about Sachin's batting, son Arjun was excited. He had a field day sitting with his four coaches and analyzing the game threadbare. The best mother son interaction happened at the innings break. Anjali, playing the role of mother, was keen to find out if Arjun had eaten lunch. Arjun, on the other hand, was intent on watching the match from the stands soaking in every bit of the fantastic Eden Gardens atmosphere. As mother mentioned to son that there was still some time left for the Indian innings to start, pat came the reply, "Mom, I know it. I play this game." The whole CAB box broke out in laughter summing up the mood of the day, which ended on a note of expectation and excitement.
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