06 November,2009 07:08 AM IST | | Ashwin Ferro
Munaf Patel joked to Sachin Tendulkar during nets on match eve in relation to the batting maestro needing seven more to reach 17,000 runs in ODIs. "Saat kyon, aap toh kal sau run banaoge (why seven, you will score 100 tomorrow)," Munaf is believed to have said.
Crucial
Tendulkar departed while playing a shot down to fine leg off Clint McKay only to loft it to Nathan Hauritz. With the score reading 332 for 7, the hosts had just 19 more to get off 18 balls. They didn't.
He was imperious. The cheeky late cut, flat square cut, wristy leg glance, stylish cover drive, dancing-down-the-wicket lofted hit over mid-on, effortless pull over mid-wicket every trademark Tendulkar shot was on view yesterday against the old enemy.
It was his ninth ODI ton in 66 matches against Australia. Of his eight previous hundreds, only one ended up in vain. But India walked away with honours in that lost game as Tendulkar braved a sandstorm in Sharjah to help India achieve an incredible target to qualify for the final. Ponting remembered that sandstorm innings and compared it to last night's innings. "When Sachin stands up tall and plays through the line like that, it becomes pretty tough as a bowler or captain to set a field. You don't often see a player score 175 in a one-dayer. It did remind us of the way he took the Sharjah tournament away from us. This was certainly one of his best knocks," Ponting said.
Dhoni too had Sharjah on his mind. "Every Sachin century feels like it's his best. But for me, the Sharjah ton is a favourite," he said. After his hundred in theu00a0 Sharjah final, Tendulkar has scored five more.
Sizzling
In fact, Sachin's first ever ODI ton came against Australia in Sri Lanka in 1994, a sizzling match-winning three-figure innings achieved a good four years after his debut.
Sadly, his latest century ended in disappointment for the team. "I would have loved to see Sachin hit the winning runs, but unfortunately it was not to be," Dhoni summed up.
