The curtain came down on Sachin Tendulkar's storied Test career with one of India's most comprehensive victories, as a hapless West Indies crumbled on the third morning in Mumbai. Tendulkar walked off the field with a tear in his eye and to a fluid guard of honour from his team-mates, soaking in the cheers of the Wankhede crowd one last time.
Pragyan Ojha took his second five-for of the match, and Ashwin finished with seven in the match, but the only spin bowling Indian fans wanted to see was the all-sorts of Tendulkar. Ten minutes before the scheduled close of the first session, by when West Indies had lost eight wickets in another inept batting performance, Tendulkar was brought into the attack. Though the crowd was desperate for a wicket, Tendulkar's final two overs produced no breakthrough. MS Dhoni brought back his main bowlers and within a handful of overs, the Test was brought to an end with Mohammed Shami flattening the middle stump of the West Indies No. 11 Shannon Gabriel.
India's next generation of batting talent flourished as West Indies were pummelled into submission but even the delectable strokeplay of Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli couldn't wipe out the anti-climactic feel of much of the second day's play.
During the first hour, however, Test cricket had rarely felt so alive. With Sachin Tendulkar playing what could be his final Test innings, his legion of fans were put through the emotional wringer. This whole series has been drenched in Tendulkar nostalgia, and every vintage shot he played today only highlighted what fans are going to miss in the days ahead. Every mis-step - like two attempted upper cuts off Tino Best - caused massive anxiety. Fans were uncertain whether they wanted Tendulkar to be on strike - so they could lap up a few more of his shots - or at the non-striker's end as the tension was close to unbearable when he batted.
Rarely have fans of a team in as dominant a position as India were at the Wankhede Stadium felt this tense. In the first two sessions, West Indies had served up another dose of inept batting to roll over for 182, and then India's openers battered 77 at nearly a run-a-ball. That's when Shane Shillingford struck twice in an over, to the delirious cheers of the home fans, and brought Sachin Tendulkar to the batting crease, perhaps for the final time.
St John’s, Antigua – The West Indies Cricket Board is conducting a search to fill the position of Director of Commercial, Marketing and Communications. The Director of the CM&C will be responsible for all of the WICB’s revenue generation and support services activities including business development, sponsorship management, merchandise and licensing, event management, marketing, promotions & public relations and corporate communications.
The Director will play a lead role in the development and execution of the WICB’s commercial strategy, while directing the daily operation of the function through the effective management of the team, commercial partner relationships and contracts, the efficient deployment of resources and supplies, and the control of assigned budgets.
“The Director of Commercial, Marketing and Communications is critical to the WICB at this juncture as we need to have, at a high level, a competent and accomplished professional who is dedicated to especially enhancing the WICB’s commercial portfolio along with other critical areas,” WICB Chief Executive Officer Michael Muirhead said.
“This is a critical position and we will conduct an extensive recruitment process to seek to identify a suitable candidate who has integral knowledge of the regional market and who can draw on their knowledge and relationships to raise the profile of the WICB and widen our partnerships with sponsors and other stakeholders,” Muirhead added. Interested professionals can view full details at www.windiescricket.com/careers Applications should be sent to recruitment@windiescricket.com
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Several legends of West Indies Cricket have hailed left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul as he prepares to play what will be a West Indies record 150th Test match.
Three West Indies batting greats – Sir Everton Weekes, Rohan Kanhai and Desmond Haynes – applauded Chanderpaul and urged him to celebrate the occasion. The match will be played against India at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and will also be the 200th and final Test match for India’s batting great Sachin Tendulkar.
First ball is Thursday midnight Eastern Caribbean Time (11pm Wednesday Jamaica Time).
