Boria Majumdar
March 16, 2012- Sher-e-Bangla Sadium, Mirpur: Sachin Tendulkar had just scored his hundredth 100 and only just finished the post-match media interaction. There was chaos all around, with everyone from the media, ground security, production crew and Bangladeshi administrators jostling to speak to the man.
I knew it would be impossible to speak to him in that frenzy. Shortly after 11 PM, there were still thousands waiting on the road to catch a glimpse of the players leaving for the hotel. The Indian team was not able to leave the stadium for another hour or so and I wondered if I would get my opportunity to greet Sachin at all that night. Then, at the stroke of midnight, I got a call from the master. We agreed to meet in the lobby of the Pan Pacific Sonargaon in Dhaka, the hotel where he was staying, and then go up to his room (No. 723).
Disruption again. With hundreds waiting for the players in the lobby, the team had to make a backdoor entry. Hotel security wouldn’t let me go up. They finally relented only after Sachin made a personal request. The room, with all those balloons the hotel authorities had left for him as a surprise, looked dressed for a party. Sachin must have wanted the party to get over quickly — he looked exhausted.
So how difficult was the wait and what was the first reaction when he got to the landmark?
Here’s how Sachin described it, “I thanked god to start with and said to myself that the wait was finally over. Without a doubt it has been the most difficult hundred to get. I was feeling the pressure every day of my life and was getting frustrated with myself at not being able to get to the landmark. For a few seconds my mind was blank and I just felt relieved that I had finally achieved the three figure mark after more than a year…. There wasn’t a day in my life when I wasn’t reminded of the 100. It appeared on occasions that everything I had achieved in the past had turned irrelevant and I’d only be judged by my ability to get the 100th 100. I was doing everything to not succumb to the pressure but it was hard and I have no issues in accepting that the pressure was indeed getting to me. I am human and it is difficult to stay insulated from all the talk around you and I am glad it is done finally.”
So how do we look back at this milestone?
Just suffice to say it is a record that is likely to stand forever. Another first in the history of cricket, this achievement together with the first one day double hundred scored against South Africa in February 2010 elevated Sachin to the pedestal of the undisputed best player in the annals of the one day fifty over game.
For many like me growing up in an India that was falling prey to turmoil and secessionist movements, Sachin was a ray of hope, helping craft a national imaginary that looked solid and resolute. He was a sign of India’s resurgence, a quiet reassurance that things, if not alright yet, were certain to get better. The 100th 100 was yet another reinforcement.