<p>It’s hard to believe if a Test match between India and West Indies on a weekday would have attracted nearly 50,000 fans, as it happened on Wednesday, to the ground if it wasn’t Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell series.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The little big man of Indian cricket, who will call it a day in Mumbai after the second Test, continued to be the main attraction for the majority even as India took giant steps towards winning the match and making it a memorable send-off for the veteran batsman. The crowd, close to 40,000 at any given point in time, would have been slightly disappointed when the West Indies opted to bat first. After all, most of them were there for a 9.00 am start, hoping to see Tendulkar bat one last time in front of them. They will have to wait for that moment a little longer but in the meantime they were happy to just see him fielding on the line and going into loud chorus everytime he waved at them acknowledging their ‘Sachin, Sachin’ chants.<br /><br />While a goodly audience would have certainly loved to see Tendulkar bat, the sight of him coming in to bowl was enough to send them into wild celebrations. And the Mumbai man didn’t disappoint them, winning an lbw shout against Shane Shillingford at the stroke of the second session. Tea would never have tasted any better! <br /><br />The Kolkata crowd had more to rejoice on the day. Local lad Mohammad Shami was the star performer of the day with the ball and the debutant paceman dedicated his four-wicket haul to Tendulkar. “I’d dedicate this performance to him (Sachin Tendulkar) first,” he said. <br /><br />Before Shami, West Indies’ batsman Marlon Samuels paid rich tributes to Tendulkar. “For me, Sachin is the greatest cricketer ever played the game. He’s a legend. To share the same field with him is a pleasure,” he said before adding “while (I was) batting, when he came very close, I had something to say. As usual, he responded with his very soft voice.” Just before the start of the play, a brief ceremony was held and Tendulkar was presented with a memento.<br /></p>
<p>It’s hard to believe if a Test match between India and West Indies on a weekday would have attracted nearly 50,000 fans, as it happened on Wednesday, to the ground if it wasn’t Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell series.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The little big man of Indian cricket, who will call it a day in Mumbai after the second Test, continued to be the main attraction for the majority even as India took giant steps towards winning the match and making it a memorable send-off for the veteran batsman. The crowd, close to 40,000 at any given point in time, would have been slightly disappointed when the West Indies opted to bat first. After all, most of them were there for a 9.00 am start, hoping to see Tendulkar bat one last time in front of them. They will have to wait for that moment a little longer but in the meantime they were happy to just see him fielding on the line and going into loud chorus everytime he waved at them acknowledging their ‘Sachin, Sachin’ chants.<br /><br />While a goodly audience would have certainly loved to see Tendulkar bat, the sight of him coming in to bowl was enough to send them into wild celebrations. And the Mumbai man didn’t disappoint them, winning an lbw shout against Shane Shillingford at the stroke of the second session. Tea would never have tasted any better! <br /><br />The Kolkata crowd had more to rejoice on the day. Local lad Mohammad Shami was the star performer of the day with the ball and the debutant paceman dedicated his four-wicket haul to Tendulkar. “I’d dedicate this performance to him (Sachin Tendulkar) first,” he said. <br /><br />Before Shami, West Indies’ batsman Marlon Samuels paid rich tributes to Tendulkar. “For me, Sachin is the greatest cricketer ever played the game. He’s a legend. To share the same field with him is a pleasure,” he said before adding “while (I was) batting, when he came very close, I had something to say. As usual, he responded with his very soft voice.” Just before the start of the play, a brief ceremony was held and Tendulkar was presented with a memento.<br /></p>
