JOIN USSachin Tendulkar bade farewell to his Ranji Trophy career on a bright note here on Wednesday, guiding Mumbai to a four-wicket win over Haryana in the opening match of the season.
Tendulkar had stated his intention to use this match as a preparatory exercise for his final two Test matches and, as he himself admitted later, it suited him just fine.
The master scored an unbeaten 79 to take Mumbai to the victory target of 240, with Dhawal Kulkarni lending him admirable support to thwart the ambitions of the Haryana bowlers.
Fans, who thronged the venue for the last four days, got their money’s worth as Tendulkar gave a fine exhibition in innings building on a surface that suited the bowlers more. Haryana bowlers toiled hard but couldn’t breach the little man’s defence that has stood the test of time across various countries for 24 years.
As Kulkarni hit the winning runs, Tendulkar raised his arms in celebration at the non-striker’s end before his grateful team-mates carried him from the field on their shoulders.
Tendulkar thanked the fans for supporting him and hoped the series against the West Indies would produce entertaining cricket. It was then left to his rival skipper Ajay Jadeja to throw light on what the master’s innings meant in the context of the match.