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AGENCIES/ENS
LEICESTER/MUMBAI, MAY 19: India suffered a major blow to its dwindling World Cup hopes on Wednesday when Sachin Tendulkar returned home following the death of his father Ramesh Tendulkar in Mumbai. And his teammates made it worse for him and the country by losing the match against Zimbabwe from a seemingly `unlosable' position.
Going into the match with a big handicap such as the absence of Sachin, India made a complete hash of things while bowling to Zimbabwe conceding 51 extras and, worse, being penalised four full overs for slow overrate. As if this complete lack of cricketing acumen were not enough they followed it up with a batting performance which alternately lifted and sank India's spirits before finally crumbling by just three runs. All it required was one batsman to stand up and snatch victory which was within their grasp, but player after player flattered only to deceive.
Earlier, Sachin air-dashed to Mumbai just hours before India were to take on Zimbabwe at the Grace Road ground inLeicester. Tendulkar was stunned on receiving the news around midnight (local time), according to Indian coach Anshuman Gaekwad. The star batsman flew early Wednesday morning from Leicester to London from where he, his wife and daughter took a British Airways flight for Mumbai at 7.15 am (local time).
Drowned in his personal sorrow, the star merely shrugged his shoulders when the liaison officer who accompanied him to Heathrow Airport asked the inevitable question on when he would return to England for the World Cup. The effect on India which has been so very dependent on Sachin in any match with the world's top teams was, to start with, one of a slight bewilderment. With the loss to Zimbabwe, India finds itself in the unenviable position of having to win all the three league fixtures to qualify for the next stage which means Sachin might have to rush back to the UK as early as May 23 when India is scheduled to take on Kenya. Not all the players were aware of what had transpired and many did not know atbreakfast that Sachin had already left for Mumbai. The members of the team management were aware of the developments and were somewhat shell-shocked until the reality of having to carry on with the match against Zimbabwe overtook them. Zimbabwe's game plan had had so much to do with how to get Sachin out that they were also shocked by the news and Sachin's sudden airdash home.
"We had a nice little plan drawn up for him. How to bowl to him and get him out had occupied our minds for a long while in the run up to the World Cup" said Alistair Campbell.
Indian cricket team manager Brijesh Patel commented: "To lose a player like Sachin is a set back. But the boys have played without Sachin before and they are looking pretty confident."
Patel quoted the team members as saying they would dedicate Wednesday's match to Sachin. "They will play for him".
"It is a big loss to the team and a bigger loss to him," said Gaekwad immediately after Tendulkar left for India to attend his father's funeral onThursday.
While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has left it to Sachin to decide his decision to rejoin the team, the master batsman is believed to have said that he would take a decision after reaching home. But it is expect that Tendulkar might miss the country's next encounter against Kenya (May 23) and be back for the May 26 game against Sri Lanka.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
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